This document provides details about Three Springs Farm, a 20-acre certified organic farm located 65 miles east of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The farm is operated by Emily Oakley and Michael Appel with no additional labor. They sell their produce through a local farmer's market and CSA program. Harvesting is the most labor intensive activity and involves cutting crops, sorting, washing, and packing them into bins and crates to be stored in the farm's walk-in cooler. The farm has made improvements to their post-harvest handling, wash station, and cooler to increase efficiency and protect their health.

1. Emily Oakley & Michael Appel
Three Springs Farm
Oaks, Oklahoma

2. 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

3. 3
HARVESTING: Single-most labor
intensive activity on our farm

4. 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.

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

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

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

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

9. Different bins for different crops.

10. Bagging keeps greens
fresh and sells more.

11. 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.

12. Cucumbers are harvested into
buckets and then emptied into crates.

13. Basil is the only crop bunched in the field.

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

15. Improved post-harvest handling.

16. 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.

17. Learning from our
mistakes

18. Improved Cool Room

19. 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).