Farming with old junk in cental New York

We sell sweet corn, and for that corn we plant differently. Still using many chemicals. Pretty much have to. If not, it's a mess picking, and if a customer sees one ear worm, it's freak-out time at the road-side stand.

But, for our own use, eating and freezing. we use no chemicals and I've been experimenting for 30 years here. That with sweet corn, potatoes, pole beans, squash, etc. All our land is side-hills. Also high elevation and the growing season is 2 weeks shorter as compared to farms just 20-30 miles away in Schoharie valley. Also the soil is very rocky. Rocks seem to "grow" every year. Considering this land has been farmed since the late 1700s and still full of rocks? Maybe they DO grow.

Feed corn is one thing and much more tolerant to cold-wet soil. Sweet corn a different story. So far, what's worked for us to get any early corn and potatoes in is this. I mow all last year's corn stalks. Then plow and disk and let sit for a week. Then, rototill with a five-foot tiller on an IH B-275 diesel. This chops up many early started weeds and mixes the warm soil with the deeper cold soil - and thus warms things up a bit at planting depth. Lift our big fertilzer bag with an IH B-275 (the one with the log splitter on the back). For potatoes, I use a Ferguson TO-35 Deluxe pulling two big furrowers. Then my wife and kid plant by hand. Do all the corn planting with a Ford two-row drill hooked to a Case VAC.

When the corn is a foot tall, we interplant squash, sunflowers, pumpkins, and polebeans. What the Indians use to call "Three Sisters." Beans help with nitrogen in the soil, and squash crowds out the weeds. Also makes it impossible to cultivate with a tractor later in the season.

By the way, that Case VAC is the best tractor I've ever owned. Not because of geat features. I say that because it's the only tractor I've ever owned that I didn't have to totally rebuild. It sat in the woods 30 years ago. Local farmer sold it to me because some kids had vandalized it. Paid $700 for it, with disks and plows. 30 years later, never done a thing to it except plugs and points. All original, and runs like a clock. Not very powerful, and no live PTO, but otherwise - a real workhorse for the price.

TO35 Deluxe with furrowers and IH B-275 with 5' tiller. This is an early B-275 with an air-governor and CAV inline injection pump.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5648.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5651.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

"Newer" IH B-275 with CAV rotary pump and centrifugal governor, and el-cheap Canadian loader to lift fertilizer bags. Also has a big log splitter on back.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5657.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Case VAC with Ford two-row planter.
<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5662.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Wife, kid and dog planting potatoes. That along with my diesel-4WD "wheelbarrow", a 1985 Isuzu PUP minitruck. That little truck gets worked to death and keeps on going.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5666.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5670.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&current=100_5671.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

Wonderful pics! That youngun' is growing!!

Look at it this way, John. Those rocks are a blessing for that is what the soil is made from.Lots of minerals in those rocks.lol.

AWSOME!!! i have a B-275 at home and love that tractor to death, always starts and is always up and running great!

That looks like my operation here in Western PA. Same kind of soil (rocky clay). Most of my equipment is Antique like yours. 1967 Cas 730 gas, 1959 JD 730 Diesel, IH 440 baler, Oliver #5 Picker, NH 477 Bine, Cut down JD 1250 (2 row) corn planter, ect... We have a HUGE garden which includes sweet corn. I also grow field corn and hay.

Lots of critters as well including cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens.

It's a unique lifestyle nowdays and I like it.

jd;

Like your pictures. I'm a cobbler; I cobble up things to use for planting the garden. I passed on some big furrowers at an auction. Figured I could get them at the local TSC. Wrong. So I bolted a couple of pieces of steel to a 2 x 6 and bolted that to my carry-all. Got the job done, just not pretty.

My "rake" is a piece of slotted Unistrut that has about 25 long bolts in the slots. I bolt the Unistrut to my carry-all. Does a decent job as long as you go slow. Use a Earthway planter for beans and corn, even in my food plots. I really need to get a planter.

Larry in Michigan

Hay jd
You know the old saying: "One mans junk is another man's treasure." When I was in collage at Affred Tech. My economics professor on a friday lecture offered up a question that we had to give a verbal response to the following Monday. Question was "Who in your community has the most impact on the most people? Their were answers like the Mayor, The mail man,milk man, LOL to the school teachers etc. His answer was the local garbage man. At that time that made a lot of sense because around here that guy took the garbage to the local dump, but he took the (treasures) to his salvage lot and resold it. Look at where some of these entrepreneurs are today.

really nice pictures you should be very proud

Looks to me like your VAC is really a VA model

Why do you say that?

Serial # on it reads "VAC" clearly. Row-crop design with adjustbable front wide front, and adjustable widt rears - just like it's supposed to. I also bought it from the original owner, i.e. I know nothing was ever swapped on it except for the air cleaner.

The one in the photo with the Ford corn-planter on the back is a VAC serial # 5553640 of 1951 vintage.

I've got two other VACS that look pretty much the same. Also have a couple of VAs which are quite different, and also three VAC-14s which are also quite different.