Backs

Full sun all day. The temperature made a hazy 92F.

Back from the city and a fine holiday. Darlin and I visited her father out by the beach. He's a gifted gardener and landscaper-- so we talked plant business over many beers and much wine. I was happily surprised-- he might take me up on my offer and come see the farm. Is there such a thing as an agricultural-recruiter?-- think I've become one. Buses ran fast, got home early to find my brother had a little party in progress. Over some whiskey in the backyard I got to be chums with two fellas-- one was forced financially from college to join his family working a factory line, the other recently started as a line cook at a chain restaurant. On account of my increasingly grizzled appearance they dubbed me Captain Jack-- unfortunately, they were too young for my Billy Joel jokes ( ...'will get cha high tonight'...). A late night became an early morning too fast.


Rolled up to the farm a bit wooden faced from drink-- no mercy, just get right to it. I watered the greenhouse then joined NYU and Stretch behind the store. Bah's crew had been busy picking peas all weekend, so the cooler was packed full. The wholesaler truck was due in a few hours-- so we shifted out the bad peas, packed and weighed out the 10lb boxes of peas at a fever pace. The boss was in a rotten mood when he arrived. The big money farmer's market started today, and he loaded us up with work: peas all needed to be ready in an hour, bok choi/arugula/rabe needed cutting from the hilltop fields, romaine/chard needed picking from the lower fields, and the van needed to be packed with produce to leave in 2 hours.

NYU kept up the boxing pace, while the foreman took me and Stretch up to the hilltop. I gunned through the arugula and helped Stretch finish a crate of rabe-- the foreman picked off the bok choi. We hustled back down to the farm store and packed up more peas. Time really started to run short. The boys kept on with the boxes-- I ran down to the lower fields to slice through a crate of chard and 2 tight rounds of romaine. I hefted my catch back up the tractor road just in time to see the wholesaler arrive. I hosed down the crates and stuffed 'em in the cooler, but the truck was already gone. Oh well. NYU told me 60 finished boxes were picked up (20 bucks a 10lb box, not a bad haul). We filled another 20 and stacked 'em up in the cooler for tomorrow. Packed up the van with produce, finished just in time. The boss was still sour-- he ambled over and dragged NYU into the van without a word-- then took off to market. Stretch and I pitied our friend.

With the boss gone for the day the tension dropped quick. The foreman took me, Stretch and a new transplanting round of lettuce out to the lower fields. We set the lettuce trays in the shade, soaked them through with a watering can and then left for lunch.


After lunch, I pulled Stretch away from Mouse and we got to the lettuce. We needed to work fast as the foreman wanted to run the irrigation mid-afternoon. After creeping at a snails pace down a bed of loose leaf-- I took a page from Bah and Old Rudolpho's book: divide and conquer. Rather than pop out the soil plugs and then pack in the lettuce one at a time (Stretch was a painfully slow plug popper), I handled the trays--laying out the lettuce in position, while Stretch followed behind covering in with soil. We burned through the 6 trays (2 loose leaf, 2 romaine, 1 iceberg, then 1 tray with an undecipherable tag). While we planted, the foreman reconnected the water gun lines around the peas and shifted up the tomato line.

Finished the lettuce and the water started flowing. Stretch and I grabbed wrenches and wire-- we hustled clearing the nozzles, dragging plants and pond reeds from clogged pipelines. It was wet business, but it was about to get wetter. Irrigating both the tomato and lower fields requires a lot of water pressure, so the foreman pumped up the tractor a few hearty RPMs. The new water force caused a blow out along the tomato line-- the pipes literally shot out of their connectors. The foreman sprinted over and helped me muscle the pipes into place against the water torrent. Fixed it all up fine. Stretch and I cleared the lower fields, when the foreman came over with hand-hoes for our new assignment.

The cucumber rows in the forest field needed heavy weeding. We hiked up through the woods path, peeled out of our sopping shirts and such-- then got to the weeding. Cucumber beetles are entering their mating period, so any we could catch needed killing. I got a bunch, but Stretch said he didn't find any. The sun is hot on a bare back. The foreman came to weed after checking the irrigation. We managed to clear one and 3/4 of the rows before closing.

While the foreman shut down the water pump, I chatted around with Viking and Mouse. Over lunch, Viking made some lemon-limeade mixed with the dregs of strawberry jam from the cooking kettle. It was delicious. And I got on home.


Tomorrow is a hotter day, take it easy.