On Friday, 18th of Tammuz, 5689 (July 26, 1929), after five weeks of the Fowler transport operation, the first plowing began.
This is how the event was described:
“The long blades of the plows, pulled by the power of the Fowlers, cut deep furrows, plowing eastward across the lowland and up the hill, turning virgin soil, barren for hundreds of years, into furrowed farmland.”
(From the writings of Eliezer Esterin)
The freshly turned earth, with its loosened clumps, glistened under the sunlight. A scent of fresh, newly unearthed soil filled the air. The Fowlers thundered at full steam, and the plows relentlessly pierced the heart of the hardened earth.
The soil clumps, thrown aside, piled into neat rows and formed a mosaic across the surface of the field. The sight infused the workers with a heady feeling, as if engaged in a mighty struggle against nature’s obstacles.
It was the greatest day in the history of the place that would later be called Tel Mond. This was the birthday of Tel Mond, the Friday on which the first plowing took place.
In the Davar newspaper, on Monday, 21st of Tammuz, 5689 (July 29, 1929), the following important news item appeared under the headline “First Plowing on the Land of Melchett”:
“On Friday, 18th of Tammuz, 5689 (July 26, 1929), the first work began on the lands of the Palestine Plantations Company, near Tulkarm. Present were: Kastilansky, Yechiel Weizmann, Betty Naamani, B. Cohen, and others. Deep plowing began on 1,000 dunams, using large tractors brought in from abroad.”