A. Howl do you do?
This week I am going to explain a few farming techniques since some of you may not be farmers. However since most of my readers are my family and friends and are very familiar with farming, you can just skip over those parts and look at the pictures.
ACROSS THE ROWS
If you noticed a few weeds last week, you will now notice that the weeds are gone. During the week there was some sort of herbicide applied as well as cultivating done to loosen up the soil for better water retention.
DOWN THE ROWS
This was a weedy area last week and you can see the light green along the rows where the weeds have died and have been uprooted by the cultivating.
This is also the first picture that I have posted that shows how the corn is watered. I think it is technically called a center pivot irrigation system. We just call the big old watering machine a "circle"
The watering pattern is in a circle.
I didn't rent a plane and take this picture just for my readers. It is from a website that sells the irrigation systems. http://www.valley-ae.com/page.aspx?id=1272
These "crop circles" have nothing to do with aliens.
Roller Damming
Roller damming is a cultivation process that digs small holes or dams along the rows instead of just loosening up the soil and leaving a trench. It is really common in this area to help with water uptake and conservation. Some farmers swear by it and others just swear at it, but that's the farming way. What was most interesting to me was that I wanted to find an official definition on the internet but instead I made a notable discovery! The internet does not know everything! That definition I just made up, may be the best one for roller damming in all of cyberspace!
(And, yes, the dog is trying to get in the picture)
PLANTS WITH OBJECTS, BOTH FAMILIAR AND NOT SO MUCH
This is a mailing tube with 18 " marked on it. It's kind of boring so it's fired.
Smiling dog, mailing tube, circle wheel, corn plants
This isn't a very good picture but for comparison purposes it might come in handy later. From the ground to the tread on the wheel is about 36" The corn in this particular spot was about 12" but it had been a weedy area. Right now, I would say the average plant is about 18"
AVERAGE PLANT
The first time I rode on an airplane with Craig he was so excited to show me what he believed were "missile silos" all across the Midwest. When I realized he meant these "crop circles" I tried my best to explain the truth to him without laughing. He refused to believe me - for more than a year.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you grow up in an overdeveloped, largely urban area.