Well, after a reinvigorating week in Mexico, (cough, cough) I am back at it!
Today I started with bench assembly. My friend Dale, who will be helping me with production was helping me build benches today.
Before starting bench assembly we covered the sprouting area with bark mulch. The mulch was free (left over from a UBC event) so I thought I would take advantage of that resource. The mulch not only makes the area look cleaner but it will also help with water drainage which will help avoid standing water problems. We were lucky that Tim was at the farm and was able to use the tractor to dump the mulch right in the area, saving us a good hour or so of work.
After spreading out the mulch we started working on the benches. The first order of business was determining the height of the bench tops. we wanted to get the optimum height to make lifting and moving the trays as easy as possible. We found that having a higher bench top felt easier and so settled on a height of about 41″ This will be slightly different once the benches are placed, but we have lots of room to play with.
So we started by cutting the bench legs, which are made of synthetic lumber and getting them ready to mount the bench tops. We then screwed support braces to them and moved them and the bench tops to the sprouting area. we also were able to use a large unused bench that was on sight as a potting bench for the trays.
Tomorrow I will be picking up irrigation supplies and some urbanite (broken up concrete pieces) for the base of the legs. I also ordered the compost sand mix which will likely be delivered on Thursday. I will lay out some cardboard and lumber wrap to place the compost on.
I hope that I will get at least one of the benches built tomorrow which will feel really good to have done.
I also talked to one of the organic food delivery companies today (SPUD) and after a good long conversation they said they would be interested in taking some sprouts.
So things are looking up. First market is June 6, but I hope to et some batches in before then as a trial run….
Here are some pictures of today’s activities and perhaps the first picture with me actually in it!
Here is my buddy, Dale, looking cool as fuck as he prepares to torture another piece of lumber with his stunning good looks
Here I am, happy as hell to see these benches in place. Behind me is the tray prep bench, while the harvest table will be in front of me.