Pie Four Tractorista

I can't believe we are at the end of May already! We spent the majority of our time this week in our Pie Four Field, preparing for planting by laying plastic with the tractor, and actually planting more delicious tomatoes!! The first half this week we saw some hot temperatures, one day in the 90's, followed by some cold and rainy weather that took us all by surprise. Richie turned 23 on the 23rd this week, celebrating his golden year in birthdays. We got a solid picture of him with the crew digging trenches for irrigation lines- the perfect way to celebrate, right? We also had our working member volunteer day this Saturday, and some of our awesome CSA members showed up to help us plant tomatoes and fertilize and prune our orchards. 

This week was definitely a most awesome week for me, as I was given the chance to drive the tractor with the plastic layer for the majority of the week on our Pie Four Field! I worked with some incredible crews of our interns behind the tractor to help me get through it, and did not kill or maim anyone in the process. Except for a few muddy low spots, the field is done! I didn't get the tractor stuck, but there was one moment where I had to raise the trailer to get out of a really wet area and left behind a huge muddy hill under the plastic. We called it the Baby Dinosaur, but alas, our boss Isaac wouldn't let us keep it. The field is flat now and we are busy planting away! Here are our pics of the week.

May 20

What better way to start the week than by sharpening your machete in the car with a
rhubarb leaf hat over your visor? I can't think of one. Lots of little odd jobs
today, including our mainstay of cleaning up the rhubarb fields.

May 21

My awesome afternoon crew, Megan, Ian and Ken, activating their shovel power
 behind the plastic layer. Megan and Ian we behind me in this beast for eight
hours today, with Ken on it for about six. Bomb crew.

May 22

View from the top...Well, view from the tractor anyway. Awesome awesome day,
one of my most fun so far! And look at those straight beds, and perfectly
spaced dirt piles! Note directlyoff the nose of the tractor are two dots...
Issac and Alex, watching my progress.

May 23

Oh yeah! Richie's 23rd birthday. Here he is with the trench digging crew; Jacob,
Elena, Lucia and Tanea behind him with their shovels. Gangsta.

May 24

Gorgeous afternoon spent planting Taxi and Valley Girl Tomatoes east of the
rhubarb. Katie and Isaac in the foreground, Alyssa, Tanea, Ian, Eric and Shaun
in the background.

May 25

Ian on the tractor seeding carrots, driven by Oscar. Our job was to make sure the seeder
didn't get jammed or bogged down by rocks or debris.

May 26

Elena with two of our great working CSA members, Claudia and Sherry, planting
tomatoes. Thanks for volunteering your Saturday to help us out!!

Bonus Foto(s)

Definitely a few great bonuses this week too good to pass up...

Alfalfa freshly baled on the way to harvesting some fresh spinach Thursday afternoon.

Katie, our crew leader, planting some Valley Girls!

And finally, when you have a week as great as this one was, who can resist a little breakdancing freeze to finish thing off right!

Thanks Katie for capturing this, and doing the tomato balancing!

Have a great last week of May, and if you're interested in seeing our farm in more than just pictures, Grant Farms is having their Spring Farm Tour this upcoming weekend, June 2nd. Check out the deets at www.grantfarms.com! 

XO,

Val