Last week between storms we planted 24 beds (1.25 acres) of this delicious crop. The varieties were mostly large and cherry heirlooms, plus some Early Girls and Romas. The woven fabric we had already put over the beds allowed us to plant without making a mess of the soil. It was great to the crew working as a team. They divided up the responsibilities and were able to plant everything rather quickly. A few guys began by making cuts in the fabric, followed by the next group who carefully planted the tomato seedlings in the ground.
After the planting was finished, we pushed in the hoops for the fabric that will protect the crop from frost and keep it warm on these cold, rainy days. We had to wait several days for the wind to drop allowing us to lay this fabric over the hoops. It is very light and certainly needs a title skill to get and keep it in place. We weigh it down with many bags of soil. If a very big winter storm comes through with high winds, we can say goodbye to this fabric. It is one of those situations when I tell people I do not need to go to Reno to gamble with large amounts of money because I do it all the time on the farm.