Greenhouse Entry 3:

Friday! I spent the whole day doing one fairly brainless task, which helped compensate for the brain overload the day before. A couple hundred flats of herbs (basil, dill, mint, cilantro, petgrass, etc) had to be de-potted and thrown out because they were either too 'leggy' and 'droopy' or too underdeveloped. I was given three ladies to help. A cart with a base and four support rods on the side is wrapped around with saran wrap to make temporary walls, and the dirt is thrown in.

The tractor guy accidentally got his tire stuck in the ditch after bringing me two pallets to stack the empty trays and pots on. They kept revving and couldn't get it out, and it smelled like burning. The depotting is a slow process. Part of my task is to supervise the East Indian contract workers who work with me. I'm supposed to tell them to hurry up if they're slow and give instructions. I don't really like bossing people around though, cuz I want everyone to like me. :| And plus I'm new and most of them have worked there longer than me. Sometimes I tell them to do something and it ends up being the wrong thing, so then I feel like an idiot.

So I learned to start things myself, and after I've figured out how to do it, then ask them to help. And also spy on them from a distance, and come show them the technique that works better. If I just tell them, it doesn't work. Showing works better, a la Montessori. Learning their names is also super hard.. they all end in jeet or deep.