Stock Photo - 26 June 2023, Brandenburg, Dürrenhofe: A so-called cucumber plane, on which the duck helpers lie and harvest pickling cucumbers, stands during the lunch break on a field of the agricultural cooperative Unterspreewald eG. On the same day, the harvest of the famous Spreewald cucumber officially began in the Spreewald region. Despite the challenges, which were also particularly great this year, the growers are starting the harvest on time. With 500 hectares of cultivation area, including 75 hectares of organic area, the scale remains as in previous years in proportion, as reported by the Spreewaldverein e.V.. In total, Spreewald cultivation and processing companies need about 3,000 helpers annually in the harvesting and processing of Spreewald cucumbers. Spreewald pickling and canning companies process domestic raw produce from regional contract farming. A total of eight farms grow the Spreewald gherkins. Fresh from the field, the pickles and peeled gherkins are refined in seven canning plants according to traditional Spreewald recipes. Photo: Patrick Pleul/dpa. - Dürrenhofe/Brandenburg/Germany