VT trip part 1: Harlow Farm in Westminster, VT
Narrated by Ciaran
Michael, Kate, and I took a trip to Vermont today to renew an old relationship and perhaps start a new one. First, was to see Paul Harlow, of Harlow Farms, in Westminster Vermont.
Leaf lettuce field at Harlow Farm.
Paul grows organic romaine hearts for us and last year was not a good year. There were quality issues with his product and we needed to figure out where they stemmed from. To help us figure it out, Rich Bonanno from Pleasant Valley Gardens, came up to help.
Team lettuce inspects the fields.
The farmers discussed their post-harvest methods for packing and figured out the best way to minimize quality issues from the growers end. Also discussed was the need to move towards Good Agricultural Practices or G.A.P. certification, which is an industry standard for food safety. To help us with that was a rep from Agricultural Consulting Services Inc. It just so happens that Rich is also a GAP certified grower and trainer so he was an enormous help. Read more about RT’s work with food safety here.
Part 2: Vermont Hydroponics coming tomorrow.
