The term leafy products refers to different varieties of vegetables such as baby spinach , rocket and chard, all characterized by modest dimensions, tender leaves and exceptional vegetative recovery. Unlike other types of products such as iceberg lettuce, leafy vegetables do not create the classic head: this implies a different type of harvesting approach which consists in cutting, in particular, the individual leaves.

Many people think that once harvested, leafy products do not yield a second harvest. In reality, if collected with due care and the right machinery, it can guarantee a continuous supply of products. Ortomec offers you professional solutions to optimize the harvesting of leafy products, greatly accelerating harvesting times and minimizing the use of manpower.

Do you find this topic interesting and would you like to receive more information? Then continue reading this article by the Ortomec experts!

When to harvest leafy products and how to cut them so they continue to grow

Harvesting of these vegetables can take place when the leaves have fully formed and reached the desired size. Everything can vary according to the type which, generally, for chard is around 20-30 days from sowing, while, for spinach, from 45 to 70 days. However, the leaves must be harvested before full flowering , otherwise they become hard and lose the fresh and delicate flavor for which they are so appreciated.

On farms, automating the harvesting process for leafy products is always the best choice. For what reason? In the long run, carrying out such work without the help of professional equipment would cost more than the income from the crops.

Ortomec harvesters ensure the precision and delicacy of manual harvesting in a completely automatic way. They are in fact specially studied and designed to cut the leaves in a clean and precise way, at the right height, and thus favor the correct regrowth of the plant.

Collecting leafy products with Ortomec machines: precision, care and safety

To collect leafy products in a professional way, Ortomec offers you various harvesters that help your collaborators by accelerating harvesting times and reducing manual work.

All Ortomec harvesters stand out for their precision, productivity and safety: it is in fact known that the leaves of these vegetables must be treated with the utmost care both during and after harvesting because they are thin and extremely fragile, not to mention that when they break or are dunks deteriorate very quickly.

Ortomec designs its harvesters paying the utmost attention to the characteristics of the vegetables to be treated, just like for the 7000 harvester leaf version: height and speed of the cutting blades can be adjusted each time in order to have the cut suitable for each variety of product and thus favor the correct regrowth of the plant for subsequent harvests.

Ortomec offers your company the best machinery for harvesting leafy products grown in the open air, in greenhouses or even in containers such as polystyrene or plastic seed trays . All the different harvester models, such as the 1500 Float-System leaf version, are able to handle small and large productions thanks to conveyor belt systems that make harvesting practical and fast.

Ortomec has been designing and manufacturing machines for harvesting leafy products for over twenty years, increasingly innovative and technological solutions capable of supporting and improving the productivity of every agricultural activity . If you would like more information on Ortomec branded harvesters, do not hesitate to contact us.