Main Discussion Area > Around the Campfire
Life on the Farm
M2A:
Yeah, that canned stuff I never found very good. We put up a bunch of corn each year. Well worth it. We grow about 65 acres now, about half of what we did 20 years ago, but its almost all sold in the farm market store and not sent to town for wholesale anymore.
Going to be a few weeks for the apples to come into bloom. After about a month of sawing out the large branches with a pole saw I only have a few more trees to go until Ill call it good and wanted to finish up yesterday. Had it all planned out to be done early, nice easy day. However, the ground was just dry enough to plant corn and the guys I work with really wanted to have the weekend off. So on my way to the orchard I stopped by to see how well they were getting along and with the wind they were having a tough time of things, so I helped them out for a bit. While I was there I got a call that some roof vents in some greenhouses were not closing in our retail area so had to run down to the market override the computer controlled system down there before the roof got damaged and bounced back and forth the rest of the day. What was to be a short day turned out to be a long one, but 1st acre of corn is in for the year and I'll be in my shop today heat treating a a piece of locust for a special build for my younger boy.
Mike
IMG_4524 (2) by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
IMG_4526 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
bjrogg:
Thanks for sharing Mike.
Wow. 65 acres is a lot of sweet corn. I probably have 1/65th of a acres and I get tired of picking it before its done.
Looks like you use plastic for weed control?
How wide of spacing between your rows? Do you leave it wide for picking? Do you pick by hand? Guessing you plant several planting dates to spread out harvest?
Really enjoy talking farming or agriculture anything with growing plants or animals.
Bjrogg
Stoker:
Went to the son-in-law's farm last weekend for my grandson's 3rd birthday. They are ready to go, just waiting on the weather to warm up a bit. A little drier than they'd like but welcome to the Canadian prairies in the spring.
Thanks Leroy
M2A:
I bet thats some pretty country up there Stoker. I've been lucky enough to get invited to South Dakota a few times to pheasant hunt, vast country up there, I suppose its somewhat similar further north.
Its photo degradable "mulch" and used to heat the ground, Like a greenhouse. On a sunny day it can bring soil temp up 30 degrees or so. Otherwise the ground would be too cold here for another month. Not sure this picture will show it well but it was 37 degrees and cloudy that day but condensation was building under the plastic because of the temperature difference.
IMG_4525 by Mike Allridge, on Flickr
Its a labor intensive process, There are 2 rows of corn under each row of mulch. We use plates in the seed boxes instead of a vacume system, so they will drop 3-4 seeds at a time then be thinned to 2 stalks per hole later. Definite higher yield than "bare" ground corn at 36" row spacing but a lot of work and more risk. But for the next month this is how its planted. Mulch is spaced 6 foot on center if the guy in the seat can keep it that tight. Nothing flat or straight here lol.
Planting will continue until mid/end June with anything from 68 to 85 day seed depending on the conditions. The goal is to keep the market supplied from july 4th till labor day with no holes in the supply or without too much coming in at the same time. Sweet corn is what brings the customers in the door for us all summer.
Years ago they bought a Pix-all picker but that only lasted a few years and didn't have a big enough head for plantings like this. So its all picked by hand. That was my job 7 days a week for years. I don't do that type of work anymore for the most part. But if that's what needs done its what you do. I spend more of my time in the orchards than I do planting anything these days.
Mike
bjrogg:
Thanks for sharing Mike.
Really enjoy learning about others operations. I’m sure you keep yourself and your helpers busy.
I noticed it didn’t look like a lot of flat land there.
I hope you are blessed with a bountiful harvest with good weather.
Please keep sharing.
Stoker hope your grandson had a great birthday. And hope your son in law has a safe and prosperous year. How far north are they? What crops do they grow? Are they to far north for corn? Do they grow small grains and canola?
Bjrogg
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