one new plot

[growalot]

Should be fine...mine was a tad flatted this morning when I retrieved the camera but we too have had daily rains and hail a couple of times..I may not get a garden in this year... The farmer always plants his corn here On memorial day weekend...The field it a mass of weeds and mustard flowering

Edited May 30, 2017 by growalot

[growalot]

hhmmm ....plot is getting traffic  but the crows are making bald spots all over it....probably mad I haven't put in corn for them to pluck out

[growalot]

The thunderstorms are keeping me from everything else so I figured I'd get some tree cutting done...Manage 6 cut, limbed and put up on the log piles and the brush pile fencing before the latest round of storms had me running for the house...Not a fan of sun and thunder...a kid in Avon was killed on a school trip in just such conditions...nice and sunny but close thunder...struck his St Christopher metal around his neck as I recall..

I managed to open up a bit more sun to the new plot and to the future new lane way plot...most tree cutting now will take the trees right across the lane way when dropped so I need to finish that up here very soon. Dang logs full of water so heavy per foot ...my hair is as wet as if I come out of a shower...speaking of which...headed that way now...

[Adkhunter1590]

Well I will have a new 3-5 acre plot once the ground dries up some. Brought a truck load of corn over to the farmer around the corner that lets me hunt and asked if he could till a field up for me. He says not a problem. Figure I'll get it brushhogged early July, hammer it hard with round up 2 times through July then have him disc it up end up July with a planting of turnips, clover and winter wheat right after. I'm pretty pumped about it seeing as this will be the biggest plot I'll have and that it's going to get a real good tilling vs what I've been doing with my atv.

[growalot]

I just got the disc on...I am in from planting the garden..Well part of it..the main plants 40 tomato plants 22 sweet peppers 12 eggplant and a long long fencing of pole beans...so much more to go in and I have to separate and trans plant the cabbage and brussels I direct seeded last month.

[growalot]

finally  got the the new lane way plot half disced...no lime because ,note most my picture...it's a hill and the soil was packed...I didn't want run off..so I will pack the bigger rocks and OH man I am glad limes been on sale lately... 

[Adkhunter1590]

Got the field brush hogged today! Going to turn it over with a 2 bottom plow soon. Can't wait to get seed in the dirt!

[growalot]

I've given up on even summer plots...I mowed them except the WW. Can't spray with daily down pours. The one I did early grew back in. So today I disced up weeds and all along the road frontage strip and from Rivers blind to the end of laneway plot. Even with liming last year the soil is acrid smelling. I dropped 4 bags of lime there and 2  in the old clover fruit tree plot. That will need spraying more lime, and moss killer. Then worked for a fall clover/alfalfa ww plot front will be turnips / clover. Lane way. A mix....Just not a good plot year here. Much more lime is needed all over...The  hay plot is greening up,fear with lots of weeds.   Will have very few acorns..good apples. No corn a lot less clover,tons  of beech nuts. I'm not going to worry about it..I can't control the weather so I'll just do what I can...drop lots of trees for one thing..so much canker ,so many dead and dying maple.It's a good thing I have so much wild clover growing around the place.berry patches are doing great and expanding..excellent feed and cover.

[Adkhunter1590]

The weather sure has made it tough on everyone this year. A lot of guys around here are just wrapping up planting 60 day corn according to my neighbor. Pretty glad I didn't invest in summer plots this year, other than the frost seeded clover and chicory. Which is surprisingly doing pretty good. Need to spray it and maybe mow again to combat some grasses coming in thicker than I'd like. I'm seeing good apples here too, I have probably 20-30 apple trees scattered all around and none of them produced anything last summer. This year it's looking good!

I feel your pain on the spraying grow. I originally planned on spraying this new field I got after it was cut. But after talking with my neighbor, I agree with him on skipping the spraying and moldboard plow it instead to flip it over to kill it. He says he has much better luck doing it that way around our area. His farming experience is older than I am so I'll take his word for it. Going to try skipping the discing after plowing too, he says we will do it on a day when it's just a bit damp and I can drag my drag harrow around with the quad and that should smooth it out well enough. I agreed with this too, my drag really does tear some stuff up, a lot more than I would have imagined.

