But now hold on, as there was an interesting surprise waiting for us.
Can you see what I saw? Those were not the same strawberry plants that we saw here last year? Or maybe it was different strawberry plants.
I was non plussed, as we have visited the farm several times during the strawberry seasons and never has it looked like this. Normally the lanes of strawberry plants have long black plastic covers on in order to keep the moisture in, but no plastic covers could be seen here. So I stopped the car and decided to wait in order to see what was going on.
Come and let's have a look.
And what would a tractor be doing in a strawberry field?
Some sections of the land were still under irrigation.
And no, strawberries are certainly not picked like this, as normally they use buckets. The bags would crush the strawberries.
The site manager was keeping an eye on things :)
It is a Fiscal and he was watching for insects that the workers disturb in the plants.
The irrigation pipes ran far and wide over the land.
And then it was time to load and to go. Without me knowing what was in the bags!
Only joking as here was the answer. I asked a guy to show me what was in the bags and as you can see, it was beans.
Apparently to restore the soil content beans are planted, as the plants have the ability to absorb acids from the ground that are harmful to strawberry plants. I heard that it was called crop rotating and that it replenishes the soil. When all of the beans are harvested, a tractor will be used to plow the plants back into the soil and they replace the nitrogen content of the soil. Farming is certainly not just a plant and harvest situation, as there are many intricacies involved for the delivery of continued prime crops.
Just two lovely landscape shots below to show you as we left the farm.
The lands were all harvested and resting. Only until the spring season next year after our winter.
Oh yes, we learn something new almost every day and my interest is because I have a dream to own a small piece of land one day. To build a little cottage for us on the land and to grow our own food. We will also have a small coffee shop on the land where our crops will be on sale to the public. All organic of course and a percentage of the crops will go for free to the poor in the community.
Only a dream at this stage, but one never knows what the future holds in store for all of us.
Do you have a dream? What are your passions and what would be your own ultimate dream?
Come and tell me below.
I hope that you enjoyed the story and the pictures.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
