Looking for ideas or setups that people use for washing all the storage root crops (greens removed). We are small scale and don’t have the space for a root washer in our wash area. Looking for more makeshift methods that people use to get nice clean roots. Right now I simply dump veggies on our wash table and spray down but this seems time consuming and rather ineffective.
Thanks!
I used to do just that because I didn’t have (take the?) time to build a root washer.
I would lay out my root veggies (carrots, beets, etc. but with the foliage on and bunched) on a table with a mesh top and spray the crap out of them with a hose (using a high pressure setting) which also involves turning them over and spraying some more which is pretty time consuming.
Later in the season when I don’t keep the tops on, I could get away with just having them in bins and spraying into the bins and shaking the whole thing around as I spray. It’s backbreaking, your feet get hellawet (yes, that’s a word) and it used loads of water. Not my favourite part of the day, especially after cold weather sets in!
In retrospect, I would definitely take the time and prioritize building the root washer. It would have saved me plenty of time (you can bag other stuff or do whatever else while the washer runs), created fewer body aches and wet socks, saved water, limited use of our well pump, and produced better results to boot!
There are the typical rotary drum models of course, but at the 2015 EFAO conference I saw a slide of an interesting rotary table type of washer that looked interesting too. But neither will solve your issue if you are lacking in the space department.
I’ve never tried this myself but… old stainless steel washing machine maybe? I’ve seen people wash their greens in there, but never root veggies. Although put two of those together and it takes about as much space as a full fledged root washer anyway, so…
Anyone else have some insight?