Emily Oakley & Michael AppelThree Springs Farm

Oaks, Oklahoma

Our Farm

• Own 20 acres: 3 in annuals & 1 in perennials• Located 65 miles east of Tulsa• USDA Certified Organic through ODAFF• Sell through Tulsa Farmers’ Market and 120+

member Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)• Two + person farm—no hired labor/interns• Full-time job• Starting our 14th season

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HARVESTING: Single-most labor intensive activity on our farm

Spring Crops• Harvest root crops (carrots, radishes, turnips, green

onions, etc.) on Thursday.• Harvest leaf crops and brassicas on Friday.• Harvest as much as we can in the morning.• Sort, bunch, and wash in the afternoon.• Nothing is bunched in the field. • Only root crops are bunched; everything else is sold by

the head or by the pound.• Loose greens are bagged in the morning at the market.

Harvesting greens. We cut the plants off near the base with a serrated knife.

Harvesting root crops. We use either a digging fork or this under-cutter bar.

Root crops are harvested into bins. Bunching takes place in the barn.

Head lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower are packed into bins directly in the field. They go straight into the cooler-rarely washed.

Different bins for different crops.

Bagging keeps greens fresh and sells more.

Summer Crops

• Harvest tomatoes twice a week—Tuesday/Friday. Each tomato is individually cleaned and sorted. Seconds are sold in 5# bags for $5.

• Squash – Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Hose and cover with a wet towel to retain moisture.

• Cucumbers - Thursday. • Basil, eggplant, and peppers - Friday. • Clean potatoes, onions, garlic in the afternoon on

Thursdays.

Cucumbers are harvested into buckets and then emptied into crates.

Basil is the only crop bunched in the field.

A weakness in our system: using the shade of the truck during harvest and then loading up to haul to the barn.

Improved post-harvest handling.

Wash Station and Cool Room

• Obey Ergonomics: Finally invested in a single level (no steps) wash station and cooler floor.

• Limits lifting, carrying, and stepping.

• Saves time and our backs.• Use paletitas to stack, and

dolly produce from the wash station to the cooler.

Learning from our mistakes

Improved Cool Room

How We Built Our Cooler

• 8 x 12 cool room in existing barn on Northeast side.• Insulated cement floor with 2 inch rigid foam.• 2 x 6 studs with Roxul (R23) insulation. Water and

insect resistant.• 1 inch rigid foam board (R5) on the outside of studs

(taped at seams). Then tar paper. Metal siding.• Hardiboard on the inside walls. Painted and caulked.• Prehung insulated door with vinyl curtains. • 12,000 BTU A/C.• Design inspiration - storeitcold.com (great website!). • Total cost - $5,000 (includes concrete).