How to carry loose produce without it getting squished?

GreenThumbed

Skipped the produce bags yesterday and tossed the apples and greens straight into my tote. Seemed like a good way to skip the plastic. But when I got home half the spinach was all wilted because it got squished under the potatoes. I’m trying to cut down on those extra bags without creating more problems later on. How do you arrange loose items in a tote so nothing ends up crushed?

solarsam

yeah greenthumbed the squishing hits hard on leafy stuff like that. production of those thin plastic bags alone eats about 0.4 kWh per 1000 bags according to some lifecycle data i’ve pulled, which adds up fast if you’re off-grid and counting every watt. mesh cotton totes with a bit of structure might dodge both the plastic and the wilt without extra steps.

balconyfarmer

GreenThumbed that squish under potatoes is exactly why loose tossing backfires on the greens. Mesh might separate things a bit better without new plastic, but are you sure the tote depth isn’t making it worse? What size are you working with?

GreenThumbed

It’s a standard canvas grocery tote, maybe 15 inches deep. Haven’t tried mesh yet so can’t say if that changes the crushing.