The Place Where Ludington Talks

does anyone have an asparagus field and picker?

I remember one of the best times I ever had working was on an asparagus picker. We had a crew that were all friends and it was a blast.

I want to take my kid out and show her how to pick a couple of rows. I know she's only nine but I think it's time she learned what a bit of work is about. Those farm kids and mexican kids learn to work long before our spoiled, entitled little children. It's time she got a bit of a reality check. But do it more as a field trip than as a job(re labor laws). Maybe spend and hour or two out there and then pay her what everyone else earns ( I would pay her out of my pocket).

I would like to be back on a picker for a while.

Is it stupid that I miss doing that when I am getting paid way better and pretty much my own boss running a business.

Good times!

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Permalink Reply by XLFD on May 5, 2010 at 12:02pm

No, Sheila, it's not stupid. My brother and I used to pick asparagus, I did it for 8 years starting when I was 15, and he did it for 4. It was rough, back-bending, finger-wearying work... but we liked it.

Still have some sand burr scars on the back of my fingers from those years, but I was a really good picker by the time I left the trade: I would get all the correct sized spears (double-snapping if necessary), drop the ferned out stalks, and leave stumps very low to the ground.

You should probably pick beside her if you do give her a taste of it, so that you can give her pointers, but I don't think you can make a good quality picker out of her until she's into her teens.