More Planet Jr. action!
The Planet Jr. rides again. Clara learns the way of the antique seeder, having just laid down three rows of Kestrel beets. This old seeder continues to serve well!… Read the rest
antique
Bigger gear…
Thanks to the comments on yesterday’s blog post, this piece of old farm gear, lying abandoned in the field for who knows how long, has been ID-ed as a sickle bar mower. Yet another in a long line of bigger … Read the rest
Second snow, 2009
Around 8 am, just getting light, and it’s the second snow that’s sticking around for a while. Here, I’m standing in a weedy area right beside the barn, looking south-west over the south-facing slope, with the chickenhouse just out of … Read the rest
Planet Jr. rising
This year the antique Planet Jr. seeder finally took over from the Earthway, to handle most of the direct seeding. We’ve been using it for everything but tiny carrot and lettuce seed, where the lighter Earthway is easier to maneuver … Read the rest
Direct-seeding peas
The first direct-seeded crop went in today: Sugar Ann snap peas. As usual, the peas were inoculated with Rhizobium bacteria: dampen the seed with a little water, sprinkle with inoculant powder, and shake.
Rhizobium bacteria enter legume roots and form … Read the rest
Old broadcast seeder
Found this antique broadcast seeder hanging on a nail in the drive shed, the Cyclone Seed Sower, made in Urbana, Indiana, sometime way back when (patented 1925). The canvas is torn, but it’s otherwise in good working order. Dunno exactly … Read the rest
Farm gothic?
All sorts of old things are being unearthed as the entire farm gets a thorough, top-to-bottom, no-drawer-unpulled going through, something that probably hasn’t been done in a century. There are all kinds of finds, like horse-drawn plows and a farm-built … Read the rest