Self-harvesting guidelines for Farmizens

We love it when you come to the farm and harvest your own produce. It’s highly recommended because –

a. You get a better sense of growing status of each bed – at a more granular level than the app can update you on.

b. You get some dirt under your fingernails – and this is awesome for health. Multiple research reports have proven the presence of microbes in the soil, which enter our body when we do gardening or farming, and these microbes regulate stress hormone levels. So, coming to the farm is actually good for your health !

c. You can pick and choose vegetables at the tenderness/ripeness level you prefer. If you rely only on home deliveries, we send vegetables on the day of your harvest from your plots – we cannot take into account individual preferences because it would add way too much operational overhead !

d. You can choose to pick up some, and give away the rest if you want to – you can leave them with the farmer, and we will ask one of our not-for-profit partners to come and collect, or share it with other farmizens who drop in.

Usually farmers are around 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Saturday – they may not always be able to assist you, especially if they are busy with harvesting since those tasks must be completed within a particular timeline in order to have our delivery trucks leave the farm on time.

When you do come to the farm – here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Get a hat, some sun-screen, and some water.
2. Get 1-2 big bags, knives and scissors to use as harvesting tools.
3. Ask the farmer to show you the common area – you can harvest from the common area, in addition to harvesting from your own plot. However, please restrict harvests from the common area to 3-4 kgs maximum, so that there is enough for other Farmizens as well !
4. Note that, for self-harvests, you are supposed to harvest your crops yourself. Farmers can show you how to do it , if you are not sure – but please avoid asking them to harvest it for you – since that interferes with their regular work schedules.
5. Under no circumstances, should you harvest from someone else’s mini-farm – even if you spot a tempting veggie or two 🙂 !

We put together a document that shows you how you should be harvesting each crop in your bed – please refer to it. Most of your harvesting doubts should be addressed by it. Download the harvesting pictorial guide by clicking the link below – keep it with you for a ready reference when you visit the farm next:

FarmizenHarvestingGuide1.0