Maximum Yield USA 2012 March | Page 150

Maintain Your Grain sample and note the precise weight of the material. Then bake the sample in the oven at a very high heat for a few hours. Measure the weight of the sample again, directly out of the oven—avoid waiting too long after taking the plant material out because it can actually reabsorb moisture and throw off your calculation. Finally, for the calculation, subtract the smaller weight from the larger weight. This number is then divided by the original larger weight. The result will give you the moisture content of your original sample. Keep in mind the more accurate your measurement, the more accurate your moisture content calculation will be. The main goal of processing, regardless of method, is to extend the shelf life of a product while maintaining quality. There are other types of processing besides dehydration—the herbal cultivation industry also uses extraction processing, for instance. Extraction is achieved by using one of several different solvents at various temperatures and pressures. Other common types of processing are freezing, freeze drying and canning. After cooling and processing are completed you’ll have to consider storage options. There are many variables that can degrade plant products during storage. Oxygen and other gases influence degradation the most, along with light, heat, moisture and pests.Yes, we breathe it—but oxygen is probably the most destructive molecule on the planet! Several oxygen radicals are toxic to all living cells in both plants and animals. One example is ozone (O3), which we currently use in many sterilization processes. Other examples of radical oxygen varieties are super oxide and even hydrogen peroxide, both byproducts of metabolic 148 Maximum Yield USA | March 2012 processes. Once you have reached a low enough water content (less than 15 per cent) you can store most products safely in an airtight container so that oxygen and humidity are excluded and cannot degrade the commodity. As an added precaution nitrogen gas can be blown surface waxes and this can be a problem because many secondary metabolites are stored in the surface waxes. A solution for light degradation can be as simple as storing the product in opaque containers. Once your products are in storage there are still a few more challenges to address. Moisture can creep into the smallest imaginable places and ruin a stored crop. Simple warming and cooling can cause condensation, which will produce just enough moisture to encourage mold. Heat is also known to degrade the structure of all proteins and the amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that make up plant tissue are also susceptible. If you can’t store your harvested crops in a cold room they should be at least be stored somewhere cool, where temperatures never exceed 75°F. You should also be aware of the possibility of pests in any storage situation—if there is a food source, pests are adept at finding it. The best solution is to pay close attention and not let creatures like rats, roaches or ants sneak into your storage area while you are visiting. Precision growing for production is very labor-intensive and those who achieve long-term success deserve an enormous amount of respect for their accomplishments. The grower’s work begins before planting and continues long after harvest and involves meeting many difficult challenges along the way to maintain the quality of the final product for the consumer. Keep this in mind the next time you select fresh vegetables or herbs from your local grocery store—and perhaps you’ll begin to develop a newfound respect for the precision grower. And if you are that grower, pat yourself on the back—we salute you! MY "Have you have ever been told not to put apples