Well, after applying for 3 positions with AppHarvest over the last few months, they contacted me today with an offer! I start employee orientation next Monday. Very excited to see how this goes. My position will be Crop Care Specialist, so I will be pruning, topping, inspecting, and harvesting tomatoes in the greenhouse.
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Well, I finished my second day today at the greenhouse, Monday was orientation, or āon-boardingā as they call it nowadays. The company treats its employess very well.
Itās pretty physically demanding work, you stand most of your work periods, we did a lot of plant pruning the first two days. So, lots of repetitive motion. Plus, since youāre in a greenhouse it gets pretty warm in there.
Our greenhouse is one of two 30 acre facilities, so it is an impressive set-up. It is mind boggling how many plants there are in there. If you like the smell of tomato plants, like my wife does, it would be heaven for you. I, however, think they have the essence of dirty sweatsocks. Once you get into the rows doing your work, itās almost like being in a jungle of plants.
Itās been many years since Iāve worked, so itās taking some getting used to, especially getting up early, my shift starts at 7:15. Not easy for a night owl like me. Standing so much is hard on the feet, and my back gets stiff after a few hours, but hopefully I should get used to that part of it, and it wonāt be too much an issue.
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I know what you mean about being on your feet and repetitive motion. I spent my entire working career on my feet, and I think it paid off in overall health. I canāt imagine a sit-down job for me. So once you get used to it I think you might like it. Plus, you canāt use tobacco around all those tomatoes, so thatās good!
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Thank you for the update.
I was expected the working conditions would be more like working in a factory than working on a farm. Hope their greenhouse tomatoes are good since most of the tomatoes in the supermarkets are crap.
As a side note their stock symbol is APPH.
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Thankfully, Iām not a smoker, so not an issue. They donāt even allow tobacco on the premises, not even vapes.
Standing this long is hard on my feet, and my back feels it after a while. We are doing other tasks today, so my fingers get a break from the wirk I was doing. It was chewing up my index fingertips, had to put a butterfly bandage on them.
Sure hate getting up at 5:45, I usually got up at 9, so itās still a chore to do that. I have to go to bed earlier, too. Iām sure youāre used to extra early hours being a baker, yes?
Well, breakās over, better get after it. We get to take home some fresh 'maters roday. Yay!
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Sure. Iāll give more as the days go on.
Yeah, based on the scale of the operations it seems more like a factory setting. Iāve worked in manufacturing settings like this in the past, so itās not too unusual for me.
It was pretty warm in there today, but the sunās directly overhead now. So, it should lessen a bit as it passes to the west.
After work theyāll give us some tomatoes to take home. Iāve had some before, and theyāre a bit better than store bought, they need to ripen a bit more to sweeten up.
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Hey subdood, just a thought, but maybe those little rubber caps for fingertips that postal workers use would work for you? Once your fingertips start getting cracked, itās hard to get them healthy again.
Good luck with your new job! Sounds like an incredible place. I canāt imagine the organization it takes to run such a facility.
https://www.amazon.com/CLAIRLA-Counting-Protector-Collating-Silicone/dp/B07MWD5F83/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=rubber+finger+thimbles&qid=1614286615&sr=8-7
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Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion. We have to use their approved bandages, which are blue. I used something like those today, but they were a bit thin. Thankfully, I didnāt have to do much pruning, which is what we did for a couple days. Itās not my fingertips, but just on the outside upper knuckle of my index finger. Like guitar playing, maybe if you do it enough youāll develop a callus.
Yeah, the logistics has got to be a nightmare to contend with with a place like that. There are 684 rows of hydroponic plants to deal with in a high density environment.
Hereās a little write up on the place.
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After work, we got to take home as many beefsteak 'maters as we wanted. Just had one, it was pretty good.
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Congrats on the job! Will you be working with strictly tomatoes year round? I hope you get a variety of tasks from time to time.
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Thank you. Yes, they had me doing other tasks the last couple days. That pruning for two days was tough on my hands, but theyāve pretty much healed up. There will be many different jobs as time goes on, as the plants get bigger and closer to harvest, and I gain more experience. For now, weāre growing only tomatoes, beefsteak in one GH and āon the vineā variety in the other.
