France in Focus

Not shopping, Gleaning.


The huge field across the road from us has grown tomatoes this year, bio, no sprays at all, a lot of weeding by hand. They have just finished harvesting, like trailer loads upon trailer loads harvested by a machine you wouldn't believe possible.
So along with other villagers we've been gleaning, baskets full to cook up and make Tomato paste/ puree then freeze.

Yum!

Do they just let them grow as bushes, rather than vertically? I've seen something along those lines, where they say they get bumper crops and not much watering needed (too much water dilutes the taste!)

Bayleaf wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2023 3:12 pm Yum!

Do they just let them grow as bushes, rather than vertically? I've seen something along those lines, where they say they get bumper crops and not much watering needed (too much water dilutes the taste!)

Bushes are grown in rows about 1 meter apart with 40cm between plants , not roma but look the same egg shape with the biggest being egg size. automatic overhead sprinkler which goes round in circle, watered twice a week over night.
The huge bins fit onto a frame pulled by a tractor which runs longside just same as a combine harvester, huge harvest as twice across the field the bin is overflowing, the bins are then taken by lorries to processing plants.

Wish we could do a bit of "gleaning" around here.

Gleaning, what fun! During blackberry week my brothers and I would go gleaning in the potato fields near Penshaw Monument after the harvesting was done.

I’ve had very many more tomatoes than usual, Sweet 100 and Gardeners’ Delight grown in a big tub, small, sweet gems, so tempting each time I was in the garden I had to eat some, but a healthy habit.

OH tried growing them in previous years in our polytunnel. Never had many because of blight. This year tried the small ones for a change. The ones they sell at the supermarket that look a bit like a bunch of grapes on a branch. Poor show. They only got to the size of small grapes and then started to turn red. Before being ripe enough to pick they started to split. I think we'll give toms a miss next year. The runner beans did OK.

Hotrodder wrote: ↑Tue Sep 19, 2023 10:53 am OH tried growing them in previous years in our polytunnel. Never had many because of blight. This year tried the small ones for a change. The ones they sell at the supermarket that look a bit like a bunch of grapes on a branch. Poor show. They only got to the size of small grapes and then started to turn red. Before being ripe enough to pick they started to split. I think we'll give toms a miss next year. The runner beans did OK.

Classic sign of uneven watering. The toms start to ripen and the skins harden, then they get lots of water and try to swell - end result the inflexibility of the skin means they split.

Sounds logical.
I'm crap at growing stuff. Much better at fixing cars and electronic devices.

You'll be in great demand when the E-lec-trical bananas hit the market. Donovan said they were bound to be the very next thing in the late 60's!

I see the greengrocer's apostrophe has put in an appearance