The Official Farming Thread...

[Bill G]

I took some flood pics tonight. When I get in the house I will try posting them but they wont make much sense because I do not have before pics.

 

[jblnut]

Started on the first of the irrigation bridges. I set 3,000lbs in the center and the whole works deflected 2” inches over a 45’ span so I’m quite happy with that !


I have a nice air conditioned shop and I’m working outside because I don’t want to figure out how to get them in and out or how to flip it over when needed without making a mess of my floor.

 

[Bill G]

This field pic was yesterday. The water you see is the Mississippi River not seep water.

 

[Bill G]

These two pics are from the lower end of the lock and dam. The first pic shows what is called the haulage unit. It is a large electric powered winch that is used to pull the first 9 barges out of the lock chamber after they are detached from the remaining 6 barges and tow boat. It has been removed from the top of wall and placed on high ground to prevent getting damage.

 

[Bill G]

This is the second pic of the lower end of the dam. The little hut you see on top of the wall is where a lockman waits to toss the headline off after a double has been coupled. If you do not toss the line and the captain motors ahead all hell breaks loose. Trust me I know. I got an ass chewing on that. In any event if we do indeed hit 1993 levels the water will be over the handrail and up the window a bit. That is a new hut as 1993 destroyed the old one

 

[Bill G]

The significance of this picture is the tree. As high tech as the government is 1993 once the water went over the lock wall we had no way to accurately measure it. We had a concrete elevation marker in the yard and used a transit to shoot an elevation to a tree. We also had a 2x8 with a height scale attached. Once we got our elevations set we nailed the 2x8 to a tree and that is how we read the official river levels. Yes folks the official river level was taken by looking a a 2x8 nailed to a tree with a tape measure on it. That is not the tree we used in 1993 though. I died.

 

[jakethesnake]

I’ll take some of that spare rain. Burning up over here

 

[Lnk]

I’ll take some of that spare rain. Burning up over here

Same here. Getting crunchy.

 

[Seachaser]

I’ll take some of that spare rain. Burning up over here

Same here. We have 50% + chance the next seven days, but they are seldom right.

 

[nbbt]

I’ll take some of that spare rain. Burning up over here

I would if I could, as some of our gardens are getting indications of to much moistures. At least around the garlic and tomatoes.

However the blueberry crop is seeming to be turning into the best I've ever had in our small patches. It seems they like natural liquids . . .

 

[Bill G]

I would if I could, as some of our gardens are getting indications of to much moistures. At least around the garlic and tomatoes..........

Many folks do not understand that tomatoes do not need a lot of water. In 1984 and 1988 we had a severe drought here and tomatoes were yielding 25 ton per acre. Some folks were averaging $90/ton. That is $2250 gross per acre on a drought year.

 

[jakethesnake]

Many folks do not understand that tomatoes do not need a lot of water. In 1984 and 1988 we had a severe drought here and tomatoes were yielding 25 ton per acre. Some folks were averaging $90/ton. That is $2250 gross per acre on a drought year.

Wish I had some tomatoes planted. I’ve got some corn in tassel I’m taller than it is and it’s burning up. Not sure what it would do even if it got a good rain from here on out

 

[Bill G]

There is no corn tasseling here that I know of. There is no doubt it will be very short when it does. The wheat came out Sunday, straw baled Monday, and beans when in Tuesday.

 

[Bill G]

Then Tuesday night a slow 2-3 inches of rain

 

[nbbt]

During dry years I have only been adding water every 2nd or 3rd day. Since just after planting this year I have only irrigated once.

 

[Bill G]

Whatever you do...do not water them as they near ripen. They will crack like no other.

 

[srb08]

Whatever you do...do not water them as they near ripen. They will crack like no other.

I always wondered why some split. Now I know.
Thanks for that!

 

[Bill G]

It is "rain cracks". They take on excess water and swell soo fast they will crack. It is not a big deal if you are canning them but for years we were the exclusive suppliers of tomatoes and green bell peppers to four supermarkets across the river in Iowa. There was no way you could take them any cracked fruit. We did not irrigate so we could not control the rain but it did require good sorting. We had to clean, polish, and box them into 20 and 30 lb lugs. Then deliver them to the store. They paid us $0.30 per pound. They then took them out of the lug (box) and put them in the produce counter on "sale" at $0.99 per pound. It got to the point they claimed they were not making enough money and started buying through Nash-Finch and had them trucked from California.

 

[Seachaser]

I always wondered why some split. Now I know.
Thanks for that!

A lot of fruit will do that. Even blueberries.

 

[Bill G]

A lot of fruit will do that. Even blueberries.

I have a funny story about blueberries. For years we had a local farmer named Brad that would hire a high school kid to help out. It had to be a kid that came from a farm with real farm experience. The kid also had to have skin like leather because Brad was rough and his wife was even rougher. Top notch folks and great farmers but just very direct .Well one of my students, Lucas, was that type of kid and worked for him. He was a big boy, worked like a mule, and was used to verbal bashings from his Dad and Grandpa. I went to school with his Dad. After awhile I noticed he had developed a nickname of "Blueberry". I just assumed it was because he was a big boy. I was dead wrong though. I asked him one day why kids and even farmers in the area called him blueberry. He got sheepish and I could tell he did not want to say so I let it go. Well it turns out Brad's wife and mother in law had a blueberry patch that they had been struggling to establish for a few years. Shortly after starting to work for them he was mowing one day and mowed the whole patch off thinking they were weeds. I can only imagine the reaction when they saw what he did. From that day on his nickname was blueberry. He continued to work there until he left for college. At that point one of my son's replaced him. My son was just as thick skinned and Brad knew it. If my son did something Brad did not like he would say "well you are sure no Lucas" My son would say "yeah I didn't mow the blueberries off did I". Lucas is now the manager of three fertilizer plants here. He has two sons and I bet he still gets called blueberry ever once in awhile.