Farming requires lots of space. Space to grow vegetables, conditioned space to store harvested produce, and a secure space to house tools out of the weather. Barns and tool sheds can be expensive, and building takes time. If you’re farming on rented land, it’s even harder to justify the investment in a permanent building. Shipping …
Continue reading “Farmer’s Favorites: Shipping Containers and Their Use on Vegetable Farms”
Howard Prussack of High Meadows Farm in Westminster West, Vermont grows 7 acres of vegetables and wanted to improve his vegetable washing space. He imagined a bright and warm space instead of the dark and cool dairy barn they were working out of. With a goal of creating a fun and happy place to work, …
Continue reading “Natural Light in the Packshed at High Meadows Farm”
Ansel Ploog and Justin Cote run Flywheel Farm in Woodbury, Vermont. They wholesale 2 acres of organic vegetables to local co-op stores and through a regional distributor. When starting their farm in 2012, they understood they needed a spot to wash and pack their produce, undercover and off the ground. They chose to go with …
Continue reading “A Three-Season Structure Keeps the Momentum at Flywheel Farm”
Pheonix and Megan O’Brien of Hall Brook Farm purchased their farm in Thorndike, Maine in 2016, and are growing over 20 acres of vegetables with over ⅓ acre in high tunnels. They have experienced rapid growth of the business in the last few years. In 2020 they had gross sales over $250,000 which expanded in …
Continue reading “New Metal Building from Scratch at Hall Brook Farm”
Patrick Sullivan and Melisa Oliva have been farming for 5 years at Ananda Gardens, a CSA Farm in Middlesex, Vermont. They have been working to grow their farm and improve their wash-pack area as they renovated the 1950s dairy barn that stood on the property. They have 150 CSA members between the fall and spring …
Continue reading “Patient Pursuit of Packshed Happiness at Ananda Gardens”
There are many ways to wash root crops on produce farms. This guide covers a range of options from smaller farms washing by hand to larger operations with fully automated wash lines. Watch the Webinar Root Washing Systems with Hans Estrin | VVBGA Webinar Series Spray tables Spray tables are commonly used to rinse bunched …
Introduction Leafy greens are a popular crop among consumers seeking a healthy and nutritious diet year-round. As a crop that is grown close to the ground in a variety of systems, often it is important to remove soil from the leaves before marketing. A relatively high volume dunk tank with several, typically lower volume, follow-on …
A downloadable PDF of this blog post and assembly guide is available here. A video overview of a DIY Handwashing Station can be seen here. Handwashing has been shown to be one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of transmission of human pathogens between people. But, sometimes we are inconveniently far from …
UVM Extension’s own television program Across The Fence did a segment on a project we’ve been working on related to greens spinners. You can watch the video clip here explaining why small farms are making use of washing machines as greens spinners and what we are doing to help make them more feasible.
This blog post is for those using or considering a converted washing machine as greens spinner. Background For background information on several different types of greens spinners and general thoughts on using washing machine conversions see this blog post. If you’ve purchased a machine and are ready to convert it, see our Washing Machine/Greens Spinner …
Continue reading “Washing Machine Greens Spinners: Shopping Advice”
