Big day yesterday - I planted 8 acres of white lentils. This was following a day of frustrations, from weak water pressure in the faucet that is to supply my garden field with water, to exploding hydraulic hoses on the rod weeder (and all the while, the minutes ticking away, drawing the days closer and closer to the cold front and snow). I'd just as soon forget about that day.
Yesterday, Earth Day, I finished up on the 15 acre field, plowing and rod weeding (which turns the plowed weeds upside down and prepares a nice seed bed). I used the Ford tractor and a special disk to create dikes every 60 feet or so, which will help guide the flood water from the ditches down the field.
Dave helped me set up the seed drill to plant the white lentils, cleaning it out, getting the rusted parts moving again. He showed me how to set it based on how many lentils per linear foot desired (15 on a 9" spacing) and once in the field, we set the depth so the seed contacted the firm, moist soil. Then it was just a matter of driving up and down the field until I'd covered the 8 acres. Actually I ran out of seed a hair shy of that.
I was itching to get the emmer in the ground yesterday, too, but Dave suggested I wait until the seed from the barley that was planted last year had a chance to germinate. When we were checking the depth of the drill for the lentils and digging around in the soil, we found quite a few barley seeds. This particular barley variety is a hulled type and the seed is very similar in size, color, and shape as the emmer seed, which would make the emmer very difficult to clean. So, if the fields dry out enough next week, I will plant my 5 acres of emmer after plowing one more time.
This is what today looked like:
As the granddaughter of one of 4 brothers who went bust dryland farming in Stillwater County, MT during the dust bowl, I salute you, wish you the best of luck, and think you're probably a little crazy.
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