Produce Season

           I work on the Day Farms. As you know I start off in the greenhouses for greenhouse season. Once greenhouse season is over we begin produce season. This is my absolute favorite season. All the older woman move on to other jobs because working on the farm is too physically demanding. We start by pulling up all the old plastic that was laid down last year. This particular task is always messy. The plastic is laid using a tractor and a machine that you hook the plastic roll to. So as you lay the plastic there are two shovel type devices that drag and cover the edges with dirt. We have to rip up the plastic out of the ground. It is usually heavy because it is covered with dirt, rocks, and the skeletons of old plants. Once all the plastic is pulled Mr. Day turns up the field with the tractor. He likes to say he makes the ground as soft as brown sugar. Once the felid is tilled, we lay new plastic. I start the plastic off and follow behind the machine with a shovel to cover any edges it missed. Once at the end I cut the plastic and cover the end with dirt. We go up and down and up and down and somehow we finish it all. Once all the plastic is laid we plant the baby plants and/or seeds in the rows.

During greenhouse season we planted tiny cell trays with hundreds of vegetable seeds and put them into a germinator to allow them to grow. They are now four to seven inch tall plants, and we can plant them. We hook the planter up to the back of the tractor, and fill it with water, and trays of plants. As we go up and down the rows of plastic two wheels spin with metal spikes that poke holes into the plastic and the tubes drop water into the holes. There are two seats on each side of the wheel that my fellow worker and I sit at. We then lean over and place a plant into the hole and push it in good. Someone usually follows behind and covers the hole with dirt.  

Once all sixty-six acres are planted, this usually takes weeks, we begin to hoe. We usually have a four man team and have to hoe all the weeds that begin to grow around the plants and the edge of the rows. Once the plants are huge we usually have to have one person crawl down the rows and hand weed the weeds around the plant. We hoe for weeks; the hottest weeks of the month. I lather up with sunscreen and bring a ton to drink. Then we start the fun part, picking. Mr. Day drives up and down the rows with a trailer hooked to the tractor full of bins. We collect peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, melon, eggplants, kohlrabi, Swiss chards, pickles, cucumbers, kale, and many other veggies. The veggies are then washed and packed up to go to the Waterford market. By the time this starts up it is time for me to go back to school. This was just a brief overview of what I do during farm season. We do many other small tasks during this time, like raise baby chickens. Mr. and Mrs. Day are quite the characters and I never know what to expect! So many crazy things happen on the farm, and I wish I could share them all. There is just not enough time to share so many things. All I know is, I love my job so much.