Today was my first experience using the water wheel transplanter. Throughout the spring I will become intimately acquainted with this piece of machinery and also learn to drive the Kubota tractor that pulls it, but today after my introduction I became best acquainted with the left-side planters chair, where I was able to plant with my right hand.
It is difficult to see in the tractor photo with the shadows, but above the slow moving vehicle signage, the crest of white is the water tank. The pump isn’t running yet, so we parked on the bridge and formed a bucket brigade to fill the tank from the creek. We then planted nearly two full 180ft rows with lettuce mix, mini heads and full size heads. We came up a little short in part do to low germination rates particularly in the full size heads.
After planting, we covered the lettuce with remay (floating row cover) to hold in the moisture. Then constructed a deer fence and bated it with peanut butter on soda bottle caps to attract the deer and hope they shock their noses.
This is the same field I took the video at last night. Already quite transformed with it’s first planting. More direct seeding will also happen here tomorrow.
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kimberlydelanghe posted this
