Reported by Julie Lu and Adora Xiao
On June 21 and 25th, 2022, Greater Temecula Valley AYLUS (GTVA) team Ally Negulescu (3 hrs), Jessica Lu (3hrs), Adora Xiao (3hrs), and Julie Lu (3 hrs) volunteered at their local farm to help harvest and package produce. All of the produce grown from this project is donated directly to the Temecula Community Mission of Hope for distribution to other local food pantries in our region and Fallbrook.
Instead of starting off their morning harvesting zucchini like usual, GTVA members sought out the cucumbers and pattypan squash on the far side of the farm. Pattypan squash is a group of summer squash characterized by its wavy edges and flatter shape. The GTVA members braved the prickly leaves and hauled back 2 buckets full of pattypan squash. After doing so, they scanned the zucchini fields for any that might have been missed before proceeding to a different field to do some weeding between the rows of onions and carrots. Finishing their task, the GTVA members went on to help with packaging the harvested vegetables, carefully placing them into boxes, weighing each before closing them up, and setting them aside.
On Saturday, members started with going through the lines of squash and zucchini. Some varieties were beginning to slow with productions, while others were still booming in quantity. After harvesting all the zucchini and squash, members moved to the onion area. They broke a sweat clearing the lines between crops of weeds, before pulling out the ones closer to the plants. They then cleared the plants to the side.
After coming back from a refreshing break, members moved to removing weeds in the watermelon area. They excitedly pointed out each individual watermelon, weaving through the overgrown branches. After the weeding was done, they returned to the onion area to move the harvested onions away from the holes to prevent rotting.
