Soil. What about it?

Recently, I have found an interest in the area of deglaciation. That is to say, the mystery of what happened here thousands of years ago gave shape to what can be seen here today. Our farm sits on mostly clay/silt, but has a few bands of sand here and there as well as some random rocks thrown in where you least expect them. Those rocks have often been unearthed with the tractor and plow, though one was found with a new set of blades on our riding mower. Ooops. 

What can be seen specifically in our yard is banding of different soil types as it settled, presumably after being washed out of the retreating Laurentide Glacier and then being settled by the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz. It is hard to picture in your mind as you stand in the yard, a wall of ice, melting and crumbling away, perhaps hundreds of feet high where your house now sits. The random rocks would have been bulldozed by the glacier off the higher rocky prominences in the area, only to fall off the edge of the glacier as it melted in later times. Speculation, it may be, but we do have glaciers today that have shown us how they behave. It can make a person feel pretty small in the world, but maybe moreso blessed to be witness to the evidence! 

 Our farmyard is a soil called Orthic Gray Luvisol, for the most part.  I know the Poplar trees like it and thrive in this soil, as do the Moose Maple and Balsam trees. That being said, it grows a good crop of beans and with a bit of biomass such as the rotted overburden of needles, leaves and such, potatoes love the soil as well as much of our selected crops. Then there is this very interesting but oh, so stubborn hard-pan layer that sits below the top level of soil. It is made of calcium carbonate - the same stuff that makes well water hard. It prevents rain water from going deep into the soil and gives our farm a problem with rainfall runoff. So last year we purchased a big, chisel like device for the tractor called a middle-buster. It can penetrate the hard pan with a bit of effort, giving much needed drainage and also causes some of the calcium carbonate to return to the growing soil which is of benefit to the crops. 

Apart from the farm, the Dryden area can reveal the glacial evidence in other ways. There are very cool features on the shores of Wabigoon lake called "varves" in the clay banks. Basically the layers that were built up over the centuries of glacial melt. You can also find moraines (large gravel features that run for many kilometers at a time) as well as eskers which make some beautiful sandy/gravelly "varves" as well. This photo was taken East of the farm, in a gravel pit. The layers are incredible!

Also, a little closer to home is this massive boulder, all by itself amongst much smaller clast (broken rocks) on a clay hillside. It is quite amazing, being that it is approximately 20 feet by 16 feet wide and 8 to 10 feet high!  Just think, the glacier carried it to that spot!

Enjoy your time outside and keep your eyes open! You never know what interesting thing you might find!

Additional Land Cleared

 With apologies, this blog has been unreasonably inactive for 2 years.

Farming takes alot of time and blogging was something that got neglected for the media presence of our farm.  It was easier to satisfy the masses on our other SMPs, those being Instagram and Facebook, so you could go there to get a snippet of the farm activities.

But today I will provide a quick overview of the post-market activities on the farm, that made for a busy September and October.  We cleared land.  More land.  Scrubby and mostly unused land.  Land that makes a person growl as they walk in it because the scrub and Moose Maple makes for unpleasant movement within. Largely unforested, there were a few Poplar trees, some ratty Balsam trees and two beautiful White Spruce trees.  I saved the White Spruce and landscaped around them to create an island in the middle of the working field area.  It will be a bit inconvenient when using equipment but the aesthetic of it will be of much greater value!

Most of the scrub, stumps and weeds were moved, sifted and set to be burned off to the side.  Piles of soil that were previously placed in this area were spread out over the opened ground.  Any remaining sticks were hand picked and added to the burn piles and the piles were lit off.  Remaining ash and soil was pushed back onto the open ground, then I brought in the 2-bottom plow and turned the opening over to allow winter's cold to break down the soil in a way only nature can.

Tree Island at Right

Plowing Complete

Tractors and Plow

This clearing operation gave an extra 3/8 of an acre to the total field size and eliminated some unmanaged piles of dirt as well as becoming one open area with ease of management for the future of the farm.  For the coming 2023 farm season, this new area should be full of Sweet Corn, Squash and Black Oil Sunflowers.  I am anxious to get back to the soil!

Oat harvest in November!?

