Operations Manager for Balletto Ranch, Garth Harding. We could never grow enough. So from 40 acres, he went to 100. The 100 soon doubled and doubled again until today his salad and vegetable crops cover more than 700 acres. Almost everything grown at Balletto Ranch is hand picked.
Harvesting is a two-handed job, one to hold the leaves or lettuce head, the other to cut it off.
Pickers are taught what size and quality to select for each customer. They also know what makes the crop turn bad, so every leaf or lettuce head picked is a quality choice. Anything with yellow leaves, mildew, or any indication of a problem that would cause it to go bad is left in the field. Crews of a dozen or more pickers move rapidly through a field in the cool air of early morning. As the lettuce is picked it is put into pre-printed waxed cartons, the very containers in which it will be shipped a few hours later, but not before receiving a very cold bath.