Reported by Adora Xiao
On June 7 and 11, Greater Temecula Valley AYLUS members Adora Xiao (6 hrs) and Ally Negulescu (3 hr) helped a local farm begin the harvest season.
As the weather warmed dramatically, GTVA members looked forward to the opportunity to resume their work with a local farm. After a bit of traffic, members were greeted with the nostalgic view of lines of squash and zucchini, with other crops slowly beginning to sprout.
On both days, members started by tackling the rows of squash and zucchini. This included green and yellow varieties of all different sizes, and as buckets filled, they were then carried back to the main station. While the largest vegetables spawned friendly competition and general excitement, they also did not make for good eating. After the vegetables were harvested, members took trips to the gully to toss the rejects.
After a quick water break, members went back to work tackling weeds. Some crops were on the verge of sprouting and needed the resources and room to grow properly. Weeds took resources and room away from the crops and had to be removed. With a rake-like tool, weeds were not only cut but the roots were removed. Members had fun raking out weeds by running the tool over the dirt paths between rows of crops. Then, they checked out the areas where the crops were grown and pulled weeds to give the crops room to grow. Members tackled different areas on different days, consisting of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini.
GTVA looks forward to lending a hand to harvesting over the summer, reliving last summer’s experiences while discovering new ones!
