1,000 Tomato Plants

This weekend made all the plastic mulch worth it. Somehow turning all that shiny plastic into rows of budding tomato plants validates all the work of laying plastic. While it will still be several months before we taste the fruit of our labor the sight of it is getting more and more beautiful everyday.

The first day we spent entirely outdoors laying plastic and planting I went home with an odd feeling in my body. Whereas I would have expected to be completely sore I really wasn’t. It was more of a tingling feeling. I told Proeun I thought it was all that oxygenated blood coursing through my body. The old sluggish blood was being replaced with a vibrant life giving force provided by healthy labor outside. In several months the fruit of our labor (literally) will provide only the best food to continue to power our body as we work the fields.

Don’t get me wrong, I am exhausted. After several days on the farm the neglected house needs some serious attention. Today it was all about getting caught up on laundry (ala the clothesline), making bread, planning meals for the week and cleaning up all the dirt we tracked in over the weekend. But to see those fields, to know what they will become and that they will provide countless numbers of tomatoes for our family and friends, plus a little income and that we did it, there is really nothing like it. Our farm manager told us each of those plants could potentially provide 25-30 pounds of food. That is 25,000-30,000 of tomatoes. Obviously our work isn’t done yet.

The varieties of heirloom tomatoes we are growing are Brandywine, Black Brandywine, Rose, Ark Traveler, Prudens Purple, Great White and Striped German (my favorite). We are also growing Red Grape and Mojo cherry tomatoes.

This weekend, will plant our direct seed items like corn, carrots, radishes, beets, beans and cucumbers. It is a wondreful to look at a field and be hungry and satisfied all at the same time.