Not even a directions mix-up could keep the dozen folks on the morning shift (especially those with GPS)  from turning up at the farm. John had set up tables and chairs in the shade, filled with flats of tomatoes and celeriac (which we all know how to cook now, right?), ready for transplanting.

The work took a gentle touch–the tomato seedlings were barely two inches high and celeriac seedlings barely an inch! Everyone chatted while hunched over their tasks–popping each seedling out of its tiny plastic tray, and tucking them carefully into a new, slightly larger tray, wasn’t easy. And volunteers needed to take care not to damage the trays, as John had plans to reuse them. But visions of those tasty celeriac bulbs and plump juicy heirloom tomatoes, with names like Purple Cherokee and German Johnson, kept the team on task. All told, we transplanted about 1,800 plants! Not bad for a few hours work. Thanks to Heather, Rocio, Matt, Jack Yang and his family, Brendan, Michelle, Meg, Phil and Danielle from John’s Westfield CSA, who brought along one of her members, for jumping right in.

Morning photos courtesy of Meg Largey

For the afternoon, we moved to John’s second location at Good Hand Farm.  We started there by putting the cover on the greenhouse there.  After pulling the cover over the metal frame, we all learned what wiggle wire is – a length of wire shaped into a zigzag pattern.  It is used to secure the plastic covering into a metal track so that the greenhouse covering doesn’t blow away.  After a short rest we transplanted several hundred lettuce plants into the field next to the greenhouse.  Two volunteers sat on a special machine and placed the plants in two wheels that then dug a hole and planted the lettuce in the ground in two rows.  Other volunteers followed behind to plant a third row.  I’m looking forward to making some salads with that lettuce in June!

Afternoon photos courtesy of Michael Chovan-Dalton