Summer crops and harvest logistics

More and more summer crops are coming from the fields these days.  The first of our early fruit crops from the greenhouse are underway and more (like peppers, zucchini, and eggplant)  are following soon, but the big change right now is the variety coming out of our fields.  Field greens, head lettuces, new root crops, and early brassicas (like kohlrabi) are being harvested now, so our harvest days are longer and more complicated.  

Harvest days have a general flow, but the basic goal is to harvest the most heat-sensitive crops first.  We always start with cut greens (arugula, salad mix, spinach) first because they are the most sensitive and take the longest to wash/process.  They also need time to cool down before being packaged in the afternoon, so the colder they stay the better.  We often get feedback that our greens last longer than ones from grocery stores, and this is why.  Getting them out of the field and cold quickly really extends their life.

We move through other crops based on temperature hardiness and the scale of the task.  We have found that there is a sweet spot in the ratio of crew members and the scale/difficulty of harvest.  Our goal is to keep harvest for each crop under one unit or bunch per minute.  While one person can harvest 120 bunches of beets within 2 hours, 3 or 4 people on a task of that scale is a lot less daunting, and when we move through crops faster, motivation is higher, quality is better, more consistent, and we tend to stay more engaged.  However, 10 crew members making 120 bunches (anticipated to be 12 minutes) almost guarantees chaos and probably ends up taking more time in the end.  

Its shaping up to be an awesome main-season crew this year.  All of these new crops that come into our rotation require unique skills to harvest and we feel very thankful to have an open-minded and flexible crew.  Summer crops are here and its time to jump right in!