Terrace Work and 2nd Market

May.16, 2017

 It was a nice, sunny, busy day out at the terraces preparing for our second market of the semester. Time sure flies by fast, and already we were ready for our second harvest!
We divided ourselves among various tasks:

-Washing the harvest equipment...

Washing the harvest bins and
getting the salad spinner ready

More bins

-Harvesting...
Our harvest this time included pea shoots, spinach, kale, lettuce, swiss chard, radish, arugula, licorice mint leaves, and some crimson clover

Harvesting Spinach 

.

Harvesting Kale 

Harvesting Pea Shoots 

Harvesting Swiss Chard 

Harvesting Lettuce 

Harvesting Radish

This radish is feeling a little sluggish...

Some of our radishes suffered from slug damage, as evident by the shallow pits along the surface. Pest problems are a major part of farming, and this aspect can be hidden from many commercial grocery stores, where product marketability and profitability often determines what goes on the shelves, often driven by the notion that customers expect to have perfect produce that is damage free. However, this is beginning to change as consumers are becoming more aware and concerned about food wastage, and the movement against food waste is growing across the world.










Our bountiful harvest:

part 1

part 2

-Washing...
We set up several wash stations for our produce. Since the leafy greens are in close contact with the ground, bacterial contamination from the soil and compost can occur, so we had several bins at each wash station for triple washing our produce. Triple-washing helps to progressively decrease levels of any E. coli bacteria from the produce more effectively than a single wash.

Wash stations for triple washing

Washing in action

Washing radish 

-Drying and bagging...
After washing we dried the salad greens using the salad spinner and then proceeded to bagging the produce.

Bagging lettuce

Bagged lettuce

We also did a pre-market inventory count to help us later keep track and verify the accuracy of our sales.







-Weighing...

 We measured the total weight of each of our harvested produce.

Weighing our spinach harvest

-Record keeping...
We did some record-keeping of our harvest by hand. as pictured below. We recorded information on the variety and family of the produce, as well as the location, amount, area, and total weight harvested. This information helps us keep track of productivity of the land and whether any additional inputs or changes in management may be needed.

Harvest Records

-Bunching crimson clover...
There was also crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) planted at the terraces as cover crop that needed to be cut down for summer planting of our other vegetable crops. Especially in organic farming, cover crops have an essential role in nutrient cycling in the soil.

Nodulated crimson clover

Along the roots of the crimson clover are a few small swollen regions called nodules, which form from the symbiotic association of the roots with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, indicating that nitrogen fixation, the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonium and then to other forms available for plant uptake, has occured, just as we wanted.

Aside from its use as a cover crop, crimson clover also makes for a beautiful bouquet, so this week we decided to add some in as a special feature to our booth.

Crimson clover bunches

Crimson clover bouquet

 -Staking/Trellising Pea plants...
We also hammered down some stakes and created a trellis for our pea plants.

Trellis Construction

-Weeding...
We also did some weeding of purslane along the terraces with help of our mighty friend, the long-handled hoe, a hand tool for weeding. Weeding, especially if by hand, is one of the most labour-intensive, time-consuming parts of farming and we could not be grateful enough for having our friend come to our rescue!

Purslane

Long-handled hoe

-Marketing...
With all the market preparation work done, we then helped with managing our market booth.
We had a slow, steady flow of customers throughout the day, and managed to sell out on our pea shoots and swiss chard.

curious customers at our booth

featuring salad mixes, lettuce, kale, arugula... 

...swiss chard, pea shoots, licorice mint leaves, radishes, and crimson clover

It is quite fascinating how much can be grown and harvested just from the terraces--great job aggies! --and to be able to experience the process of growing, processing, and marketing our produce all at the local level and establish a new connection with the food system. As the two opposite ends of the food system, the consumer and producer, are brought together in closer connection, one could really see how each step of the system is dynamic and interdependent.