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Originally published:

FEBRUARY 2021
Vol. 107 Issue 2

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Stories In This Edition

CPR on ALR Track

Sea of greens

Farm properties rising

Genomics lab expands service to local growers

Editorial: Put farmers first

Back 40: Knowing when to pull back on extensions

Viewpoint: A watershed moment for BC farms

Egg producer questions support for local eggs

Milk consumption up among young minorities

Nutrient recovery system in third phase

North Saanich approves Sandown proprosal

Tsartlip acquire Woodwyn Farm with provincial help

Woodwynn Farm was first known as Mawuec

Pandemic was profitable for nursery growers

Researcher brings experience to sweet role

Consultant delivered practical advice

Tributes pour in for Island farmer Colin Springford

On-farm abattoir approved for Alberni Valley

Plans for a provincial weather network move forward

Feedlots under pressure with kill instability

If you go out in the woods today …

Round bale bounty

CFIA services get a funding boost

Help available for farm business succession

Sidebar: Considering all the options

Diversification helps farms prepare for challenges

Creston advocacy group continues push for food hub

Frind matches his love of data with grape production

Greenhouse sets example for others to follow

On-farm food networks wire farms for success

OK irrigation systems have a long history

Pemberton family farms beer with deep roots

When life gives you lemons

Personal money strategy as important as farm stragegy

Farm Story: Winter brings the distractions of technology

Well-designed vegetable coolers make for hot sales

Woodshed: Janice Newberry sets the record straight

Research: Plants can recognize attacking herbivores

Jude’s Kitchen: Super simple

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The Greenery Garden Centre opened on Friday, the earliest ever for the Kelowna nursery. Head grower Bob Hackman says they grew more tropicals this winter to meet increased demand. On Friday, shoppers lined up to get a touch of spring. Growing out more tropicals from smaller plants brought up from the coast was completed to keep retail costs affordable while still generating some profit. Some of the plants were started last August. Typically, the greenhouse opens the third week in March. Subscribe to our monthly newspaper, the agricultural news source for BC's farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

9 hours ago

The Greenery Garden Centre opened on Friday, the earliest ever for the Kelowna nursery. Head grower Bob Hackman says they grew more tropicals this winter  to meet increased demand. On Friday, shoppers lined up to get a touch of spring. Growing out more tropicals from smaller plants brought up from the coast was completed to keep retail costs affordable while still generating some profit. Some of the plants were started last August. Typically, the greenhouse opens the third week in March. Subscribe to our monthly newspaper, the agricultural news source for BCs farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur
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Day one of the BC Cherry Growers Association's annual general meeting today saw the entire board acclaimed in their current positions: president Sukhpaul Bal, Valley Orchards, Kelowna; vice president David A. Geen, Jealous Fruits, Lake Country; secretary Graem Nelson, Consolidated Fruit Packers, Creston; treasurer Erin Carlson, Savanna Ridge Orchard, Carajou Fruit Fruit Company, Summerland, and directors at large Harman Bahniwal, Ravi Dhaliwal, Dr. David H. Geen, Richard Isaacs, Dariel Trottier and Neal Van Der Helm. The association represents over 120 BC cherry growers or about 90% of all growers in the province. Subscribe to Country Life in BC in time to receive our March paper, in the mail next week. buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Day one of the BC Cherry Growers Associations annual general meeting today saw the entire board acclaimed in their current positions: president Sukhpaul Bal, Valley Orchards, Kelowna; vice president David A. Geen, Jealous Fruits, Lake Country; secretary Graem Nelson, Consolidated Fruit Packers, Creston; treasurer Erin Carlson, Savanna Ridge Orchard, Carajou Fruit Fruit Company, Summerland, and directors at large Harman Bahniwal, Ravi Dhaliwal, Dr. David H. Geen, Richard Isaacs, Dariel Trottier and Neal Van Der Helm. The association represents over 120 BC cherry growers or about 90% of all growers in the province. Subscribe to Country Life in BC in time to receive our March paper, in the mail next week. https://buff.ly/2ReiFur
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Nine post-secondary institutions have signed on with the province’s FeedBC program, with a goal to increasing the use of BC food on campus to 30%. The program is already in place at a number of regional health authorities, including Interior Health, Fraser Health and Northern Health. The nine schools represent some of the largest post-secondary institutions in BC, which number 25 province-wide. The participation of post-secondary institutions was made possible through a partnership with the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, highlighting the inter-ministry focus on agriculture under the new BC NDP government formed last fall. Subscribe to the print edition of Country Life in BC: buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Nine post-secondary institutions have signed on with the province’s FeedBC program, with a goal to increasing the use of BC food on campus to 30%. The program is already in place at a number of regional health authorities, including Interior Health, Fraser Health and Northern Health. The nine schools represent some of the largest post-secondary institutions in BC, which number 25 province-wide. The participation of post-secondary institutions was made possible through a partnership with the BC Ministry of Advanced Education, highlighting the inter-ministry focus on agriculture under the new BC NDP government formed last fall. Subscribe to the print edition of Country Life in BC: buff.ly/2ReiFur
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Ottawa is developing plans to quarantine incoming seasonal workers at no additional cost to farmers, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said today. While non-essential travellers will be required to quarantine at a hotel as of February 22, foreign farm workers can continue to their usual quarantine location until mid-March, when Ottawa will announce its quarantine plan for them. Bibeau told Country Life in BC today that Ottawa is budgeting $2,000 per worker, but this amount will vary by province. She indicated that Ottawa plans to cover quarantine costs BC has been covering since last year. Read more in the monthly print edition of Country Life in BC, the agricultural news source for BC's farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Ottawa is developing plans to quarantine incoming seasonal workers at no additional cost to farmers, federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said today. While non-essential travellers will be required to quarantine at a hotel as of February 22, foreign farm workers can continue to their usual quarantine location until mid-March, when Ottawa will announce its quarantine plan for them. Bibeau told Country Life in BC today that Ottawa is budgeting $2,000 per worker, but this amount will vary by province. She indicated that Ottawa plans to cover quarantine costs BC has been covering since last year. Read more in the monthly print edition of Country Life in BC, the agricultural news source for BCs farmers and ranchers. buff.ly/2ReiFur
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Today is the final deadline to submit nominations for the BC Fruit Growers' Association board of directors. Like many other agricultural organizations, BCFGA's annual meeting will be online this year, on February 25, so there will be no nominations taken from the floor. buff.ly/3abkzEZ ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago

