Sadie working rebar out of the ground.
After Bee Heaven Farm’s CSA season ended in May, work shifted to cleaning up planting beds and putting things away. Irrigation hoses and tapes that watered plants at ground level were rolled up. Bamboo poles that supported colorful heirloom beans were pulled up and stacked in the barn. And the toughest job of all was to take down the tomato trellising.
Giving a good tug to see if rebar will come loose.
Heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate, meaning their vines just grow and grow. Their limit is determined by the height of trellising. At Bee Heaven Farm, the support is about 6 feet. Rebar — just like what you’d find on a construction site — is set into the ground several feet apart along each row. Wire mesh is run along the rebars from one end of the row to the other, and this is what supports tomato vines. But when the growing season is over, the mesh needs to be rolled back up and rebar pulled out and put away in the barn for the summer.
Triumphant Sadie takes rebar back to the barn.
Farm interns Mike and Sadie had the tough job of removing trellising, including all the rebar. How hard could it be to pull a piece of metal out of the ground? Pretty hard, I discovered. The soil is dry and holds the steel like cement. You have to wiggle the rebar around, widen its hole, pour some water in to soften the soil, push and pull and twist the rebar around, add more water, maybe catch your breath, and do it again until finally, finally it loosens up and you can tug it out of the ground. (It’s quite a workout for the arms!)
Sadie had her own rebar dance going. She swayed back and forth using her arms and body weight to move the rebar, and worked around in a big circle. Occasionally she stopped to pour a bit of water into the hole she was making.
Ginormous wooly bear caterpillar rescued from a hole in the ground.
There was a moment of life and death drama when a wooly bear caterpillar fell into the water-filled hole. Sadie rushed to rescue it. This is quite a magnificent wooly bear! Not sure what kind of butterfly it grew up to be — any ideas?
Sadie and the wooly bear.
Dear Sadie:
Have the boss to supply a pair of vice grips that are adjustable
to the size of the re-bar. When pulling out the re-bar– fasten the vice grips at the base at ground level –clamping the jaws of the grips around the re-bar:
then twist the vice grips left to right and pull up at the same time. This action will move the re-bar from its somewhat permitized position and slowly come out.
You don’t have to lug and pour water on the re-bar hole. This saves a lot of frustration and heavy pulling (and sweat).
Hi Sidney, Thanks for the great advice! Sounds like you speak with the voice of experience. Will point out your comment to Sadie and Margie.
Thanks for the info, SIndey! We’ll certainly try it next season.