GCHA Pickle Festival 2012

This was the GCHA   The Greenlawn-Centerport Historical Association's, Pickle Festival of 2012, our 33rd. annual Pickle event.

We offered pickles, jams, and jellies, with salsa and other jarred goods brought in from Pennsylvania.

Horman's  Gourmet Pickles of Glen Cove featured "pickles  fresh from the barrel." The Horman family are third generation Long Island picklers.

The historic Gardiner Barn getting ready for the day.

Tomatoes hand picked on the farm.

Under the GCHA's tend, we offered " hand held pickles," New Dill, Garlic Dill, And Kosher Dill.

Here, trustee Rick, dispenses Pickle flavored Pop Corn.

Divine Brine with culinary delights of pickles and chutneys.

Our friends from The American Legion post 2144 Greenlawn  came out.

We had a display of vintage restored cars and trucks. This is a 1956 Ford Crown Victoria.

We had working team engines,

restored antiques cars,

a restored English sports car,

a El Camino,

and the restored truck, the Alco.

We offered a free corn maze and free hay rides for the kids.

 Our ladies mad home baked goodies.

 We brought in huge apple, pumpkin and cherry pies specially created for the festival.

 They went quickly.

 We had a holiday decorations booth.

Miss Judy and Miss Belle ran the collectibles.

We had new this year, Pickle tee shirts modeled by Master Nick, the driver of the hay rides and Miss Belle.

The crowds kept coming,

and coming,

and coming.

Children were photographed in the historic Lollipop Train all day.

Live music was performed by the Snappy Even band.

New this year we had a roasted corn vendor from St. James, with really fabulous roasted Long Island corn that they grew on their farm.

Everyone was happy that t he day was successful, and grabbed a kiss under the pickle sign.

 If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and helping out at next year's pickle festival contact:

http://www.gcha.info/GCHA_Home.html

http://huntington.patch.com/articles/33rd-annual-pickle-festival-held-at-john-gardiner-barn?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001#video-11463641        

Watch the Patch Video

Potato Planting at the GCHA Gardiner Farm 2012

In the time honored tradition of Long Island Potato farming, farmer Tony Guarnaschelli and farmer Kerry Connolly demonstrated last Saturday how potatoes were planted with an authentic vintage tractor(1953) and the  very old potato planting attachment.

Thanks to farmer Tony, the aging farm equipment is in tip top working order.

 

These are the bushels of seed potatoes.   We needed a lot due to the popularity of "digging potatoes" at the annual pickle festival each September.

They are pre-treated to inhibit mold.

It was a perfect May morning and the planter was hitched up to the tractor.

Farmers Tony and Kerry use some twine to mark the first row.

 Farmer William helps to secure the other end, and

gets the first ride

digging up the first row.

 The seed potatoes are loaded into the truck,

along with the fertilizer bags.

 The width of the rows is taken.

 This is the guts of the planter.  The "arms" pick each potato from the hopper, and drop them into the soil while

the  cultivating wheels down below, cover the seed potatoes with soil.

Fertilizer is poured into its hopper,

 and seed potatoes into their hopper.

A few potatoes are thrown into the planter to get it started.

Planting Long Island potatoes, Yukon Gold.

These rows of seed potatoes will grow into fine potatoes which the children at the pickle festival will thrill to pick out of the farm's soil and bring home for dinner that night. 

Our director, Deanne Rathke,  gets a ride too.

Click there to see Tony using the potato digging machine at the annual Greenlawn-Centerport Pickle Festival.