[growalot]

Yes they do. I will wait until after this next rain to skim disc those areas again,after liming and I'll have the drag behind the disc to further yank out the rooted weeds...I do need to go down and contend with some thistle I found trying to get a foot hold...normally I yank it but there is too much of it and daisies in the ww those will get pulled and all others around weed whacked. Stinking things they are everywhere.

I do hope that test hay field works out for I am looking forward to planting some larger areas in it next spring.

[growalot]

Everyone is using the new plot now...I can hardly wait until next year when it really comes in good. One section at the far end I left for annuals ..so turnips will go in with an over seeding of clover. I got the lane way cleared. I then put the last 2 bags of lime down. I think I'll mow the rye and then go in and disc up the whole area.   lay down some plot spike and oats and disc it in and drag smooth...just to see how well it does this first year......I want to keep the deer and turkey coming in and hanging in the gully more and less in the neighbors golden rod or the farmers hay field. The lane way will give me one continuous plot from 200ft from our back line right to the road so they can cross back over on to our place before heading down to the swamps.

[growalot]

I got all the grain plots mowed and mowed some interior plots that will be done in fall...I disced in the end of upper lane way WR and the new lane way plot(behind brush pile fence /behind buck) weather turned so I will fertilize, seed, dics and drag those areas tomorrow if not too wet...I'm just looking to draw their attention now...will over seed in turnips later...

[growalot]

Done!!!

[Adkhunter1590]

Sounds like a great day of food plotting grow.

I'm still working on getting some time to get my field plowed. But I also just came across a possible tractor for sale real cheap from a friend of my wife. She's working on getting the address so we can go take a look. Supposedly a Ford 8n that's in good shape and runs good. Stored inside and only used to brush hog a small field for decades. Supposedly has some implements to go with it. I love the old Fords and they work perfect for smaller scale food plotting so I really wanna go take a look in the next few days if we can figure out where this friend of a friend lives. Hoping it's in as good of shape as we've been told, for the $1000 asking price it sounds too good to be true. But if it's any good I'll bring it home for a grand and pound it around out back getting my fall plots in soon.

[growalot]

Good luck with it, I hope it works out for you.

Yes as hot and muggy as it was it was a good day. I got some more trees cut I left those tops as cover/bedding in the wood lot next to the plot..This worked well already for when fertalizing the new clover plot parallel to the lane way. I left the  cam door wide open after turning it off. I remembered and hadxto go back out befote dinner to fix it. I kicked out a deer in those tops and one at the end. I took my camera with me ,I'll post pics tomottow. I think I'll call it the T plot .

[growalot]

Here are the before, lets hope the next pics are in bright green

[growalot]

Wow sun came out and the clover poped in the new plot and the one I JUST put in on the 12th has some really good growth in it all ready...The foot prints are crazy in it and I have turkey feathers and dusting bowls all over the place

[growalot]

Well this confirms it...EVERYTHING likes this new plot...I knew it would be a great place for one...I zoomed in on that picture I can't see what he's looking at????

[growalot]

Well the long trail plot and the small plot at it's end are a bit iffy...This is the T plot...and the end where I have had a plot for may years looks OK...but the rye didn't reseed as I had hoped...I hit it with turnips and there is a fine greass growing in it with some clovers...

Not sure what happened with the spikeplot  ...Some of the grains grew fastbut very thin and the peas did great ..very fast growth...but the brassicas and clovers not so much...I think that they got buried too deep or washed away or in too deep ...the rains were torrential after the planting...and it really packed the soils down as well...Then again 12 bags of lime may not have done the trick... All that said I was expecting this...all that grew there before was sheet moss. Also could be light as well ...I mention often that what you see for light in spring /early summer will not be the same late summer/fall...I see today that trees that were not shading before are now. This would not be a problem in a clover plot... but I wanted to wait and plant annuals for the first few seasons.. I need to build soil tilth in this area and work on remaining junk and dead tree cutting. So if the turnips fizzle...they got hit hard with rain yesterday...Then I will drag the whole thing lay down a whole bunch of rye grain and drag it in.