Food in the field 2022

[newoodguy78]

 

 


 
Swampdonkeys been getting his stuff growing pretty well, thought I'd add a place to show when it's in the field. 
Got sweet corn in yesterday, 10 days later than last year. The weather just hasn't been cooperating. Let's hope we get some sunshine and warmer temps. 

[Southside]

Same thing here. Saw field corn going in yesterday. Later than usual, might see frost, or close to it, later this week which is two weeks past normal.

[thecfarm]

It's good that you can get on your field.

[newoodguy78]

That field is an exceptionally dry piece of ground. Come July and August it's almost impossible to pump enough water on it for corn to do well. Looking to have it seeded to a cover crop by then to build some organic matter. 
Dragging irrigation pipe around in the dog days of summer will make a man rethink how he plants :D

[Walnut Beast]

 


 
Swampdonkeys been getting his stuff growing pretty well, thought I'd add a place to show when it's in the field.
Got sweet corn in yesterday, 10 days later than last year. The weather just hasn't been cooperating. Let's hope we get some sunshine and warmer temps.

AWSOME looking setup 💪

[Ron Scott]

Looking good!

[Dangerous_Dan]

 

 

[thecfarm]

Those rear tillers sure do a great job.
I would like to put one behind the wife's 30hp tractor. But the new price is hard to justify. I do have a troy built.

[newoodguy78]

That's a nice setup for sure

[SwampDonkey]

Another 7 weeks before I put most stuff out. Can put onion sets out mid May. Ground in the garden it still quite firm with moisture. I've got some digging to do around the rhubarb and black elders to pull some grass and weeds out. Got a pickup load of manure and supplement for the small gardens and berries. Also some lime to go on. ;D

[Rhodemont]

Rhubarb has some ready to pull this coming weekend.  It does not seem to mind the cold nights.

[newoodguy78]

Saw some rhubarb going by the neighbors the other day,looked really good. Better than I've seen in quite awhile. 

[newoodguy78]

 

 
7 days in the ground and it's just starting to germinate. 
Mid July it would be out of the ground and an 1"-1 1/2" tall in 5 days 

[newoodguy78]

 

 

 
Spinach and radishes after 8 days in the ground. 
Glad to see the spinach coming, that has been giving me fits for two years 

[Roxie]

Mmmm radishes!  

[SwampDonkey]

Spinach likes cooler weather, as soon as it turns hot and dry it goes right to seed. Radishes grow like weeds, you can't eat them fast enough. ;D

You guys are not that far south and west of here, sure lots warmer than here for garden. ;) No one in northern Maine doing any farming yet. As long as snow hangs in Harv's Hollow, no one will be farming here. ;)

Happy gardening.

[newoodguy78]

Spinach definitely prefers the cooler weather. We also had issues with certain varieties failing because of seed issues. Funny the seed salesman wouldn't admit at first but the truth came out. Trying a different seed outfit for some stuff so far it's looking good. 
I like the radishes for two reasons,
1-drive by field snacks. Pull up and grab a few on the way by there's always plenty once they start. 
2- they make me feel like the farmer I'm not, they'll grow about anywhere. All the seeds need is to smell dirt and they're growing  :D

[Mooseherder]

How hard is it to find the Markets or do you have the produce sold before harvest?  We have a 23 acre field we lease to a Potato Farmer.  He rotates the field with Oats, Beets, Wheat.  I'm not sure what they're planting this year.  Last year it was Potatoes. 

[newoodguy78]

The market for the produce is a tough thing to pinpoint. Nothing is presold, we do have a big csa but the way it's setup all members pick what they want with bonus items thrown in as they're available. 
I'm starting to develop a few good contacts to "wholesale" to. Everything else is sold through the store and two big farmer's markets a week. 
The hardest part is staying ahead of the buyers and what they're looking for. Tastes and fads are ever changing. 

[Southside]

Outside of the commodity world I can't think of any food product that is pre sold. We have grocery stores that get weekly egg volumes and a restaurant that takes our small eggs at a discount, but aside from that it's all weekly orders and trying to balance demand with having the right supply.

[Mooseherder]

I know some companies have reverse auctions for procurement.  The system is in Flux more than ever.  Getting fresh food to Market is awesome.  Hats off to you guys.  Have you ever watched the Veggie Boys on YouTube?    

[newoodguy78]

I'm not familiar with the veggie boys I'll have to check them out. 

[Southside]

They hang around here during work days sometimes.   :D

[newoodguy78]

 

 

 
Sweet corn coming along. Slow and steady seems to be the name of the game so far this year. 
Germination rate looks good on this variety. 
Now if we could just get some rain and warm weather. 

[Mooseherder]

It's Corn and Watermelon harvest here now.

[newoodguy78]

Florida area?

[Mooseherder]

Yes, just east of Lake Okeechobee. 

[thecfarm]

Looks good!!!
I saw some corn covered up when we were driving around on Thursday.

