It's Great Growing Weather...

What happens when you have a weekend of hot humid sunshine and .3" of rain overnight?

You can take a guess...looking at this freshly planted corn field...

Corn that was planted only 48 hours ago has sprouted!

...and soybeans planted just on Thursday are up so far that you can see the rows!

This year's corn went into the ground pretty late, due to circumstances beyond our control. The field pictured at the top was planted after dark on Friday...only a little over two days ago.  It was heartwarming to see the 1/2" sprouts this morning when we poked around in the soil "just to see".  A wet spring has left lots of moisture in the warm ground, and combined with unseasonably warm hot temps the germination process has been accelerated.

We're feeling thankful this morning!

This Past Week...

Life has been pretty busy here this past week!  A lot happened...

The corn was planted on Monday...

The rye was baled and wrapped...

Some hay was baled and wrapped in round bales...

Some hay was baled dry in small squares (much to the relief of those who get to feed it!  They don't like feeding balage)...

Jenna did the grunt work of the mulching.  She shoveled two scoops off the truck and I spread it around.  While we were mulching we noticed the Rhododendron on the north side of the house was in various stages of blooming...

...and look who we found sleeping in the Rhododendron bush...safe from the pesty dog who just couldn't seem to let her alone...

Then on Friday, the soybeans were planted...a bit earlier than usual.  Behind those bags of seeds, you can see the dry hay that was baled this week.  It's not much, but it's a start!  First cutting is really hard to get dry.  The stems are usually tough, and the temps aren't quite as hot as in the middle of the summer, so it dries slowly. That's why Jim often bales it wet in round bales and wraps it...

Here Jeremy is no-tilling beans into the rye field.  You can see how dry it is here, with all the dust flying.

On Saturday evening, we had some much needed rain...finally!  We had another shower early this morning, giving us a total of about .40"  We're about 5" behind normal here for the year, and we're glad for every little bit we get!  Some areas close to us had 2" - 3" on Saturday night, and while it was much needed, it came so fast that some of their field really washed.

Now for this week...hopefully today, the rye fields will be sprayed to burn off the rye that is beginning to get green again.

It's steamy and hot today...hopefully that little bit of moisture and the heat will pop the corn through.  Stay posted for the progress of seeing things grow!

We have a busy week ahead with the kids as well...Jenna has her last orchestra concert, and Eric has two senior awards ceremonies.  He will be receiving two athletic awards...one for being a scholar athlete, and one for lettering at least three times in two sports (cross country and track).  The other is an unknown award...could be a scholarship or an award from the school...we'll see!  How can it be that we have a senior almost ready to graduate?!

Sunday Afternoon Stroll #3...

Ok, they're beginning to become habit forming, these Sunday afternoon strolls.  I don't know how long they'll last, though...because it's getting pretty hot out there!

Yesterday afternoon, after a late lunch, Jim and I headed out for a walk around the golf course across the road.  There's a paved trail the whole way around it...2.3 miles from our front door, around the golf course and back.  I won't tell you how far we made it...but I will say that we turned back part way around and headed for the shade.

Ben, the Amish farmer to the left of the trail has "dragged" this alfalfa field, in preparation for first cutting hay.  He rode his horse through the field, pulling a heavy metal bar behind, to lay the alfalfa over a bit, so that his sickle bar mower will cut it more easily.  You can't see it from the picture, but you can trust me...we could tell it was done!

This old oak tree just off the path is huge!  We wonder how old it is?

Almost home...

This farmer must have baled some rye on Saturday...

See that row of marshmallows along the driveway?

Oh...it' our farm!

Yes...the rye was baled on Saturday afternoon, and the corn planter is parked in the field ready to go first thing Monday morning...

The planter got started this morning, and will hopefully be able to keep going without any headaches.

After he's finished, it can rain!  It's really dry right now, and we could use a good soaker!

Happy Monday!

A Busy Memorial Day Weekend...

It was a beautiful weekend here!  We couldn't have asked for better weather...for those who were picnicking with family and friends, or for those who had outside work to do.

