Must make you feel pretty good.
What's the longest it's taken you?
Um... well it really depends. Some years if we can't get in and spray early to keep weed pressure down, we might have to till all the ground once to basically eliminate the weeds that are growing and then till it again right in front of the planter to get the ground in better condition to be planted. The issue is that when you have a lot of weeds, you can get clumps of them in places and it can leave an uneven seedbed. When we're doing this, and you get some uncooperative weather thrown in, we've had it go for 2+ months.
This year though, we only had to work the ground once right before we planted and weather was perfect. It couldn't have been more ideal.
Do you have to take vacation time? Or does the boss know what you're up to and just give you some "planting" time.
Um... well, we'll see how the rest of the year plays out.
They do understand. And when I'm leaving for planting, we're typically pretty slow in the office so I can kind of decide morning of, in some cases, if I do or don't want to come in. I'd have taken off last Thursday, but we did have someone else who was scheduled off that day so I had to come in. But it is vacation time. I'm salary and they don't track my time off though, so as long as I don't abuse it, it really doesn't matter much.
Already?
What kind of mutant corn are growing out there?!?!?
Not mutant. Genetically modified.
Yes, we plant GMO corn. And will continue to do so. The non-GMO movement drives me nuts, because a lot of what I see and hear is either not scientific fact, or it is taking one little piece and twisting it. We've been planting GMO soybeans for probably 20+ years now. The corn and soybeans are the same as they were before GMO's, only now we can manage them with less pesticides.
Putting up??? I found them very interesting.
No apologies required.
Well, thanks!
What form of Nitrogen? Is it a liquid to be sprayed or pellets?
And out of curiosity, what happens if you don't apply it?
It can be any of the above. It can be granulated dry fertilizer that is spread before the corn is planted and worked into the ground, it can be liquid applied by a sprayer... as long as it is dropped in below the foliage. Nitrogen will "burn" the plants if it touches them.
But the most effective way to apply nitrogen to corn is to inject it into the soil. This can either be done with a liquid that is 28% nitrogen... see image below
Or by injecting a liquid vapor of anhydrous ammonia that is 82% nitrogen.
These are the most effective ways to deliver nitrogen to the plant. A liquid applicator doesn't pull quite as hard and you have more flexibility on soil conditions and moisture when you apply it, but anhydrous ammonia is the most cost effective method. It is also, by far, one of the most dangerous things you can be working with on the farm. It boils at -28 F, so it is pressurized and as it is released it comes out as a gas. You have to make sure that the soil isn't too wet so that you can inject it and then get the ground sealed back up behind the knife so that it doesn't escape. Now, you can go right back in and dig up the trench and it has neutralized by that point, but you've got to be able to inject and seal it into the soil to keep the gas from escaping.
This gas is cold enough, that you'll have ice on metal fittings and the metal regulator that it runs through no matter how hot it is outside. The gas is basically a white cloud, and you never ever want to be exposed to it. You can google if you want to see how nasty that stuff can be. It also smells very similar to household ammonia cleaners. Only a lot stronger. And if you happen to get downwind of this stuff and don't realize it, it will absolutely take your breath away even if it isn't in a high enough concentration to see the white cloud.
Now if you don't apply nitrogen... you won't have much corn. The plant will grow, but it won't be as healthy as it should and the ear of corn you get will be small and not as fully developed. Nitrogen is a nutrient that doesn't stay in the soil for long. That's why we like to apply it after we plant. Some will apply it before, but the longer it is in the ground, the more you lose. Also, if there's a lot of rain and the soil is saturated, you're going to lose more nitrogen.
Corn and wheat (or any other grass family plant) will need nitrogen from outside sources. It can come from decomposition of organic matter or manure in addition to the other fertilizer sources. Soybeans (or any other legumes) are able to create their own nitrogen. There is a co-beneficial relationship they have with a bacteria. The bacteria attaches nodules to the legume's roots. The bacteria then receives nutrients from the legume and in turn, produces nitrogen that the plant can use.
I can see that. I love relaxing on a nice long stretch of highway with nothing but the radio or audio-book.
That's better.
Steer away from that Country stuff.
Well, that will never happen entirely.
Oops. Thanks for the reminder. I was going to have a listen to that, then it slipped my mind.
It's a good one! Have you listened to any of them yet?
Bad news then. I'm posting a new chapter tonight.
I saw that. Hoping to get there this afternoon.
How wonderful that the corn planting went so well! Hooray for the soil and the weather cooperating with you!
Thanks. It all went perfectly!
Glad you guys got the corn planted so quickly. Hopefully the rest of the season will be as well weathered, if that makes sense!
It does, thanks! It is all so dependent on the weather. We're off to a phenomenal start, but we still need a lot of help from Mother Nature to get us to the end.
Gosh, I hope you didn't take my joking to mean that I wasn't interested. I actually love hearing the farming updates. I now live in a big farming area of the country. It's nice to learn some things and actually feel like I might have a clue about some of the things I see around here.
Oh, I know. And I do love your area of the country. Much different from here, but I used to work for the USDA just after I graduated college and I'd spend about 3 weeks every year out in the PNW wheat country.
This is awesome! Is it all weather-related? Sorry if I sound stupid....
Yes, it really is. There are a few other conditions that played in on it, but they also are affected by weather. We've been getting a great mix of rain followed by days to get work done.
Wow! Again, weather??? Because, here, at least in our yards, we are suffering big time from a weird pre-Thanksgiving below-0 freeze that killed a lot of trees and shrubs and plants, despite that we had almost no winter after that.
Yeah. Corn needs the ground to be 55 - 60 degrees to germinate. We had plenty of soil moisture and then a record high temperature week last week in the mid to upper 80's. We were probably 15 - 20 degrees above average last week. Now corn doesn't like high 80's and 90's once July gets here, but for getting it up and out of the ground it was the perfect week for a heat wave.
Yeah, I'm old. My knowledge here stops at Nirvana......
That isn't necessarily an age thing. Maybe just not your taste in music?
At least that was at the end of the trip, though - it would be a real bummer to not be able to take any more pictures during the trip. 