[SwampDonkey]

The farmers here have started working ground and I see planters going, grains and such. Ground is cold still, but a lot of fields are bone dry already. Frost this morning, 28F. 70's possible next week.

[Dangerous_Dan]

 

 

 

 
I was told by the GF "no gardening this year"
We were growing garlic in this plot since the deer don't bother it and it low maintenance.
But with the looming food shortage we decided to fence in this area to grow more garden type veggies.
Milled the posts on the woodmizer from some tree service white oak logs.
Got four 5x5's from each log.
Post hole digger works good but some big boulders underground pushed it out of line on a few of the holes. 
Just said screw it and put the posts in anyway, it's going to be electrified wire so if it's off a little it will not matter. 
Added 40 yards or so of screened topsoil and planted a couple hundred onions, squash and some potatoes.
We will be adding corn and pumpkins in the coming days.
Tomorrow we put the insulators on the posts and string the wire.
Gotta figure out a gate.

[WDH]

Very well done. 

[thecfarm]

I run 2 strands low to keep the turkeys out.
Does not have to be hot, just low enough so they can't step over it.

[newoodguy78]

Looks good, nice job. 

[SwampDonkey]

Nice job on the posts. Mine is always a rustic jobbie here. I've got some spruce posts from cutting firewood/thinning, the tops. I knock in with a maul, not all that deep, but good enough to support a 2x2" square fence to keep the ground hogs and turkeys out.  I don't want the fence permanent. I do have a post hole digger.

I see field corn here is up 2", planted in that heat last week. Lots of water now, more tomorrow. 3/4" so far.

Happy gardening.

[newoodguy78]

 

 
Vine crops went in last week. Cukes, squash,melons they're enjoying the rain we got followed by the heat. Looking good so far. 

[kantuckid]

Here in KY, tobacco is pre-sold under contracts to large companies. This is a result of the tobacco base buy-outs that ended the support program. In todays world the big guys such as horse farms that once had huge tobacco bases are still the ones who cash in on the very crop that was killed dead in my area where many depended on it. My entire area grew burley, now maybe a handful in our entire county.
The big growers use contract labor that gets paid well over $20 hourly to cut and house the crop. In other areas, where terrain dictates smaller fields, the tobacco barns are torn down, sold for barn wood or left to fall down.
I suspect there are other contract plants grown? but I cannot think of another one. ;D
My aunt's family of Italian immigrants grew cukes for market using horses only. They lived near Carbondale, KS in Osage County-their farm was a favorite visit of my childhood. Between the animals and the homebaked bread, all was very neat there, except they spoke very little English.

[newoodguy78]

 

 
One week almost to the hour, 3rd planting of sweet corn out of the ground about an 1 1/2".  Looking like a picket fence stand, the planter is doing a nice job. 
Got some much needed rain in the last 24hrs. Was some glad to get it. Saves a ton of money and effort not having to irrigate.

[Mooseherder]

We got so much rain it took out Route 1 with a wash out a mile north of us yesterday.  This is our lil stream.  I've never seen it so high and fast.  There was 2 Beaver dams between us and the road washout.  The garden is a mess. :(
Critter Log Flash Flood - YouTube

A day later and they're not working on it yet.
They got right on it. - YouTube

[newoodguy78]

That's awful, the power of a rainstorm is phenomenal. We got lucky it came in as a gentle rain and got progressively heavier an ideal rain really. Was concerned we'd get an old gully washer and have an absolute mess as dry as it was.

[thecfarm]

mooseherder, I saw something on the news about that.

[kantuckid]

The turkey comment caught my eye. We see turkeys around us all the time but never in our gardens any issues.  We have critter problems out the kazoo but in many years of gardens weve never had one eat something we cared about. They move through the woods here like a rototiller army but that's where they operate. Saw one yesterday late afternoon fly across the front of the house from high up in a tree. Across the road from the house they eat bugs in a meadow. 
 As for garden progression here we have blooms on maters now and two corn plantings out.
 I was trying a "Tiger's Eye bean" this year and the crows ate every seed I planted! In the rows next to that one row they ate zero beans and most came up. 

[btulloh]

NWG, it's about time for an update on your crops. Really curious to see how your changes are working out.

Lately I seem to be driving somewhere around 3pm and listening to the regular 3-4 show on Rural Radio (SiriusXM) called AgPhD. Good stuff and worth a listen.  A lot of good talk about corn nutrients lately and mid-season testing. May not be the most convenient time, but I think you can stream it any time off their website AgPhD.com. Very good info. 

[newoodguy78]

You're correct, I've been delinquent due to the chaos of the season. Got to go around today and check on everything will get some pictures and report back. 
I will say this got a surprise visit from the guy helping me with soil health "well I wish all my stuff looked this good and overall if was to give you a grade it would be a very strong A" 
Considering he's a farmer himself and very knowledgeable took that as a good compliment