You would think that nothing could be better than growing dates, since you don’t need anything out of the ordinary. It seems like it should be a very safe activity, especially when you do not use pesticides to grow your medjool dates, but things are not always what they seem. There are all kinds of hidden perils. The fruit that is not good enough for consumption is disposed into the ground and fruit left on the date palm, likewise makes its way to the ground. The fruit on the ground in turn brings field mice which in turn bring in field mice predators. The primary predator for the field mouse is probably the local rattle snake and to a lesser extent owls and hawks. The peril being the rattle snake. If you are not careful you can step on a rattlesnake and get bitten by a rattlesnake when working on the date palms or harvesting. Not too many people get bitten by rattle snakes, but it is definitely rattlesnake country. When working on the tractor to clear the weeds you run the risk of getting caught on the date palm fronds. On occasion you may fall grab from a date frond and tear your hand. The fronds have thorns and dangerous so you get cuts and scratches, year round when you work on the date palms. Medjool dates in particular are labor intensive and therefore require constant vigilance when working on the date palms.
GHTime Code(s): ncMedjool Date Farming The Perils
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