You may have noticed that our vegetables arrive unwashed. There are practical reasons for this. We don't yet have a dedicated wash station, which keeps our startup costs low. More importantly, once many vegetables are washed, they need to be refrigerated immediately. By harvesting them fresh and leaving them unwashed, they stay fresher for longer.
Most of our produce is harvested the morning of delivery. A few crops are picked the evening before simply because there are only two of us harvesting. Crops like zucchini and tomatoes may also be harvested throughout the week and stored at room temperature until your box is packed.
Your root vegetables and leafy greens come directly from the field on delivery day. This means you will likely find a little soil—or even the occasional bug. We like to think of that as proof your vegetables come directly from our farm to you.
HOW MANY WASHES?!?
Here's something to think about.
When you buy produce at a grocery store or even at many farmers markets, do you eat it without washing it?
Probably not.
So why wash vegetables multiple times before they ever reach your kitchen?
Commercial produce is often harvested, washed, sorted, packed, transported, unpacked, displayed, purchased, and then washed again at home. That's a lot of water, handling, equipment, and energy.
Our vegetables are harvested, packed, and delivered directly to you. You wash them once, right before you eat them. It saves water, reduces equipment and energy use, and keeps the produce fresher.
By choosing The Flocking Great Farm you are not only supporting small local agriculture and eating delicious food, but you are also helping change the mindset that delicious produce doesn't need to be uniform in color and size nor available all year round. Dirty misshaped veggies taste good, let our taste buds lead us to a better future.