As is usually the case, there is a lot to do this time of year on the farm.  Our corn is usually planted the first week of May, but with the late spring this year, everyone is running behind. On Tuesday of last week, the planter made it to our place.

Mark has just filled up the boxes on his planter with seed and starter fertilizer, and is making some adjustments to the planter...

He didn't get very far in the first field before there was a glitch.  He's trying to take off a hose clamp to find the problem, while our Amish neighbor Jake looks on...

Found the problem...a clump of starter fertilizer was plugging up a hose...

...and he's ready to go again.   Do you know what that disc sticking out to the left of the planter is for?

It's a marker.  When he gets to the end of the field and turns around, he will line up the hood ornament on his tractor's hood with the mark it makes. That ensures that rows of corn will all line up properly.  It's important that they be evenly spaced for the harvester this fall.  He got a couple of fields planted, and then the rains came and he finished up towards the end of the week.

On Friday morning, looking ahead at the weather forecast, Jim mowed hay here at home, hoping to bale some dry hay on Monday...Memorial Day.

Our respite was on Sunday afternoon when we spent some time with friends at the Holtwood Pinnacle, overlooking the Susquehanna River.  We've had a lot of rains lately, and the river was high, and very muddy, but still beautiful...

When Monday morning rolled around, the day looked like it was going to be pretty busy...and it was!

The soybean planter arrived, and the stack of bags up in the barn were soon emptied.  This is just a few of them...

It's hard to believe, with all the rain we've had lately, how dry the ground was!  The weather this weekend was hot and breezy, quickly drying things out, making the dust fly...

Mid afternoon, Jim began baling, and soon the hay wagons were filled.  Eric and some neighbors did the unloading...

I know it's not the greatest picture, but at this time of day there wasn't any great place to get a picture with good lighting.  You get the idea...two on the wagon...two in the mow, stacking bales...

This mow started out completely empty, but was soon beginning to fill up with stacked, dry hay...

Jenna helped me with some mowing, fed calves, and others pitched in with feeding the cows while I did the evening milking.  Jim finished baling just in time to milk a first calf heifer that freshened in the morning.

It felt overwhelming in the morning, looking at all that had to be accomplished during the day, but the weather cooperated, the equipment worked great, the kids and the neighbors were great help, and we finally reached this place...

Evening...with cooler temps and contented cows out in the meadow for the night.  It felt good to fall into bed tired, but with a sense of accomplishment with all that got done, and thankfulness for good help, good weather, and equipment that worked like it was supposed to!

As I write, on Tuesday afternoon, we're just beginning to see the first shoots of corn peeping through the ground!  All the corn and beans have now been planted, (except for the corn that will be planted after barley) and now we need to be patient and watch it grow!

What Was It?...

On Tuesday I posted about planting corn , along with this picture...

 

Did you figure out what the gray is in the planter box?

It's graphite...intended to help the seed flow more smoothly through the planter and into the ground.  As soon as he told me what it was, I remembered way back when our kids made Pine Wood Derby cars, and we put graphite on the wheels/axles to make them run faster.  It's the same concept.

The seed corn is red because it's been treated with a fungicide and with other things that vary, depending on the variety of corn.

Just in case you ever wondered.  :)

Corn Planting 2012...

Late April...early May...the exact dates will vary depending on the weather, but it's corn planting time around here.

Last year we had a very wet spring, and it was difficult to get the corn in the ground.  This year it's been dry, with the exception of some rain last weekend, and the soil has warmed, so we're about two weeks ahead of last year with corn planting.

Yesterday morning, Jim had some fertilizer spread on the corn ground before it was planted...

I caught up with Mark as he was filling the planter here at home.  He saw me coming, carrying my camera, and he laughed, saying "Are you updating your blog again?"  I guess I'm getting a reputation...he knew he could say that and get away with it! 

