Plastic boxes are placed in a large crate made from retrofitted hog panels. The crates ride a rail made from an old bowling ball return gutter. The entire system is operated by pulling a cable. The spin cycle rids the lettuce of excess water by placing the greens in a mesh bag inside the washer. The closet-sized structure is in one of the farm's two greenhouses.
Heat comes from a water heater and water-filled pan aided by a hose and float, much like a toilet.
Instead of concrete flooring, landscape cloth was placed over the dirt floor in the greenhouse that is used for transplanting. The cheaper alternative still provides a hard floor. Another greenhouse is used for growing in-ground plants during the early spring. Tomatoes are grown there during the rest of the season. Mr. Perkins said the setting keeps them disease-free.