Transplanting Tomatoes with Residents for Phoebe Organic Farm

Phoebe Organic Farm is another step closer to delivering fresh, nutritious food to residents of Chestnut Ridge at Rodale.

On Friday, April 25, the Rodale Institute hosted an opportunity for residents to get involved with the farm. Over the past few months, Rodale has hosted several seeding events to plant the farm’s first seeds. The crops from these events will be transferred to Phoebe Organic Farm as the Spring season advances.

So far, these opportunities have all occurred at Rodale’s Kutztown location until the construction of the new greenhouse at Phoebe Organic Farm is complete.

This time, instead of seeding, residents were invited to transplant several tomato varieties. Transplanting is the process of transferring plants from one location to another to take advantage of fresh soil and more space for roots to grow.

Residents filled trays with soil, created new labels, and dug small pockets where the rapidly growing tomatoes would be transferred.

Phoebe Organic Farm Manager Jennifer Smith, known as Farmer Jenni, led residents through the process, sharing her extensive farming knowledge. She asked residents about their personal gardening experiences and answered any questions they had.

One thing that stood out to those in attendance was how much the greenhouse had grown in so little time. From the first seeding event on March 7 to this transplanting event, the greenhouse has seen a massive increase in the volume of plants. Trays upon trays of crops covered every inch of every free table, many of which are scheduled for transport to Phoebe Organic Farm.

The response to these events from residents has been overwhelmingly positive, with many returning multiple times.

Farmer Jenni says the experience of teaching residents has been “so fulfilling.”

“It makes my heart feel so full,” she says. “This is exactly where I should be.”

We are thrilled to have a passionate leader like Farmer Jenni help lead this project. As for the near future, Phoebe and Rodale are working together to plan more opportunities for residents to get their hands dirty and learn about growing food and other plants.

For more information about Phoebe Organic Farm, please visit chestnutridgeatrodale.org/phoebe-organic-farm.  

Written by Dominic Trabosci