Harold Hubbard
Member
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Dad and I had potatoes on this field in the early seventies. After that it was tilled up and left, it grew a good crop of "Buck Rowen" ( green weeds and a little grass), the first year, then we cut the native grasses for hay for a few more years, but the goldenrod and steeplebush took over, and about the time we went to a mower conditioner and a kicker baler we gave it up. I continued to mow it over every year, as that is required by the land owner. Two years ago in the fall I decided that I had had enough of that, and plowed it up, last year I couldn't put much time into it, but I disked it a couple times. This spring I went right at it, disked twice, picked the rocks, got a backhoe, picked the big rocks, harrowed, picked the rocks again. A neighbor spread 3 ton/acre of wood ash and some manure for me. Spring toothed it multiple times, there was still too much trash on the surface.
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I disked it again and kept pulling teeth off the harrow until it would finally go around with out plugging. Picked the rocks AGAIN.
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Last weekend we were interrupted by two inches of rain, it dried out enough by Tuesday afternoon so I could get back on it. I spread oats and fertilizer Wednesday afternoon, while I was scratching that in, a turkey came out and started eating the oats. Thursday I put down Timothy and red clover seed with the Brillion seeder, The boys came home from school and picked up rocks again. Friday I went over it again with a crowbar and popped up a few more rocks, we carried them off with a car hood to keep from disturbing the ground. Yesterday we went back and marked the rocks that won't move, so I won't hit them with the mower. As my father used to say "There must be a a Chinaman holding the other end of that one".
I have been sweating bullets to get this done and green before we get a heavy rain. I plowed and worked it mostly on the contours, but made the last passes with the harrow around and around, as if I were mowing. I planted on the contour, which will hold light rains OK, but I hope we get just showers until the oats get going.
Dad and I had potatoes on this field in the early seventies. After that it was tilled up and left, it grew a good crop of "Buck Rowen" ( green weeds and a little grass), the first year, then we cut the native grasses for hay for a few more years, but the goldenrod and steeplebush took over, and about the time we went to a mower conditioner and a kicker baler we gave it up. I continued to mow it over every year, as that is required by the land owner. Two years ago in the fall I decided that I had had enough of that, and plowed it up, last year I couldn't put much time into it, but I disked it a couple times. This spring I went right at it, disked twice, picked the rocks, got a backhoe, picked the big rocks, harrowed, picked the rocks again. A neighbor spread 3 ton/acre of wood ash and some manure for me. Spring toothed it multiple times, there was still too much trash on the surface.
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I disked it again and kept pulling teeth off the harrow until it would finally go around with out plugging. Picked the rocks AGAIN.
<a href="http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e373/HalVT/?action=view¤t=rockpile.jpg" target="_blank">
Last weekend we were interrupted by two inches of rain, it dried out enough by Tuesday afternoon so I could get back on it. I spread oats and fertilizer Wednesday afternoon, while I was scratching that in, a turkey came out and started eating the oats. Thursday I put down Timothy and red clover seed with the Brillion seeder, The boys came home from school and picked up rocks again. Friday I went over it again with a crowbar and popped up a few more rocks, we carried them off with a car hood to keep from disturbing the ground. Yesterday we went back and marked the rocks that won't move, so I won't hit them with the mower. As my father used to say "There must be a a Chinaman holding the other end of that one".
I have been sweating bullets to get this done and green before we get a heavy rain. I plowed and worked it mostly on the contours, but made the last passes with the harrow around and around, as if I were mowing. I planted on the contour, which will hold light rains OK, but I hope we get just showers until the oats get going.
