Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: corn, dead furrow, draft horses, maize, plowing with horses, Small Farming, Spring, spring plowing
May 28, 2019
After a very wet spring and many delays due to soggy conditions, our corn crop has been planted! The horses and I finished plowing the second “land” yesterday. This is a three acre field. If it gives us a normal yield, we will have plenty of corn for the animals.
I am happy with my plowing job. The horses worked beautifully. The soil turned over very nicely yesterday. This is the last strip in this section. In the distance, you can see my cousin discing with the tractor. Having his help made it possible to finish the field prep and get the corn planted by suppertime.
As the strip gets smaller, the horses have to walk a little differently. Here, Hoss walks in the main furrow. Abby walks on the strip of green. Knight walks in the furrow made from our last pass coming from the opposite direction. We plow this strip until all of the green has been flipped over. The last pass makes a small ditch that helps to drain water from the field. This ditch is called a dead furrow.
A view of my mixed powered farm. The horses do much of the work, but a tractor can be utilized when needed. Yesterday, we pushed hard to beat the coming rains. As we all ate supper last night, (horses included) we took great pleasure in knowing that the corn field and our main garden were both planted before the weather turns wet again.
It was a crazy past few days. The horses and I plowed almost every day for a few hours. They are improving in condition after having so many days off due to weather. We got the rest of the tillage equipment ready, knowing that the corn would have to be planted soon. We even captured a wild swarm of honeybees that had stop to rest on a tree in the chicken park. They are all snug and happy in their new hive too. So, as the month of May is coming to a close, we have much to be thankful for and thankful, we are!
A quick look at the dead furrow. Once disced, this makes a smooth swale for the water to flow out of the field.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: #9 mower, draft horses, plowing, spring plowing, spring work
May 20, 2019
Here we go again! The rains are still trying to keep us out of the fields, but a breezy day and warm sunshine dries things out fast. We have two wet places that would stop a tractor, but the horses plow right through.
Many farmers are getting very worried as planting days are held off by the weather. Much of our areas field work has not even been started. We are playing catch up ourselves. The horses, are soft from all those days off due to the rain, so I have to go slowly with plenty of breaks. I’m fine with that. We are making progress and that is what counts.
I am pleased with our efforts so far. The horses are working good together. This much horsepower makes everyone’s job easier. It looks like we will be able to plow for at least the next two days, but who knows? We will just take it in stride and work steady. Slow is steady, steady is fast.
The hay fields are growing quickly. Looks like as soon as the corn gets planted, we will be shifting gears and begin the work of making hay. Farm life is full of ups and downs, but a man is never bored!
The new haymower…..soon it will get its debut.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: draft horses, patience, soil preparation, spring plowing, spring work
May 13, 2019
Well, another half inch of rain in the last twenty-four hours. More is forecast for the next several. The mud is everywhere and spring work is stalled. I am sure some guys are getting very stressed. I am taking it in stride. The weather is something we cannot control. Patience is tested, but better to focus on making sure everything is ready to go, once the weather breaks.
We have things ready, I think. The planter is ready. The harrows and drags are ready. The horses and I are ready too. In the meantime we watch the grasses grow, the flowers bloom and the baby lambs being born. Warn dry days will soon be here, we just have to wait.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: draft horses, forage oats, pasture grass, small farm field work, Spring, spring work
May 10, 2019
The recent rains have made the pasture grasses and hay fields grow. They have also delayed most field work for us farmers. We got a quick dry out over the last few days. I worked quickly to try and get our forage oats planted. Forage oats are a leafy oat plant that we sometimes grow for pasture or hay. I hope to use this years crop for hay.
The soil was marginal on Tuesday, but I managed to disc over it all once. I incorporated last years corn stubble and the applied compost. It was too wet to make another pass, so we moved on to other projects.
The sun was very warm on Wednesday with a stiff breeze blowing. I walked out and check the field. It was better, but still too wet for any field work.
Thursday morning, the wind was blowing stiff, the temperature was hot, almost 80F. I scrambled to disc the whole plot again. It was amazing at how much the soil had dried. It was still wet in places and I made a few ruts.
We broadcast the oat seed on the disced ground, using my homemade spinner seeder. I spun the oats on at a rate of 4 bushels to the acre. Once the broadcasting was done, I rolled the whole field with a large roller. It is not the best job that I have ever done, but the oats are in. The rain started falling again, just as I put the last tool away.
The hope now is for a crop to make hay. I am thankful that the field dried, the rain held off and that I was able to stay on track. This job can now be scratched off the list. Once the soil dries out again, we can get back to the job of plowing. Abby (our filly) is still out for breeding at her husband’s place. We missed her yesterday. I am also thankful for our mixed powered farm. I used the tractor yesterday in the heat and rush of trying to beat the rain. The horses did inspect my job and I think they approved.
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: Backyard Bees, bee package, honey, honeybees, pollination
May 7, 2019
After a season of not having honeybees, we are trying again. Nature and man is really working these creatures over. I feel it is only right to try and help them. We put bees into two hives and will nurture them to the best of our ability. They look good so far. Later this week I will open the hives and check them all over.
What you see is a row of bee packages waiting to be picked up by beekeepers like myself. The bee yard was full! Many folks were coming to get their bees. It is amazing to think that this is just one pick up site. I hope we all have successful hives.
In each screened box is a queen, a swarm weighing about 3 pounds and a can of sugar water to feed them.
The queen is in a little wooden screen box about 1 inch by 3 inches with a few “nurse” bees to care for her. The box has a cork in one in that when removed, has a candy plug inside. By the time the bees eat the candy plug (about 3-4 days), they are all bonded with the queen. Once she is released from the box, she sets up house keeping inside her new hive and starts laying brood
The box above gets opened, the can of sugar water is removed. The queen, in her box, is placed into the hive between a couple frames. The cork removed from her box, revealing the candy plug. The rest of the bees are carefully dumped into the hive. The hive gets closed up and we walk away for 3-4 days.
Upon opening the hive after the wait period, we will check to see that the queen is out, the bees have started making honeycomb and all is well. The vacant queen cage will be taken out and the hive closed again. The bees will be coming and going, in and out of the hive opening, gathering pollen and nectar and doing “bee things”.
Our hope is that both colonies get strong, pollinate our garden crops and make plenty of honey for us, and most importantly for themselves!
Filed under: May 2019 | Tags: draft animal power, Percheron, Percheron stallion, Small Farming, work horses
May 2, 2019
Meet H&M Firestorm, a registered Percheron stallion. He and our Abby will soon share a baby together, if all goes well. I have searched for quite a while looking for what I wanted in a mate for her. Size, disposition, confirmation, attitude and breeding, all played a part in picking this guy out.
He is a handsome fellow.
He has great “assets”! He is a quiet guy with very good breeding behind him. He is sensible and broke to work on farm machinery. He is on the smaller size as draft horses go, but that is what I want. As I get older, I’d like to one day have a small farm team, easy to harness, but still able to do all the farm’s work.
Abby is also well bred. She too is a sensible horse to work and in the barn. I believe the foals from this mating should make for some great work horses. Only time will tell of course, but that is my hope. We should know a lot more by this time next year. It is my hope to raise several foals out of these two horses. Nothing in farming is “for sure”, but the promise in new life can be found easily on a farm.
RicelandMeadows 