Yesterday, we woke up early in the morning to head to Southern Valley Farms, a cucumber/squash/green bean farm. It was about two and a half hours away and the roads were treacherous and bumpy. When we got to the farm, we all loaded up in a school bus brought down from Georgia and went to tour the entire farm. We saw where the vegetables were first planted in the greenhouse and then replanted in the ground. We took a break and had lunch with all the 600-800 people working there. Then we were able to go see people picking the cucumbers, wrapping vines, cleaning the cucumbers, sorting out the bad and good ones, and we saw the packing area where the cucumbers are sorted, refrigerated, and shipped out.
-Kelly
Chino [the property overseer and our guide] took us on a tour of the property and explained how they practically farmed all 1200 acres by hand. He showed us every facet of the farming process, from planting to harvesting and to packaging the fruit. The coolest part of the day was during lunch. We went to eat lunch with the [workers], which was really awkward as well. The workers were staring at us the entire time and they were probably thinking, "What are those Gringos doing here?" lol. The food was wicked awesome by the way. All in all, Valle Del Sur was really cool and they take pride in their property and provide high quality product.
Like they mentioned, we were lead on a very impressive tour of the farm and had the opportunity to join the workers for lunch in what could only be described as an outdoor mess hall, much to our delight. Ask anyone of us, and we can now identify with certainty the difference between their 3 grades of cucumbers, as well as tell you how to "train cucumber vines." Thank you so much, Southern Valley for lunch and for showing us what you do! I think all of us will be looking for your name next time we go produce shopping.-Tyler
Curious? Have a look for yourself!
Video pending.
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