June 14, 2006
Valdosta -- Ten-year-old Cody Corbett may look young for a farmer but he's an old pro. "I grow squash, corn, peas, butter beans, watermelon, and cantaloupe," Corbett said.
He picked some tomatoes and joined his mom at Lowndes High School's summer canning plant. The plant allows local farmers to can their produce and field crop as soups, salsa and sauce.
The high school's been doing this for more than forty years. "This facility takes out a lot of work. Stuff that use to take days can be done in a couple of hours," said high school agriculture teacher Spencer Taylor.
High school farming students like Dennis Hart help run the plant, leading community members through the canning routine. "We wash and blend stuff. We put stuff in the kettle and steam it and cook it. We can products, jar products and most likely people bring in zip lock bags and bag their produce."
Until the plant closes in mid-July, anyone with a green thumb can savor the flavor of summer. All it costs is thirty cents a can.
The plant is open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm.
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