Winter squash rescue

Spent the afternoon down at Lower Biondini, an off-site field named after the couple that have generously allowed the farm to use their land rent-free to grow crops. The field holds all the farm's hot peppers, as well as several long rows of winter squash. The seeds for the squash were sown directly into the ground a couple weeks ago, and today we went back to rescue the emerging seedlings from the carpet of Oxalis that had overtaken them. The seeds were sown three feet apart, so in order to find the tiny winter squash nestled in the sea of weeds, we moved down the rows with hand hoes, stopping every three feet and searching until we found them. Then we worked the weeds out from around their immediate vicinity, so that we'd know their general location, and then we came back through with long-handle hoes and took out whatever weeds remained between the plants. Pictured is brand new volunteer Caroline in the first stage of the process. The Lower Biondini doesn't get a whole lot of shade until the late afternoon, so it's essential to be well protected from the sun. It really makes you think about those in this world that have no choice but to work day after day in the blazing sun in order to eat--it's been a significant lesson in my experience here.