Wash those greens

Field washed, but may need more

All of our farms are field washing those greens. We do that for a two primary reasons:

1. Get the field heat out of the produce so it lasts longer - washing gets them cool fast!
2. Clean off dirt and insects - we like healthy dirt and avoid pesticides, but we prefer not to eat the resulting soil and insects.

Even though we thoroughly wash the greens, you'll still find some dirt on them at times, especially during a rainy season or items which tend to grow close to the ground.

But grocery greens never have dirt...

Most of the organic greens you eat in a grocery are raised in a desert or somewhere without precipitation. They drain lakes and rivers or worse, empty aquifers of a millennium worth of rain. All to provide drip irrigation during their dry seasons (which are most of the year).

All that water moving across states or centuries is what allows us to have year-round produce out of season. This structure has the added benefit of no falling water to splash up onto the produce.

However, it is pretty destructive to the environment and overall ecosystem, especially in California where most of that produce is grown.

Foods that can be grown here in Minnesota, ought to be grown here.

We want our produce grown in healthy soil that is being managed to sequester carbon and retain water -- that protects lakes and streams as well as future generations... as a bonus, it makes healthy food for us!

However it also means nature is going to impact some of our crops and even with all our washing, we can't get 100% of the dirt or insects.

Benefit of a good cold soak at home

At home, you can really perk up your greens by soaking them in cold water. This has the added benefit of rinsing away any dirt or insects that our washing might have missed.