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The yield should be very good, setting a record – looking at the ripe pumpkin field not far from home, he said with satisfaction Marko Novak Gejic From Struga Nartska, a small town in the Rugovica municipality, he expects that this year he will get about five tons of dried seeds, which he will process according to his own recipes into high-quality oil, gluten-free pumpkin flour, spreads and a healthy snack – salty seeds fried with chili and garlic.
One litre of oil requires 2.5 kg of seeds
– Ninety percent of the seeds will be used for oil extraction. For one liter of high-quality pumpkin oil, about two and a half kilograms of dry seeds are needed. You will get real oil without any additives, Known for its beautiful green color, density, and richness of smell and taste – Novak-Grgec teaches us how to distinguish the correct oil from oil that contains a lot of sunflower and other additives that are not listed on some labels, but which are sold under the name of pumpkin virgin. While pumpkin was once considered mainly animal feed, today its products are increasingly popular food supplements, mainly oil, which is used not only as a delicacy, but also as a remedy for prostate diseases, and its use is often used to regulate body weight. But these facts were not the inducement for 41-year-old Marko to start a family farm in 2016. Out of curiosity and a desire not to let the land be abandoned, and also because both the seeds and the oil are good for him and his family, he first planted gourds on one hectare of land, the most common oil gourd of the Gleisdorfer variety in our country.
Marko Novak Grgec Planting Pumpkins at OPG Gallery
This beginning was not glorious, and the surroundings were reluctant to share with him information on how to grow and process pumpkins. However, curiosity and perseverance, as well as increasing the area under pumpkin cultivation year after year, have allowed Novak-Grgec to grow pumpkins on 10 hectares today. The wind behind us also comes from a 15,000 euro grant from the Rural Development Program to support the development of small family farms. The funds are invested in the modernization of the economy, which makes the work much easier. For the past four years, the Novak-Grgec family has repeatedly won silver medals at the International Pumpkin Oil Exhibition in Alpe-Adria. Gold is a long way from them, but it is certain that even that small step they will soon cross, because they have quality, which is confirmed by the customers who regularly come to their door to buy products from this farm or farm. Make someone happy with a gift pack that OPG also offers.
In addition to the pumpkins they picked, they also bought a combine harvester, and Marko and his wife Sanela harvested another twenty hectares of land. They planted corn, soybeans and wheat and had a guaranteed purchase. It is a family business, with daughters Leona (high school student) and Catarina (primary school student), while the youngest, Hana, is not yet four years old and a real taster of pumpkin delicacies. Marco’s parents are natives of the area and he worked with them in the fields since childhood and also gave him a lot of help, but considering that corn and wheat were not very profitable, over time the production began to be abandoned, until eight years ago when they started growing corn and wheat. A turn. Agriculture is not (still) the only activity of the couple Sanella and Marco, she works in a factory and he is a bus driver, but the money they earn from her is very useful for the necessary improvement of the family budget. In addition, they know clearly what they use in their daily diet. More important than money is the therapeutic effect that working on the land has on Marco’s health. A few years ago he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis:
It all started with curiosity
– Working in the field is therapeutic for him, it brings him out of depression – Sanella says that Marko and he have been in harmonious marriage for seventeen years. – Everything is under control. Smart drugs are combined with the cultivation of the land, which is good – Marko Novak-Grgec adds that he is looking forward to the harvest of pumpkins that he grows with his family, Large-scale production of a full range of products What started out as curiosity turned into pure fun.
OPG Marko Novak-Gergic, Struga Narcica
They cultivate 10 hectares of their own land and 20 hectares of rented land. Ten hectares of Gorica oil gourds are cultivated, and dried pumpkin seeds are processed into award-winning oil by heat pressing. They also produce gluten-free pumpkin flour, pumpkin paste, and fried salt and seeds with pepper and garlic. They sell their goods at their doorstep and participate in events such as Bučijada in Ivanić-Grad.
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