Strawberry Farm

The interview I conducted with a local farmer explained how the farming industry is an intricate system with many parts and functions. The tools and skills a farmer uses and how they are used have a major effect on the farms production. Some of the tools farmers utilize include pesticides, irrigation systems, crop rotation, and the use of modern weather forecasts to increase productivity. All of these practices work together seamlessly to ensure the smooth operation of the farm. Farms are also connected to the environment around it.

           

 I visited the strawberry farm last week and I met a man named Jose Lopez who works at the strawberry farm. I went up to him and asked him what do they do to keep the crops healthy and when do they grow. Lopez told me they spray chemicals on the plants to keep the bugs and insects away. He told me the chemicals that they spray do not keep every insect away. It keeps away specific insects because they need some insects for the strawberry. Two insects that are essential for strawberry growth need bees and ladybugs because these two can pollinate the flower of the strawberries and they can also keep away other insects that are harmful to the strawberries. I asked him if the chemicals he sprayed on the plants can effect the soil underneath the strawberry plant? He told me not really because if it effects the soil then the plant wouldn’t grow and the strawberries would die. He also the only thing that these chemicals would effect is the insects and that’s good because they don’t want the insets coming near the strawberries. I asked Jose why do you spray or inject the plants? Jose told me that the strawberry plants take a very long time for them to grow and they have to deliver packages to stores at a certain date. They do that because the population is big in Gwinnett County and the stores need to sell the strawberries to the costumers so they could eat it. They water the crops by connecting pipes to the ground and if they know the weather is going to rain then they don’t need to use the pipes. The strawberries grow from early June to Late September but they grow a lot of strawberries so they could store the rest that’s left over. The fields of the strawberries have to be taking care of twenty four seven because a lot of things can happen. Like if the strawberries don’t get sprayed water everyday then the strawberries has a possible chance of dying. Jose also told me if the plants don’t get too much sun the also have a high chance of dying. If the weather is too hot they will poor extra water from the pipes so that the soil could stay wet and the strawberries would not die either.

“Your plants will produce some small babies and some big mommas, too. They’ll produce some iconic shaped fruit, and some wonky ones, too” (Smith Trimble). From this information Jose also said the good thing about strawberries is that they only grow their seeds once and the plant will start to produce its own babies every six months. That’s if they were organic they take that much time. The sprayed ones take two to three months at most.

I looked at the organic one and the sprayed one to see which one is better. The organic one taste better than the injected but it takes at least six months to grow and depending on the weather. Jose mentioned the ejected ones take to a month at most that could save them some time to grow more.. I ate both while I was at the farm and here are the positive and negative things about these two.  When I felt the organic one it was hard as a rock but when I felt the sprayed one it was hard but not as hard as the organic one. The organic food item taste better and has a lot of nutrition but it is small. The sprayed one is bigger then the organic one but it doesn’t have that much nutrition and it doesn’t taste as good as the organic strawberry. So Basically the organic one is healthier then the sprayed although the sprayed one doesn’t affect human beings. The organic one has more nutrition then the sprayed one. They spray the fruits to taste good or to have more nutrition they spray the fruits for money. Most people would pay more for organic fruits then the sprayed ones because its more healthier. Us humans can do something with growing food but its going to be better then mother nature.

            
The farmers put some poison around the fields for the gardens safety. They do that because they have to keep the animals like rats and snake’s away from the field. The rats can steal the crops and eat them and the snakes can make a nest between the crops or they can poison one of the workers. Lopez me a story of the workers who was working picking strawberries and a snake bit him. They took the man to the hospital and he was alright at the end but they have to be carful while they are picking up the strawberries. Strauss explains, “ You have to be in love with the miracle that is squash seed- no bigger than fingernail but able to produce hundreds of pounds of food in a single summer with only a little help from you, the gardener” (80). I took this sentence from Strauss because it’s similar to what I’ve seen. The farmers plant the seeds in the dirt, it grows in the late summer and the straw berries grow out. The workers come to the farm and pick up eight to twelve tons everyday. It’s everyday that they have to pick really big amount of strawberries. After they pick up the strawberries they take the strawberries to they truck and the truck delivers the strawberries to the factories. The factories take the strawberries, they wash them and then clean them. After that they put the strawberries in plastic boxes and they deliver the strawberries to super markets . For example Walmart Kroger’s and Aldi’s. From there people will buy these strawberries and eat them at home. 

           
 This is my interview with Jose Lopez and what we talked about the farm and how they take care of the farm. Taking care of a farm like strawberries is a really hard job and a lot of work. What I noticed is that they grow strawberries and inject them like that is they don’t do it for the people they do it for the money. I feel like that’s a wrong and bad idea because strawberries are one of the most important fruits that we need for nutrition. They should figure out a better way to make the plants grow faster and more organic because us human’s need to stay healthy. I feel like eating organic is better then eating injected food. That’s my opinion for the strawberries and what I think they should do to make they fruit have more nutrition.

           
      Works Cited

Daniel, Cruz. Personal Interview. 22 September 2019.

Smith Trimble, Kelly. “Post Store-bought Strawberries Versus Homegrown Strawberries.”Bonnie Plants. 23 Oct. 2018,www.bonnieplants.com/the-bonnie-blog/store-bought-strawberries-versus-homegrown-strawberries/

Strauss, Erica. “Zombies vs. The Joy of Canning: Motivation in the Productive Home”. Food MattersA BEDFORD SPOTLIGHT READER, by Holly Bauer, Leasa Burton, 2017, pp. 77-80.

"Great Country Farms 9"by steve loya is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

"In the Strawberry Fields"by arsheffield is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

"Strawberries"by Marc Purnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

"Strawberries"by TimAlosi.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

"Strawberries from florida"by Dudus Maximus is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0