My feet are hurting a bit, but they give us really comfortable shoes to help with all the time on our feet. I didnāt feel good going in yesterday, but toughed it out. Not working for almost 7 years and then going into full time work like this will take some getting used to.
Iāve been doing a lot of walking during his time, I think I calculated that I walked over a mile on Thu. I noticed this morning that my jeans are a bit looser, so I imagine Iāve already lost a few pounds, which I canāt really afford. If one was out of shape before taking this job, they wonāt be after a couple months in this setting. Iām not that out of shape, but this may be the most physically demanding job Iāve had. I can only imagine how warm itāll be in there in the spring and summer.
Itās an interesting job, for sure. Iāve worked in factory settings before, and this is similar. Guess you could call it a food factory. Iāve already learned some things Iāve done that I could apply to my own tomato growing.
Hereās their Facebook page-
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Yes, Berea and Richmond will be the next two greenhouses. Berea will be producing leafy greens, but not sure what Richmond will be growing, although I had read in some press releases, itāll be fruits and veggies. The only fruit I could think of would be some kind of berry, like strawberries.
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If you have any āinside informationā keep us posted. (Iām not looking for a jobā¦so let me get that out there).
I hope thereās enough not on welfare or drugs to fill the jobs of such a big greenhouseā¦lol!!!
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Well, I can say only so much. Iām careful to only post whatās already been released in a public setting.
I donāt know about the make-up of the workers, but I would imagine the nature of the work would weed out those who arenāt up for it. It wasnāt a cake walk for me, but I hope to get used to it eventually.
The work for the crop care specialists like me is different than those who work in the packhouse. In the latter, itās mostly the same temperature, and probably more lifting and similar repetitive motion. The climate and work in the greenhouse varies. When the sun was out on Tue and Wed, I noticed I got a bit of a tan. Plus you had to hydrate more often. If youāre in the GH youāre usually deep in the foliage, so itās not total exposure, and itās only during certain times of the day.
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I imagine youāll soon get used to it. Itās a big change from sitting home in lockdown over the winter looking at the Internet and starting a physically demanding full-time job, but youāll soon be wondering why it seemed so tiring as you breeze through the day. I think you will really enjoy the job. Paychecks are nice, too. Keep up the good work!
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Strawberries are a big greenhouse crop. My wife picked up some recently from Costco that were very high quality, almost like fresh picked. The company had a huge operation in Canada but was starting another up in the midwest U.S. The only problem was how firmly the caps stuck to the berries. Had to use a knife to remove them.
You must of mixed me up with subdoodā¦
i am my own employer and have been more than 20 years.
Thatās what is suspect theyāll be growing. I wonder if theyāll be June bearers or ever bearers.
I also wonder since these tomatoes are in a never freeze environment, how big will they get, their lifespan, and for how long theyāll produce. I donāt know what varieties weāre growing, whether theyāre determinate or indeterminate, but I imagine theyāre not heirloom varieties.
Probably just mis-replied.
I donāt even know if theyāve posted job openings for those greenhouses yet, but would imagine they would be soon.
Iāve been trying to think of some folks around here who would be good candidates for our place, they still have openings. It took me four applications before they finally gave me a call.
They wonāt be June bearers or determinate. You canāt devote 12 months in a greenhouse for a crop that harvests a few weeks. Greenhouse tomatoes that Iāve seen are a 12 month crop. One month between and 11 months growing. In that time the vine can grow 20-40ft. The ones Iāve seen had the producing part of the vine upright. Then as it grows the stem is laid down and the vertical portion moves down the line with an ever longer stem. Sort of like a conveyor system. I imagine there are other ways to do it.
What kind of support is there for the tomatoes? The infrastructure must be in place enough to hint at how theyāll be grown.
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I kinda figured theyād have to be indeterminate. The founder said on some interview that the vines could be as long as 30ft.
Hereās a couple vids on the setup.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hw_TgxgoTHo
Jump to 1:20 in this video
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kOMwg9dgOhY
Iām not getting what youāre saying. You mean lay down the older part of the stem, and then run the newer part upwards? Or the newer end is laid down, and it produces in a horizontal position? Or how about when they get to their height limit, they are run back downwards?
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