Harvesting Veggies with Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery
 
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Harvesting Veggies with Steinbeck Vineyards & Winery

August 25, 2010

What better way to start your morning than in the garden? Beth and I headed out of the office for a morning of vegetable harvesting at Steinbeck Vineyards’ Vineyards Growing Veggies project site. We met with Cindy Steinbeck Newkirk of Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery and, after a quick tutorial, we were off to work!

Straight off the vine – Beth’s got a zucchini and a squash

Mmm…nothing says summer more than a juicy cantaloupe!

These winter squash will make a hearty dish!

Hunting for tomatoes!

Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery is a multi-generational sustainable farm boasting 500 acres of vineyard property and producing 2,000 tons of fruit each year. In 2008, Steinbeck Vineyards introduced the Vineyards Growing Veggies program to their farm. A one acre plot was set aside for a variety of fruits and vegetables and has been producing ever since. All the vegetables go to the local food bank, a whopping 8,000 lbs annually! When Beth and I went out, Steinbeck and its volunteers were harvesting zucchini, squash, watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, and tomatoes. Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery welcomes volunteers who want to get involved and are especially looking for volunteers to help tend the garden (picking, planting, transitioning, and weeding) and start plants.

But wait, Steinbeck does even more to promote a healthy environment and community… they recycle natural, non-synthetic wine corks! Currently, there are 250,000 corks in use around the vineyard and winery. The corks help keep moisture in the soil and prevent unwanted weed growth.

These natural corks have found a second life!

Corks can be mulched or remain whole as seen here.