This was a project of the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group, designed and presented by Tim Landgraf, Landgraf Consulting; drawings by Andrew Landgraf, GenX7 Design; Photographs by Jerry DeWitt, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. June 2011
About this project ![sinks](/files/susag_pics/sinks_rounded.jpg)
After touring several smaller vegetable producers across Iowa, the Fruit and Vegetable Working Group identified a need to publish a low-cost system design for washing vegetables on the farm.
Here we present two designs for vegetable washing systems. All drawings are presented in the Adobe PDF file format for ease of use. Approximate costs to construct both systems are provided.
Wash Station Design 1 is based on the design of the vegetable washing station at One Step at a Time Gardens, located near Kanawha, Iowa. This system is designed to provide a simple and effective method of hand washing fresh vegetables using materials commonly available at a modest cost from a large hardware store or building material retail outlet. Photographs of the wash station are from One Step at a Time Gardens.
Wash Station Design 2 expands the first system to allow higher throughputs of vegetables. Commercially available vegetable washing and handling equipment are identified in the layout. This system also incorporates a cement floor and commercially available hoophouse covering for an extended season of operation. The addition of heating to the structure would extend the season even further. This system can be seen as a step between the simple, covered, open-air system in the first design and a fully-enclosed, food-handling building for post-harvest processing of fresh vegetables (not included in this project).
About One Step at a Time Gardens: Owned by Tim Landgraf and Jan Libbey, this farm produces vegetables, herbs, raspberries and pastured poultry. The farm’s primary markets are a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation, area farmers markets, direct-to-consumer marketing and some targeted wholesale accounts. The farm is located near Kanawha in north central Iowa. With roughly eight acres in vegetable production, the farm harvests fresh vegetable produce 5-6 days each week during the summer and fall. Visit their website at http://www.ostgardens.com.