Once Again, From the Beginning......

Remember way back when we posted pics of our first big day of transplanting?


















Here is that field a few days ago.......











I always chuckle a bit when I hear people report that "I planted the garden yesterday". Here, we start planting and transplanting the first good weather in March, and continue to plant right up until September 15th or so. Fast growing short season crops like arugula and cilantro are seeded every two weeks, things like lettuce and cabbage are transplanted on a three week schedule, and even corn is planted twice a year to maintain a steady supply of produce at its peak throughout the growing season.






How do we get all those seeds in the ground you might ask; well I'll tell ya. We favor outdated equipment made popular at a time when diversity and local markets where the norm in agriculture in this country. These are Planet Junior seeders. They are probably almost forty years old, and the design has changed little since the first one was made. They are simple, and allow us to use the same tool for almost every crop we plant simply by changing a set of plates located at the bottom of the hoppers. Here they are full of green beans, our third planting so far this year.



Here is where the rubber meets the road. For the first time in history I allowed someone else to run the seeders while I walked behind and made sure everything was coming out OK. Patrick did a great job despite my constant demand that he turn around and look at me while driving a straight row. Anyone can drive a straight line looking where they are going. In farming this has to be maintained while looking back at equipment. It is peoples inclination to turn the wheel slightly as they turn to look behind them. He did well, and if he had failed there is always the old adage, "you can fit more seeds in a crooked row".