October 25, 2014

• GLEANING THE FIELDS by Maureen Elhatton

  Due to work I was not able to get out this year but am reposting an article and photos by another OFRE member who did....

  The term gleaning refers to the gathering of leftover produce from farmers’ fields. In the late 1800’s this was an essential part of the harvest for farm workers who relied on it for their winter food.

  The practice in Edmonton has been revived by Operation Fruit Rescue (OFRE) as a way to fight hunger locally and save produce that would be tilled under.

  Riverbend Gardens grows a lot of produce to supply local markets but there comes a time when there is just too much and gleaning can prevent food wastage and support local charities.

  As a member of OFRE I was invited to glean the fields at Riverbend Gardens in North Edmonton. 

  On a sunny October day, I found myself looking at huge field of cabbage surrounded by more varieties of vegetables than I had ever seen.  The basketball size cabbage heads had grown just too large on the rich soil down by the North Saskatchewan River. Some cabbage heads were split but with a little trimming would be perfectly usable.  Consumers today are very fussy and want their produce a certain size and shape.  After a demo on the use of cabbage knives off we went to the cabbage patch. The process for harvesting cabbage involves tipping the plant over to expose the base, slicing away from you with the wickedly sharp cabbage knives, lifting the cabbage head and cleaning the excess leaves from the head. Another gleaner deposits the heads in large plastic bags. Once full, the bags will weigh 50-75 lb. Another team member takes the bags to the road side collecting area. This process is repeated many, many times.

  Our next stop was in the potato fields where we had help in the form of a tractor that dug and spun the potatoes out to the top of the row. Our work involved picking potatoes in 5 gallon pails which were then transferred to the infamous large plastic bags then taken to a collecting area. The expression " Many hands make light work! " certainly applies to a gleaning.  There were families young and old helping out. A real sense of comradery developed, new friends were made and old acquaintances were renewed and children were trying out new vegetable picking skills.

  Our last field to harvest was the carrot patch.The rows went to the horizon and there was no helpful machine, it was all digging fork and hand separating. Again we worked in teams. One person would take the tops off the carrots still in the ground, the next person would loosen the soil and dig the carrots up,  and the next group would loosen the soil from the carrots and bag them again in the large plastic bags. This time we filled the bags half full and another person would take them to the collecting area.
  At the end of the day the Salvation Army truck was piled high with local produce. The gleaners also got to share in the harvest and were talking about what they would make with their veggies. As we walked to our cars plans for making sauerkraut, cabbage rolls and even kimchee were discussed. Recipes were shared as we helped each other lift our share of potatoes, cabbage and carrots into our cars.

  Calls of " See you again!" reverberated in the now empty fields.

  I would like to thank, Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton http://operationfruitrescue.org/ 

  and Riverbend Gardens.... http://www.riverbendgardens.ca/

   

  • 8:42 am
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