06/21/2026
As an achey gal whose joints sound like rice krispies on the regular, finding accomodations that allow me to get work done on the farm while reducing my pain is a huuuuge piece of my planning. Two things that I hadn't run into until seed and equipment ordering this spring that I now use weekly are a wearable seed tray harness and a standing transplanter. Together, these two pieces allow me to transplant my 1.5" soil blocks without bending and crouching or crawling around. Each of my trays holds 72 blocks, so I can plant a bunch in fairly short order! These were both from Johnny's Selected Seeds.
I opted for this transplanter over others on the market, because the mechanism to open the soil up for your transplants is a step, rather than a trigger. Squeezing a trigger to open and close for the volume of plants I'm setting out is a recipe for carpal tunnel, so to avoid that, I'm only squeezing a trigger to close the transplanter between plants. I run a hoe down the rows after I've set out all my transplants, as my soil is clay heavy and doesn't fill back in around the transplants. Folks with sandier or loamy soils will have a much easier time of this!
I'd like to farm for many years to come, so reducing the wear and tear on my body now is just as important to me as crop planning! After a decade of physically demanding jobs, being a little kinder to my body goes a long, long way.
Share with a friend that you think would love to have these tools in their gardening arsenal!
Stand open in Cape Vincent daily, @471 S Market, from 10 to dusk!
