Transplant

I can already tell that one of the best parts of working on the farm this summer is going to be getting to know the members who come by each week. The farm is a CSA, which stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This means that rather than selling the crops we grow, we divide our harvest amongst our members. Buying a membership commits people to four to eight hours of work on the farm per season, in exchange for this weekly supply.

After meeting many of the members this week, the one I can't get out of my head is an older woman. She held lettuce in her hand like fragile china and swore to me that her mother had cured herself of cancer by switching to a local organic diet. Thinking about this woman while working in the fields today, I realized it seems only right that the act of placing the seedlings into the earth should have the same name as a medical procedure that saves lives- the transplant.

A quick farming lesson: For most of the crops at the farm, we do not plant the seeds directly into the ground. Instead, we grow the seeds in a greenhouse until they have grown strong enough to survive on their own. Then we move them to outdoor beds. This is called transplanting.

Today we transplanted summer squash and cucumbers. Sitting on a seat attached to the back of a biodiesel-run tractor, I lowered plants into the ground as the tractor slowly traveled across the row, leaving small holes in the soil. Afterwards we laid straw around the rows to prevent weeds from growing. We finally finished at 6pm, the sun just beginning to set in the sky. After all that work, I hope those little plants rest soundly in their beds tonight. I know I will rest soundly in mine.