Today is the final deadline to submit nominations for the BC Fruit Growers Association board of directors. Like many other agricultural organizations, BCFGAs annual meeting will be online this year, on February 25, so there will be no nominations taken from the floor. https://buff.ly/3abkzEZ
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Well-designed vegetable coolers make for hot sales

Cold storage for small farms doesn’t have to be high-tech

February 2, 2021 byRonda Payne

MARA – It’s a feat to grow outstanding vegetables, but without proper storage all that goodness can be lost.

In 28 years of farming, Hermann Bruns and wife Louise, owners of Mara-based Wild Flight Farm, have learned a thing or two about how to keep produce in the kind of condition that delivers profits to them and pleasure to customers.

Kootenay & Boundary Farm Advisors hosted a virtual farm tour on December 8 where Bruns outlined his five distinct storage areas and how they keep vegetables at their best. The organic farm grows a wide range of field vegetables on about 12 acres each year including potatoes, cabbage, squashes, onions, garlic and carrots. Wild Flight sells through farmers markets and a few wholesale customers.

“Each [vegetable] group has their own requirements for storage temperature and humidity,” he explains.

The building was custom built in 2001 and expanded in 2012. The walls, ceiling and concrete floors are insulated according to the needs of each of the five coolers. The facility wasn’t cheap, but it was the most efficient route for the variety of crops Bruns stores.

The first cooler is for squash, which are kept stem up on wooden shelves. The shelves are built four-high on top of pallets, which can be easily moved with a pallet jack. A thermostat at the far end of the room connects to a fan that blows outside air in, keeping the temperature between seven and 10° C. A ceiling fan promotes air circulation.

“They want it dry,” says Bruns. “One way to keep it dry is to keep the air moving all the time.”

Squash can be problematic and Bruns says even when everything is done correctly, they may not store well. He feels the region’s cooler temperatures prevent the squash from fully ripening.

Squash, other than acorn or pumpkins, are left to cure at 30° C for a week before entering storage. This allows them to keep until February or March. Pumpkins and acorn squash don’t keep past December.

“We throw out way too many squash in my opinion,” he says. “There’s lots of room for improvement on the squash storage front.”

The second cooler is the main vegetable storage. Bruns keeps his cabbage here in unlined apple bins with plastic on top. Bagged carrots and parsnips are also kept in apple bins as are loose beets with a plastic liner. Temperatures are kept as close to zero as possible with active refrigeration, which is monitored using a small dish of water. A skim of ice is good, solid ice means it’s too cold.

The plastic liners and bags help to manage humidity and prevent drying out.

“We don’t add moisture. On a small scale, it’s a little too complicated to do that,” he says. “There are definitely larger-scale coolers that do that.”

The third cooler is designated for apples and pears brought in from other farms. While these also like to be kept close to zero degrees and have active refrigeration, the fruits emit ethylene that impacts the flavour and storage quality of vegetables, so they get their own cooler.

“We don’t want to have the apples together with the carrots, for example, because ethylene makes the carrots taste bitter,” he says. “If the carrots are sprouting, it’s not cold enough.”

The fourth cooler is kept at about 5° C using outdoor air. Bruns stores his potatoes here in sacks. They’re unwashed until it’s time to sell them, to keep the humidity low and prevent disease.

Keeping potatoes too cool will cause them to convert their starches into sugars, impacting flavour and texture.

The fifth cooler is for onions and garlic and ranges from zero to 15° C with constant air movement to keep the produce dry. Bruns allows this room to get warmer because the demand for onions and garlic exceeds his supply so long-term storage isn’t the goal.

“They like to be close to zero as well, but what’s really important to them is that they are dry,” he says.

All coolers are checked daily to ensure temperature, humidity and air flow are in the right ranges.

Other elements that are important to consider when building a vegetable storage facility include smooth concrete so bins on rollers can be moved easily, a capacity greater than currently needed (and enough room to move around), coolers that maintain an even temperature, six-foot door frames for ease of movement and establishment of efficient flow of product and workers.

“You really want to pay attention to things and how much you need to move them around,” he says. “You really want to reduce the amount of times you have to lift and move a box of produce.”

 

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