In Search of Pickle Vine...

Well it's only Wednesday, and I'm out of hibernation!  In fact, hibernation never happened...it was just a thought, really.  There's just too much to do for that right now.  The heat is here, but today there's actually a nice breeze, which makes the higher temps tolerable.

This morning we scouted the corn fields for Wild Pickle, (Pickle Vine) and thistles.  There's time yet to spray before the corn gets too high for the regular spraying rig...so we hit the fields this morning.

The search begins...

Jim took one of the dirtbikes through this field...

This was my field...and this is one of the best looking cornfields!  Last year it was planted in soybeans, and the corn just loves the nitrogen that they put into the soil!  This field was clear...

I found several of these...one more reason that farmers detest groundhogs!  Holes like this can be disastrous for a tractor axle or a wagon load of hay or corn...

...and I found one of these... 

...and I found one of these...one reason we're very particular about who we allow to hunt in our fields.  If one of these would get chopped up in the silage, we'd possibly find ourselves with a case of Hardware...

Here's what I was looking for (and hoping not to find).  This is a small Pickle Vine plant.  See how it looks just like a small cucumber?  If left to grow, this will grow (quickly) into a large vine that literally covers the corn.  It can take over a corn field to the point that the chopper can't get through it in the fall. 

It looks like only two of the fields will need to be sprayed...most of them were clear of Pickle Vine and thistles, and in general looked good!