Bucket Washing

Here is a quick tip for accomplishing bucket washing in a different way. This was a solution to a problem that we didn’t know we wanted and it came to us when we were looking into all of our routine daily tasks and trying to determine which of those tasks could be easily done off-site.

Here’s how we store and organize the buckets that we use for cut flowers. This is just one task of many that we’ve identified as a project that can be done from home if you have anyone who is looking for more hours or is unable to physically be at your farm. In a similar vein- our dahlia tuber storage containers are washed this way, and vases and other vessels for event work can be washed this way. Candle holders can be cleaned this way. If you’re doing a task that is preventing you from having your hands on your plants or that is slowing your operation down, take a moment and see if it’s really necessary that it happen when and where it’s happening now. Sometimes you can get a jump start on your day by “thinking outside the farm.”

Parting advice for the end of this bucket washing segment: to conserve resources (water and soap) use a “camping style” washing process. Beginning with the cleanest buckets, use just a couple drops of dish soap and about 1/4 bucket of water or so to scrub and wash. Transfer that soapy water to the next bucket and do the same thing and so on to the next bucket and the next one after that. And then rinse your buckets using a similar method. If you have super dirty buckets you may want to use separate soapy water for each one and/or use something to sanitize them, like a tiny bit of bleach. Rinse each one separately then, too. Be sure to keep any brushes used for scrubbing away from anything else you might use them for- make them dedicated flower bucket scrubbers so you don’t bring in any nasty bacteria.