Farming Friday!

As with all things farming, a huge amount of faith in God is required.  Unlike most businesses, where all elements of production can be controlled to a large extent, that is simply not the case with agriculture.

Case in point... the weather.

This spring has had both record drought and record rainfall.  Due to too much rain and cold spells at exactly the wrong time, Bill has planted the same 20 acre plot (or patch) of watermelons and the same 20 acre plot of cantaloupes twice without any luck.  Bill says it is fairly common to have to replant a certain section, but never have they had to plant the fields three times.  He says that normally they are done with 3 to 4 successive plantings (plantings staggered by a week or so) by May 15th, but this year they still don't have any cantaloupes or seeded watermelons growing yet.

Eek!  That gets my heart pumpin'!!

Ok, but the redeeming thing about this post is that they DO have 85,000 seedless watermelons plants (55 acres) in the ground, with more arriving from the greenhouse next week.  The difference here is in the way they are planted.  Bill plants watermelons in two different ways. Today we are going to talk about...    (wait for it...)

Transplanting

Ohhhh... so exciting, huh!  ;)  But, it's actually quite interesting (funny looking?) how they transplant -- so I'm going to tell you about it!

First, seeds are taken to a grower with a greenhouse.  This particular source is a good friend of ours that is regionally known as the pumpkin king, but I'm going to keep his identity secret.  Remember, Bill is always a bit suspicious of sharing too much on the good ol' world wide web.  :)  The grower sows (yes, farmers really say that instead of "plant") the seeds into flats like the ones flowers come in.  Fast forward a few weeks, and the plants are now ready to put in the ground, after some nice heat, water, and tlc.  The greenhouse grower is necessary because the seeds need consistent 90 degree weather and high humidity to germinate or sprout.

Some of the plants before planting.

Here is the "transplanter".  Do NOT call it a "transplant machine", or you'll get laughed at by the cool kids.  Rookie mistake.  ;)

And, yes.  You're right.  People do actually sit in those seats!!

You should be able to click on the picture to see it larger, if you want to.

As the tractor drives along, this "wheel" punches a whole in the ground and then fills it with water.  (Sidenote - Bill always soaks the roots of anything we plant before putting them in the ground - whether they're mandevilla or tomato plants.)  Then, the two guys sitting at the back push a plant into the hole.

These guys are compacting the soil around the plants, as the planters don't have time for that task.

Now, our prayer is that these plants thrive and produce many, many watermelons.  :)

Let me know what you think about this type of technical farming post -- I can get WAY more technical, or can just gloss over things if you'd prefer that.

And on a final sidetone -- this article emphasizes the importance of knowing your farmer.  Growth hormones?!!   Promise me you won't buy watermelons from China.

I know my farmer.  Do you?  ;)

Have a great weekend!

Love!