While Mark filled the planter with seed corn and insecticide (above), Jim was doing "important paperwork", as he called it.  (The guys were having fun teasing the blogger yesterday)   Jim plants different varieties of corn...some short season for early silage, so we don't run out!...some late season for shelling...and keeps track of where each variety is planted...

I learned something new yesterday.  Mark added something to the seed corn.  Do you have any ideas as to what it is and why he would use it? 

Hint:  it's the gray that you see here...the red is the seed corn.  I'll post the answer in a day or so...

This is that field that we had some tiling done in this spring.  Between the dry spring and the tiling, the field has dried out nicely, and was ready to plant yesterday.  I like seeing the neat rows made by the corn planter...

One thing that I like even better, is seeing the rows of tiny corn stalks peeping up through the soil.  If it stays warm like it's supposed to, hopefully by sometime next week, we'll be seeing some green!

Seeing Some Green...

We've anxiously been waiting to see some green...

In the corn rows, that is!

This field was planted on Saturday, May 14th..

The rain began on Monday evening, May 16th, and continued all week, off and on, until we had received an overly generous amount of almost six inches.  We were concerned about the corn seed possibly rotting in the ground before it came up. 

Two days ago, in that same field, we began to see this...

It's very faint, but if you look closely, you can see those beautiful green rows of tiny corn stalks emerging from the soil!   That's what we want to see!

We're not out of the woods yet...  Some fields look better than others, and a few more days of the hot humid weather that we've had now will give us a much better indication of the condition of the other fields.

We are so happy to be seeing green, and considering all of the weather issues that we've been hearing about from around the country, we have so much to be thankful for. 

Thank you God, for green !

Planting Corn...

It's been an interesting spring...and a busy week!

We've had so much rain that it's been difficult to get into the fields to plant anything.  This past week, however, we had beautiful weather.  The sun came out and the winds dried out the ground enough to begin planting corn...(and begin baling first cutting of hay)  There were a lot of happy, and busy farmers!

On Thursday evening, the custom corn planter arrived.  Jim had all of the seed ready and sorted according to which field it was to be planted in.  He plants several different varieties, so that the corn is ready to be harvested at different times as we need it.  Some will be designated for silage, some will be for refilling the silo several weeks later, and some will be combined or picked as ear corn.

On Friday morning, Mark, the guy who plants our corn, headed for the fields.  He planted all day and came back on Saturday to finish. 

On Saturday morning, I caught up with Mark at our neighbor's farm, where we rent some ground.  I rode a few rounds with him to get a few pictures. 

 He can set the population density on the corn planter according to the farmer's request.  This year Jim had him plant the corn at 32,000 seeds per acre.  Here, he is refilling the planter.  There is a meter inside the cab of the tractor that tells him if the corn is being planted evenly from all of the seed boxes.  When the seed gets low, it beeps, and he knows it's time to stop and refill.

This picture is taken from the cab of the tractor, looking out the back at the planter.  You can see the rows behind that have been planted.  Off to the right, you can see a single line in the field.  This line is made by a marker that is off to the side of the planter...when he turns at the end of the field to come back, he will center the hood of his tractor over that line to ensure evenly spaced rows. 

The corn is being no-tilled into the ground.  Last fall after the corn was harvested, Jim chopped and baled the corn stalks on this particular field for bedding (corn fodder), and the ground remained untouched until this spring, other than spreading manure and fertilizer.  In other words, there was no tilling done...this is the way that we now plant all of our corn. Some corn is planted into soybean or rye ground as well.

This is the very back of the planter.  The two wheels with spikes on are closing up the row where the corn was planted, and the chain drags the loose dirt to help cover the row even further.

Now what we need to do is....wait. 

We had .5" of rain on Sunday, which was perfect for washing the granular fertilizer that was spread into the ground!

We are so dependant on the weather for just about everything that we do!  Hopefully the corn will sprout and grow quickly, since the ground has warmed and we've been having warmer days.  The 2" inches of rain that we had this evening in the course of an hour however, present some questions...did any of the corn wash away?

Hopefully in a few short days, we will see tiny green sprouts peeping through the soil!  I'll keep you posted!