Picking and Post-Harvest Handling
How and when you pick makes a huge difference in produce quality. Different crops do best when picked at different times of day. Greens such as spinach, lettuce, mustard, chard and kale are best when harvested early in the morning before the dew evaporates off the leaves. Green beans, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, strawberries and raspberries are best when picked dry so wait until after mid morning to pick these. Roots such as potatoes, onions, garlic and carrots do not really have a best time of day so can be harvested at any time. The one exception to this are the radishes which should be picked as early in the day as possible.
Once fruits and vegetables have been picked they need to be handled again. Some of the requirements for fruits and vegetables are refrigeration, washing, left at room temperature, stored in the dark, or left dirty. Most are a combination of two or more requirements. Greens are delicate and cannot be exposed to direct sunlight or drying winds. It is a good idea to have towels covering bins or crates you will be harvesting into. This will keep the greens well covered at all times.
Greens also need washing and refrigeration for best quality. I like to get my greens back to the wash station within one-half hour of picking. At the wash station things are washed, spun dry and put into towel lined plastic crates, covered and put directly into the fridge.
Green beans do not need to be washed unless muddy. They need refrigeration. Keep covered with a towel or store in plastic bags in the fridge.
Tomatoes need to be kept out of refrigeration at all times and kept in indirect sunlight. If packing them in crates do not stack more than two tomatoes high.
Peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and zucchini need refrigeration and should be washed in cold water to remove field heat and dirt. Simply spray them with a hose. Let dry a few minutes in the shade and store in plastic bags to keep dehydration to a minimum.
Strawberries and raspberries need to be picked into the containers they will be sold in. The less handling you can give these fruits the better. Never wash berries. I pick into pulp containers and cover with food-grade plastic wrap and refridgerated as soon as possible.
Roots have different requirements. Carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips and rutabagas should be washed off after digging, put in towel lined crates, covered and store in refrigeration.
If you plan to store sweet onions longer than two months they need to be stored in a fridge. Without refridgeration they will last about two months at room temperature. Store out of direct sunlight. They do best stored in string bags hung in a dark cool place like a basement, root cellar, garage or barn. Storage onions and garlic need to be cured four to six weeks after digging. Keep them in an airy place that has only indirect sunlight and will not allow the onions and garlic to get wet. Once cured, knock off all loose wrappers and dirt, cut the roots and store at room temp out of direct sunlight.
Potatoes can be left fairly dirty until you want to sell them. Wash with cold water, let them dry in a dark area and they'll be ready for sale. If you are not selling them right away brush off the loose dirt but don't wash. Store in total darkness in a cool but not cold spot.
Basic equipment
Here is a short list of what you need to do a good basic harvest and handling job.
Containers
You have to have something to harvest into. Several years ago I bought plastic crates from Buckhorn Plastics. They cost about $2 more than wooden bushel baskets but are going strong five years later, something I cannot say about the bushel baskets we used to use for harvesting. If you do not want to invest in plastic crates (I highly suggest you do) bushel baskets are easy to find, reasonably cheap and work. Five gallon plastic food grade buckets such as those pickles are store in also work well for a lot of things. Do not use drywall mud or other construction material buckets-they are not food grade. Plastic grocery bags work well for greens and are cheap and plentiful.
Towels
Towels are indispensable for keeping produce from dehydrating. I like using beach towel size because they cover well but any bath towel will work. These do need to be washed at least once a week and bleaching them is recommended.
Knives
Lots of things need cutting, especially the leafy greens, and a good sharp knife is essential. I have been known to use my paring knives to harvest with but this is not a good idea as cutting produce is a real quick way to dull a knife. A 4" to 5" blade is ideal for harvesting.
Garden Cart
This is essential for hauling several crates or baskets of harvest back to the packing area at once. It also gives you a place to keep tools you need.
Wash Tub
Greens need washing in a tub of some sort. I like the 35 gallon plastic no-name tubs one can get at any major box store. Fill with cold water from a potable water source, dump the greens in and wash gently.
Hose
Need this to fill the tub and also to wash off non leafy green crops (peppers, carrots, turnips, etc.). A spray gun attachment is mighty useful.
Refrigerator
Most new growers do not think they need refrigeration. They are wrong. Refrigeration is necessary for good to excellent quality. Nutrition starts to go downhill within a few minutes of harvest in most produce but if the produce can be chilled down below 40°F the nutrition loss is slowed dramatically and the eating quality is higher. You will not lose nearly as much product to rot and poor quality. A used home fridge is fine to start with but as you get bigger you will need more and more fridge space and will likely need to eventually upgrade to a big commercial reach-in or even a walk-in cooler.
These are the basic items that the neophyte market grower needs to pick and pack their goods for market. As a grower gets bigger they will need more sophisticated equipment and larger packing facilities but a farmer can go a long time on cheap and simple tools.