If you're looking to learn more about washing zucchini or cutting lettuce, today's Daily News will not disappoint. In the latest installment of his farm labor series, Tom Rivers takes us through the vegetable fields of an organic farm in Elba — the "area's biggest," we're told.
We learn that zucchini should be picked when it's between six to eight inches and lettuce should be cut from the ground very deep on the stalk to keep the leaves from unfurling. Fans of the series — such as myself — will be pleased to find the usual dose of Rivers' wit and self-deprecating sincerity. Like when he writes:
I admit an odd thrill using the knife, as if I had graduated from the minor leagues of picking berries a few weeks ago to working with the knife-wielding pros.
Or, when he watches Katie "the Cornell grad" haul a heavy tote of veggies and gets a little showed up in his moment of machismo:
I figure I'll grab the next one and I grab a tote. It must weigh 75 pounds, and I adjust my grip about five times, take a few deep breaths and stumble over a sink... I tell Katie to enter an arm wrestling tournament.
Tom Rivers' tales of the farm aren't the only agriculturally-minded articles in today's paper.
Cornell Cooperative Extension wants 70 low-income residents of Genesee County to enroll in its eight-week nutrition education course. Extension Direction Bev Mancuso told Paul Mrozek that
it's important that people with limited incomes or those on food stamps shop wisely and not just buy "the cheapest food possible without even considering whether it's good for you."
Call (585) 343-3040, ext. 134 for more information or to register for the course.
Meanwhile, LeRoy will be holding a public information meeting at 7:30pm tonight at Town Hall, 48 Main St., to discuss protecting and preserving farmland in the town.
In other news:
- Union Street will be closed Wednesday from Richmond Avenue to Union Square from 7:30am to 3:00pm for sewer repairs.
You can pick up your own copy of the Daily News wherever the paper is sold. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.