 November 10th, about 2 months later than average for a typical harvest.  Last week turned out to be so warm and sunny, the field became too soft to run equipment in it, so I waited until we got some sub zero temperature to stabilize the soil.  So minus 2 and sunny, I got the combine harvester out and went to work.

https://youtu.be/krlD0Se2SLA

This aspect of agriculture is the most unfamiliar to me as I have never used the combine in the field, only ensured the unit worked from a mechanical aspect in the yard.  Because my oats were drying by virtue of freezing, the stalks were green near the ground, even though the tops were gold.  Combines don't process green stalks without plugging up, so I did have to learn how to clear some plug-ups.   (Always be sure to power down your equipment and take all safety measures.)

A good crop of this size should yield about 30 times the amount of seed planted.  This late season crop was never going to be a high yielder, but it did give about 4 times the amount planted.

https://youtu.be/u_bTw_sr8yg

Once off the field I needed to unload the tank, so off to the barn to find a bin for storage.  If I keep growing oats, I will need to get a storage bin for sure!  This is a clip of part of the unload.

https://youtu.be/4ZIcfCgfRxI

In the end, the oat straw was a bit too green(damp) to bale, so I took it off the field loose instead of baling it.  Will let it sit in the barn for a week to dry, then bale it and put it up in the mow.

This is the last bit of harvest work for the year.  Snow is coming tonight and now time is going to be used for winter projects, maintenance and planning for 2021.  Farming is indeed dictated by nature; we can only put in our best effort when the weather lets us!

Oats For Cover Crop, Green Feed or Harvest?

 This year on the farm we completed a major task, that of clearing more land around the first acre we ever opened up.  Two sides just needed a bit of tidying up, the other 2 sides required heavy mechanical assistance.  We ended up with about 2.25 acres of tillable, plantable land.  One section of the recent clearing is about 200 feet by 120 feet, just over half an acre.  It was the most vulnerable looking area, so we planted it with Oats.  Within five days and with alot of irrigation (mid-July), we had 0.6 acres of Oats emerge!  

Our intention was to till the plants in once they started to thicken up and tiller growth was underway, thus giving a green manure to the soil.  What we started to see was the very vigorous growth of the Oats so we have left them standing with an intention to harvest whatever survived the cold of October, bale the straw and plow the stubble in to give something back to the soil.

So as the last photo shows, the Oats are losing their color, succumbing to the snow and cold.  According to the forecast, next week will have a 2 to 3 day window to harvest whatever Oats have matured and to bale the remaining straw.

We will post as soon as we are done the harvest!

Save The Plants!

As autumn rolled in, the plants were slowing down production with the change in sunlight and temperature.  The bean plants were starting to yellow, some potato plants had withered.  The corn plants had finished putting out cobs and beets, carrots and onions were showing their fullest sizes.  This year, our tomatoes were slow to redden, so where those other crops were finishing off, the tomatoes were in their prime! 

Once we got to first frost, only produce that was in the greenhouse was showing any continued growth, but it really only extends an extra week or two beyond field produce.  One crop that seemed to keep going was the cherry tomatoes I had planted in large pots.  I had 7 big plants that were pushing about four dozen pieces of fruit per week.  When it seemed these plants were about to die off due to the cold, I decided to bring them into the house and set them up in our big window by the heat register where we set early seedlings in spring.  Three of the plants died off even though I brought them into the house...it had been too much cold for them.

Four plants have survived and under careful watering, additional lighting and a bit more light fertilizer, they have produced fruit, started dozens of new blossoms and now, even those new blossoms have become fruit!  The process is much slower than summer growing, but we get results!  Our first picking gave almost 4 dozen tomatoes and this next harvest might be around three dozen, about 3 weeks later.  I expect the cycles to get closer together if blossoms continue to develop. 

I think the amount of light will be the biggest variable to deal with, so lights on timers are adding light once the sun goes down to give the plants that summer-like amount of light.  I use warm water to elevate the net amount of heat for the plants which should emulate what happens when the sun is heating the soil surface in the summer.  This experiment is proving worth while.  I might have to try some other potted vegetables next year to see what we can grow through winter!

