Thursday, February 25 was my first day working at Hasting Plants; I was as excited as a kid on the first day of school.  Wanting to be prepared for anything and everything, I over-prepared:  two jackets, two pairs of shoes; three shirts, water, lunch and Tylenol.

My Subaru Outback had a full tank of gas and I was in it and on the road 15 minutes early.  I timed how long it took for each leg of my epic journey:  11 minutes to Mt. Vernon; 7 minutes to get through Mt. Vernon and another 7 minutes (give or take) to get to Hasting Plants.

First Day Friends

Poppy was the first to greet me.  She is Nancy’s big, very furry friend.  Poppy takes her job of watching over the place very seriously, barking loudly when someone arrives.  She is really a gentle soul, with amber eyes and a wagging tail.

I soon found Nancy, already busy in Greenhouse #1.  Nancy has lovely blue eyes, curly auburn hair and she always seems to be smiling.  Soon, the other greenhouse staff arrived and I was introduced.  Knowing how gosh-awful I am about remembering names, I tried to pay close attention.

Nancy put almost everyone to work in Greenhouse #4 transplanting tomato seedlings – billions and billions of baby tomato seedlings!  There were dozens of tomato varieties of all types; heirloom, paste, grape, cherry, yellow, pink, red, determinate, indeterminate, early, mid-season, late-season, container, low-acid.  The tomato seedlings were tiny, only having one set of true leaves.  We would carefully pick up a seedling, gently disengage its roots from all the other seedlings’ roots and rather unceremoniously poke the seedling in potting soil.  The others assured me that tomatoes were tough and would survive our treatment, but I cringed every time I felt I’d been a bit too rough with the baby seedling.

Tomatoes & Peppers

For a day and a half, we sat and transplanted baby tomatoes, then moved to transplanting egg plants and peppers.  Gradually, the entire greenhouse filled with tiny plants as we chatted and got to know one another.  It felt very much like quilting with a group of friends.  Finally, we finished with all those seedlings, the growing benches were full to the brim of flats of tomatoes and we all did the ceremonious “Happy Dance” to mark the end of tomato transplanting.  But the real work was waiting for me next week!

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Stay tuned for the future adventures of DonaB in the Greenhouse.  Until then, stay Green, Good Friends.