Tiny tiny tomatoes

The last task of the day today was transplanting six rows of cherry tomatoes. Total work time between the 8 of us: 3 hours.

The three rows on the right are called sun gold, which is the go-to cherry tomato during the summer farmer's market. Beyond those is a row a piece of three varieties: black cherry, white cherry, and sun cherry. The seeds for these plants were sown in late February and then the starts were raised in the green house until today. They'll be in the ground about a week before we construct trellises to support the impressive height they'll reach--over 6 feet. Tomatoes grown in this fashion have been found to benefit from infrequent but deep waterings, which helps the roots take hold and support the substantial weight of the plant when it reaches maximum height.

In transplanting them, we worked in teams of two, moving down the rows at 2-foot intervals. One person would dig a narrow hole 1 foot deep with a shovel and the other would place the plant in (being careful to keep the plant fully upright and using a nearby tape measure to ensure the 2-foot distance between plants was maintained) and fill the hole back in with soil. After some initial trial and error, my partner and I acted as a well-oiled machine: dig hole, place plant, fill in hole, move 2 feet, dig hole, etc. Work like this is intense and physically taxing--one must be good to one's back. I find I'm growing more comfortable and capable in these exhausting tasks as my body grows stronger each day.