3 Reasons to Get Excited About a Greenhouse
Colin McCrate of the Seattle Urban Farm Co. on why he is jazzed about a greenhouse and more.
There are a few things, while easily overlooked by the consumer, that farmers and growers get. Colin McCrate, founder of the Seattle Urban Farm Co. understands what great excitement lies in the prospect of new infrastructure as they launch aBarnraiser project to build a new greenhouse.Here are three things that get his heart pounding.
1 . If you build it they will come, and they already have.
As a small grower, Colin gets inundated with requests to tour the farm, and has little capacity to do so. He is excited to change that. “Because our mission is about letting everybody have access to the food system, it’s really hard to say no. I’m excited to have spaces that expand our ability to bring people onto the farm.”
2. Kissing that silly, inefficient sink goodbye.
“It’s funny, it’s one of those things that is definitely more interesting to the people who are involved in growing than people who are not,” Colin laughed about. “The general public doesn’t usually understand what an important detail [the washing station] is and how important it is for a small farm.”
Farmers will nod at the fact that a proper washing station can make or break the efficiency of your operation. The harvest is time consuming enough; but washing, prepping and packing the product can take twice as long. Add the wrong conditions, and sweltering sun, and you could be risking quite a bit of valuable product. Just the one look at a proper blueprint for a well-designed packing station would make any grower go ga-ga. So if you’re a farmer, nodding your head, you might want to nerd out with Colin, because that’s just what he and the team at SUFC have set out to do. This well thought out packing station will act as a resource to growers like you.
“There’s all sorts of food safety laws coming down the pipeline, so we are trying to set up something that would serve as an example for farmers and growers who want to overhaul their washing and packing station,” Colin explained. “We’re hoping to create a space that is really well-designed and built to the legal specifications, so that other growers can come see how it works and how it was all put together.”
3. No more traveling tomatoes!
Seattle has never been known for its balmy summers, which limits their production. The greenhouse will allow them to increase their production, expand the pallet of vegetables grown in the Seattle area. “We have a pretty limited capacity in this climate to grow some crops that would be considered warm weather crops like tomatoes, basil, and peppers.” Colin emphasized. “With this greenhouse, we could increase the production of those crops close to the city, rather than bring them in from eastern Washington.”
Be a part of the expansion of the Seattle Urban Farm Co, by supporting their campaign. And maybe one day, you will get the opportunity to nerd out over a sink, as well.
Barnraiser is the community powering the food movement, one project at a time. Our mission is to put a billion dollars into the hands of food innovators as they reshape a healthy food world. Join the movement and bring us your projects! Contact us: projects@barnraiser.us
