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  • From: KAKerby AT aol.com
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Market-farming] another wilting question
  • Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 13:31:22 EDT

I had an interesting conversation with someone yesterday at market who claimed that the harvesting implement can have a big impact on what wilts and what doesn't.  I got to thinking about his comments and they at least sound plausible so I thought I'd run them by the group and see what y'all think.
 
His theory is that any cutting device which shears or cuts the stem (for instance, a straight knife or bypass shears like scissors) will tear so much tissue that the leaf will essentially bleed out from the stem.  However, if the stem is pinched or crushed before being cut (for instance, with snips where one straight blade "bottoms out" on a flat plate), then the stem's vein tissues are compressed and the "bleedout" is much reduced, leading to less wilt.

Seemed a far-fetched idea when I first heard it but then upon further reflection that actually made sense.  I've always used standard bypass shears with a curved blade, and I do get frustrated sometimes with the "tear" I see occurring if I don't cut just right.  And sometimes I'll notice that my lettuce plants bleed after I remove a leaf.  I'm using cut-and-come-again harvesting so preserving both the leaf and the parent plant is important.  Anyone else ever take the time to look at this aspect of things and try different methods? 
 
I know temps and humidity are also an issue but I've had wilt problems when the air temp was in the 40's and humidity was right up there.  So there must be some other variable in that "wilt equation".  Comments?
Kathryn Kerby
frogchorusfarm.com
Snohomish, WA



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