How Much Damage Acceptable on Produce ?

[Nyboy]

98% of my gardening is with flowers, only vegetables are some tomatoes from starts. I grow them mainly for green tomatoes. With fruit trees, I am now faced with inprefect fruit. Supermarket always has blemish free produce if not organic. At what point do you compost a vegetable? Does it make a difference to you if insect or disease ? Will you just cut away bad ?

 

[seedcorn]

I compost after I eat it..... Few blemishes will not slow me down unless I have more than I can eat, preserve or give away.

Really should grow some jalapeños, cilantro,and garlic to make fresh salsa. With vine ripe tomatoes a meal in of itself.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For some people appearance is extremely important. If there is any kind of blemish it is tossed. That’s not me. I seldom grow anything that is totally blemish free. Whether fruit or vegetable I generally cut out the imperfections and then use it or just eat it.


A lot of my jellies and jams are made from fruit that is not perfect. I recently canned 14 pints of corn. Of all the ears of corn I used, only one did not have worm damage.

 

[Beekissed]

Cut out the bad, use all of the good. In real life, organic and homegrown produce is rarely without blemish, especially fruit. When fruit is too perfect I always get suspicious...if the bugs won't even eat it or fungus reside on it, it must be poison.

 

[Nyboy]

I like to be in denial and think growers put little mesh bags over each piece of fruit to keep bug free. Deep down I know that doesn't happen.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I buy the seconds at the grocery store - those that have been handled a bit, or now have spots or getting too ripe. Doesn't bother me.

 

[ninnymary]

Well, it depends...if it's for a party, I buy the best fruit I can. If it's for me, I'll buy the bags that are marked down to $1.

Mary

 

[Nyboy]

 

[secuono]

Cut out the gross, eat the rest.

You should see just how many countless tons of slightly damaged foods the companies throw away. It's disgusting the amount of waste for the "perfect" fruit/veggie.
We don't have a food sortage, we have a massive stingy spoiled human problem.

 

[Smart Red]

I am with the cut out and eat crowd. Perfection comes only in pretend. All in real life are marred in some way. Sometimes only the best will do, but for most uses, a bit of damage can be cut out and the rest used.