Crop Production and Postharvest Processing

This unit teaches planning and managing planting spaces for vegetables, herbs, and other small-scale crops, including soil health, composting, pest control, and basic greenhouse considerations. It also covers harvest, short- and long-term storage, home food preservation and value-added processing (cheeses, yogurt, baked goods), basic meat and fiber handling, and options for selling or marketing surplus.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze site conditions, crop selection, and planting schedules to create a scaled planting plan that matches household needs or small-scale market goals
• Apply soil management, composting, and integrated pest management practices to prepare and maintain productive planting beds or greenhouse systems, using basic soil testing and amendment techniques
• Demonstrate safe harvest, postharvest handling, and both short- and long-term preservation techniques (cellaring, refrigeration, canning/drying, cheesemaking, fermenting) and prepare one value-added home product to standard storage/food-safety guidelines
• Evaluate on-farm processing and marketing options — including meat cutting/selling whole-animal, small-batch value-added goods, and fiber collection/processing — and develop a simple production-to-market plan for at least one product