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market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] recommended salad dryers

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  • From: Chris Bailey <chrisbailey.wenatchee AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] recommended salad dryers
  • Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 22:28:01 -0700

I second (or third) the endorsement of the washing machine method.  I bought a $40 Kenmore recently that has a small leak (don't care -- it's outdoors on gravel), but otherwise works great.  I don't have it hooked up to water anyway, just plugged in.  I keep the drain hose where I can see the output as it spins and when it slows to a trickle, I have a pretty good idea that I can stop spinning.

It took 5 minutes to remove the agitator, a few minutes with a saw to cut it apart and reinstall the top part which covers the drum spindle (it was plastic and looked easier to keep clean than the steel spindle, and didn't take up any space), and 20 minutes to give everything a deep cleaning and sterilization.  I also disassembled the lid hinge so it's just a removable lid and out of the way when I'm working, and over-rode the spin safety switch with foam earplugs (handy) so it would operate with the lid off.  Voila!  Greens spinner with attitude.

Now I pick into coolers or totes, dump directly into hydrocooling tank (half apple concentrate barrels with 2-4 1-gallon ice jugs sunk in a mesh bag with a clean rock), dunk greens a few times by hand, repeat in the second hydrocooling tank if necessary, use el-cheapo pool skimmer to scoop from the tanks to the washing machine, spin for few minutes and hand remove to coolers or totes.  The washing machine will easily handle 1.5 bushel batches at a time, possibly more, but I haven't tried.

I'm finding I have much less handling damage than when I was using mesh bags and getting drier product.  I've also minimized the handling steps and the time when batches of greens are out at room temperature to literally just a minute or two.  To keep the machine clean, I use a little dish soap and/or very mild bleach solution and a garden hose to wash it out, and the spin cycle to drain that wash water. 

Overall, I'm very pleased.  I think I'll paint it green this winter and maybe give it some flame details.

Chris Bailey
Bailey's Farm Fresh Produce
Wenatchee, Washington



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