Annalisa Hultberg, Extension Educator, food safety No farm is complete without a dedicated space and some sort of equipment for safely washing and packing produce. You do not need to spend a lot of money to have a safe, efficient and comfortable location to wash and pack your produce. Non-mechanized postharvest equipment Spray tables and wash basins are the most basic and essential infrastructure to include in your packshed design. Spray tables Spray tables are used to spray bunched crops, pack boxes and more. Tables can be easily built using a variety of designs and materials. They consist of a frame (built from wood or metal), and a top with gaps that allow dirty water to run off the table as the produce is sprayed. Spray tables are the most effective option for cleaning bunched crops. Whatever spray table you build should be strong enough to hold the produce you will place on it and large enough to spray a good amount of produce at one time. Spray table with wooden frame...
Natalie Hoidal & Marissa Schuh This was a tough week for vegetables and for farmers - we heard reports from all around the state about significant hail damage, and we saw multiple fields underwater today. The weekend was brutally hot, followed by intense rainfall, so it’s been hard to keep up with weeding, trellising, and other farm tasks. The week ahead looks drier and warmer, hopefully bringing respite and a chance to catch up! Hail damage, flooding, and other crop losses - what to do now? If you have fields that have been significantly damaged by hail, flooding, insects, or something else, what are your back-up options at this point in the season? We’re doing a whole webinar about this next Tuesday July 1 at noon - click here to register . If you can’t make it, here are some things to consider: Midsummer into mid/late July is a great time to plant beets, carrots, green beans, broccoli, and other crops with a ~50-60 day lifecycle. Consider looking into wholesale options for fal...