Inch by Inch, Row by Row...

Inch by inch, row by row, it's time to get these crops to grow!

April means planting season. Due to all of the rain *Praise God!* we had a slight delay on planting. Usually, the crops are in the ground mid-April, but this year it was later. Planting is a really interesting process because all of the crops can be planted using the same machine and changing the plates and rate of seeding.

Sugar Beets

The first crop in the ground is sugar beets.

To prepare the planter, Boots must first choose the correct plate. The plates vary on size and help drop the seeds through the planter. Then, he programs the rate at which the seeds need planted. After that, he deposits the seed into the planter basket and adds additional fertilizers as needed. The fertilizers are held in the tanks on the tractor and are applied as the seed is deposited into the ground. Finally, he is ready to plant.

Planting beets

Checking all the hoses

Bah helping check seed bins

Beet seed

He does make dirt look good

Corn

One of our main crops is corn. Corn is planted in bedded rows. On sprinkler-irrigated sections the rows are not as defined, but in pipe-irrigated sections, the field must be ditched first to allow the water to flow down each row.

As the corn seed it put in the planter, talc is added; the talc keeps the seeds from clumping or getting stuck in the machine.Much like with beets, the fertilizer application process happens while the seed is planted. This helps feed the seed and boosts germination. The kids enjoyed watching the floating balls that let us know if a nozzle is plugged. Thanks to modern technology, we were even able to watch a family movie (The Incredibles) while in the cab of the tractor.

Boots checking fertilizer

Ready to go

Boo watching the fertilizer

GPS and a movie

Soy Beans and Edible (Pinto) Beans

A planted field of beans looks very similar to a planted field of corn, but the plates are slightly different. Check them out:

Photo courtesy of John Deere

Pumpkins

Pumpkins (and gourds) are planted using a sunflower seed plate. They are also spaced further apart by planting every other row since they have large vines.

Sorting varieties of pumpkins and gourds

Off he goes

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