Take Care of That Tractor

A tractor is one of the key tools on the farm.  One hundred years ago, the horse was the means of power but today it is the tractor.  Mine are not new, in fact they are 11 and 22 years older than me!  But this does not mean they are poor quality or ineffective at what they are meant to do.  In fact, these machines have some extraordinary ability with pulling a plow, disc harrows, haying equipment and the like.  That being said, these tractors need care, more than just changing the engine oil or checking the tire pressures.

Foremost, one should find any books or manuals that can help maintain the equipment.  Having accurate measurements and specifications, instructions and advice on operation as well as part numbers makes keeping your tractor in good shape easy and economical.  Oil types, quantities, filter types, maintenance cycles or how often to check/grease/oil the machine are usually in a table in any shop manual and following the schedules pays dividends!

If there was one rule I could pass along about any equipment it is that you keep it sheltered when not in use.  A large, insulated shop with good lighting, a heated concrete floor and good work benches would be ideal, but not necessarily affordable.  But even a three-sided lean-to is an excellent option and often the best solution on a farm for sheltering any equipment.  I started with a 12 x 14 shed for the tractors.  the tractors sit quite tightly together in that space.  Each side has a rolling door which when both are opened gives a twelve foot wide open side.  It is a pole shed made with new and recycled material.  It has a sandy floor that stays quite dry and I installed lighting and a few receptacles for convenience.  As needs arose, I added a 20 x 20 shed onto the back of this shed for other smaller equipment - tiller, snowblower, ATV, etc.  The key to effective use of the shed is space management...having assigned spots for each item.

During the busy farming seasons, it can be costly to have downtime or unnecessary maintenance to deal with.  A bit of planning with the maintenance schedules before it gets busy can be helpful.  Sometimes it doesn't work out, but if you have downtime in the early spring or late fall, you can go over all necessary aspects of the maintenance schedule and have that tractor ready for work when the time comes.

For us this year, our second, newer tractor spent 2 weeks in the shop so we could check out everything.  It took about 70 shop hours to complete the work as much of the sheet-metal was repainted and a snowplow blade was fabricated for the loader frame.  This was also a good time to do a few upgrades - the power take-off (PTO) handle was in an inconvenient spot behind the seat, so a linkage was made to have it repositioned beside the seat with the three point hitch control.  New LED lighting was installed.  The rear tires were worn down alot so the tread was re-cut to increase traction.

Future plans for this tractor include replacing gauges, upgrading the quick-hitch components to handle the newest type of three point equipment, installing a front bumper/weight hanger and adding a  72 inch, 1/3 cu. yd. bucket to the loader to improve material handling.  A rollbar with canopy should also be added to give extra protection to the operator, if not an entire cab!  Appreciating and enjoying the tractor you have means caring for it.  It is worth the effort!

Marketing Markets

Farmers markets and the like are a funny thing to work with.  The vendors are typically small businesses or farmers, with the latest trend being to bring home-based businesses into the mix when allowed.  Allowed?  Yes.  Many markets specify hand-made or locally produced only, but make exceptions at times.  Anyway, it is typically grass-root or local vendors.  Customers that love markets love the local feel, getting to know their neigbours who have committed much of their life into producing items and they also tend to enjoy the stories behind the products, the vendors, the farms, shops and the like.

Social media has been a good tool to market our markets!  Consistency is key, interesting, unusual or exciting posts bring attention with shares and comments, but repeat, dedicated customers are still the best advertising because of the very reason they are good customers; they love your products!

Booth presentation and consistent look help market your brand, signage is important, sometimes signage placed a distance away from your booth helps you stand out as well.  With repetative, pop-up markets, having a market co-ordinator in charge to keep you in your regular location amidst other vendors is important as well as keeping to the rules set out by the market admin.  The biggest problem we see is selling out of the set time frame.  It is unfair to both vendor and customer.  For a vendor running late to the market, they miss selling if the other vendors start early.  For the customer, they risk missing a product if selling starts early.  Outdoor markets don't have locked doors to control the crowd, so it is an important rule to live by.

We enjoy the entire scene as a regular market vendor.  You learn alot about your community, your neighbours and what is happening at the grassroot level!
You also get to enjoy the perks of knowing other vendors and sharing leftover products or trying samples or getting the inside scoop of what products will be available as the market season goes along.  It is a good time!