A farmer from the village of Piktožių picks the first smidrus

A few days ago, Robert Rezgevičius, who cultivates the smidgen farm “Prūšu dirvos” in the village of Piktožių, Dovilai ward, harvested the first kilograms of these vegetables. Missing Lithuanian smidres, buyers and catering companies grab them. “They used to grow in grandmothers’ nurseries, they were the decoration of flower bouquets, and now we eat them,” smiled the grower of non-traditional vegetables.
The harvest has begun
This spring is not favorable for smidgen growers – after a short-term heat wave in April, the frosts started immediately, biting the shoots of early vegetables coming out of the ground. However, R. Rezgevičius, who has been growing them in the village of Piktoži for the fifth year, was not disappointed, because he always starts picking the smidrus in May. “We are closer to the sea, the smidru field is in an open, windy place – here the smidru harvest starts later than in other districts,” said the owner of the smidru farm “Prūsui dirva”. This name was inspired by the historical fact that the border of Little Lithuania and Great Lithuania was nearby.
The Rezgevičiai harvested the first crop a few days ago and presented it to catering companies. Buyers longing for Lithuanian smidri come to their house, passing word of mouth about the vegetables grown here without fertilizers. The first berries, like berries, are more expensive: half a kilogram costs 5-6 euros.
They will have a bountiful harvest in the coming weeks. The farmer expects to harvest about a ton during the short season of smidgen from May to mid-June.
Planted a hectare
R. Rezgevičius from Klaipėda decided to settle in the village of Piktoži with his family and decided to try farming – 5 years ago he planted the first ares of smidri. “They used to grow in grandmothers’ nurseries, they arranged the branches in flower bouquets, and now we eat them,” smiled the owner of Prussian Soils.
During that time, the area of ​​non-traditional vegetables on this farm increased to one hectare – 13 thousand were planted here. smidru sprouts, grows as many as four varieties. R. Rezgevičius doubts whether he will increase their area because there is a lack of free land. “This is not the main source of our family’s livelihood – it is an attempt by a city dweller to farm,” said a settler of the village of Piktozijai cheerfully. – We have created a workplace – we have purchased equipment for preparing smidas for packaging – we will no longer need to wash and sort them by hand.”
However, they have to be picked by hand – only abroad have they seen that they are handled by machinery in large fields of smidar.
Grows organically
When they come to the farm to buy smidgens, buyers often want to see where they grow. “I don’t have an organic farm certificate, but I grow organically,” assured R. Rezgevičius. – People see for themselves when they see that there are also weeds among the smidgens – not eradicated by chemicals.”
R. Rezgevičius said that he wanted to bring together smidgen growers and together deliver large quantities of these Lithuanian vegetables to supermarkets, but they were not successful in cooperating because farmers are afraid of obligations and other reasons. “For now, we sell everything from home – we inform about our farm on our Facebook account, on the website “Prūšu dirvos”. We receive orders and take them to homes and catering establishments,” said the farmer.
According to Aurelija Latakienė, head of the Agriculture Department of the Klaipėda District Municipality Administration, in 2023 according to the declarations, 5 farmers grow smidrus in the district – from a dozen ares to one and a half hectares. Their total area is 3.04 ha. Whether this vegetable is gaining popularity will become clear in July, after the declaration of crops and agricultural land is over.

Virginia AUKŠTUOLYTĖ