Friday, March 20, 2009

In the Field-Spring Transplanting

The first spring brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli) are nestled in the ground. The plants were brought out to the breezy field from their lush greenhouse environment. Wayne, Lee and myself proceeded to plant, exposing the seedlings to the more harsh conditions of the outdoors including wind, water needs, possible pests, etc... Utilizing the tractor to create furrows, the transplants are then placed in the ground by hand, immediately following the tines where timing and ease create an efficient and semi-large scale system of the project. My first exposure to this sort of operation, I am enlightened and delighted by the learning experience it offers to a striving young grower like myself. Immediately after completing the transplanting process, water became a priority, especially with the light spring winds drying out the soil.

To the right is an overview of the newest spring crop of brassicas placed next to the end of the cauliflower crop that was planted last fall and is still now being harvested for beautiful purple cauliflower sales.

Finally, thanks to Wayne for patiently taking the time to help me work in some initial tractor hours. Driving the tractor is not hard, but simply takes some time and experience to become accustomed to it's uses and capabilities.

2 comments:

  1. I drove a tractor a few times—super intimidating because it's such a huge, raw machine. I remember being afraid it would tip over.

    What is brassica?

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  2. Brassica is a plant genus or classification system for mustard, cabbage, broccoli, cabbage-type plants. I like the word and tend to use it more liberally than I ought to in regular conversation.

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