Sweet Branch Farm

Trip from Texas

2008-12-29T21:52:00.005-05:00

Friday, Dec. 26 - rose at 4:30am, was at airport at 5:50, flight to Atlanta then after sitting on the tarmac, left 2 hours late for Austin.
Arrived in Austin about 1:30pm, picked up at airport by Mrs. Lisa Berdoll who graciously fed our hungry tummies before giving us a tour of both their retail store as well as the orchard and some of the harvesting buildings. The Berdolls are some of the nicest people ever, and we got to meet their daughter (Jennifer) and son-in-law who are buying the store on Monday, as well as their son (Brandon) and his wife who works at the retail store.
After seeing the orchard and Hal's new sorting machine (which he designed himself to re-sort pecans to his own more stringent specifications), we stocked up on some fantastic pecan products at their store and got a few pointers from Hal about planting the trees. They had already loaded up our order (85 Desirable and 235 Pawnee trees that are 2 year-old grafted onto 2 year rootstock, as well as 12 young Pawnees that have been budded but not yet forced, and one large Pawnee that will go at the entrance to the farm).
We drove to the closest Home Depot, bought a padlock to help protect our lifetime savings packed in that truck!, and hit the road just before dark. We drove down to Houston, and on into Iowa before stopping for the night. (Yes, Iowa! - Iowa, Louisiana, that is :) !). Saturday morning we fueled up at Waffle House and got gas for the truck, and hit the road. We crossed Louisiana amidst scattered light showers, marveled at the acres and acres of rice fields, drove across the southern edge of Mississippi, and on into Alabama. From Mobile we headed up to Montgomery, then on to Atlanta by about 8:30pm Saturday night.
Derwin was feeling very achy and feverish by late afternoon and by the time we reached Atlanta was into a full-blown flu. I had thought I would trade off driving with him when needed but a 16' truck loaded with everything it had taken us 30 years of marriage to save, and our two lives at stake if I made a mistake on a rainy, foggy interstate was more than either of us wanted to risk. So we stopped for the night and although D got very little sleep between coughing and headaches, he hung in there to drive us the rest of the way home on Sunday evening (he's amazing!).

Plan for planting:
1 - Unload trees under garden shed cover where can be wrapped/covered if freezes below 15 degrees or so before planting
2 - Subsoil the tree holes where they've been dug with 3' auger in at least 4 places (2 times across each hole)
3 - Level off each hole if sunken
4 - Dig 9" hole for each tree
5 - Remove from pot and plant in hole, packing in well, and then watering
6 - Berm about 3' from trunk around each tree (to hold in irrigation during dry spells before irrigation system is put in); mulch inside the bermed area
7 - Put up electric fence to keep deer out
8 - Wrap tree protectors around each trunk and put up bamboo supports & tie them
9 - Get sprayers, insecticides, etc. ready for spring
10 - Mark varieities with more permanent markings at each row
11 - Log varieties and planting info (weather, etc.) in computer database
12 - Water as needed
13 - Determine/file tax information
14 - Continue to monitor and log weather and soil conditions throughout winter and in preparation for spring fertilizers, etc.

Disgust with wholesalers

2008-12-06T14:10:00.003-05:00

Well, my plans to have lots of "Desirables" waiting for Thanksgiving pecan pies (see previous post) backfired! These nuts were so good we ate all of them - yes, all of them!!! - raw as snacks before Thanksgiving ever arrived. Two days before the big meal I did what thousands of Americans do - I went to the grocers and bought pecans. I even had to get a stocker to go in the back and find me some because they were sold out on the shelves. Was I ever disgusted when I got home with my bag of Diamond brand pecan halves, opened it up and popped one in my mouth. I almost spewed it back out it was so disgusting compared to what we had been eating for the previous week. In tiny print on the bag it was noted that the contents were pecans and - AND????!!!! Yes, AND Corn Oil "to preserve freshness". Probably beacuse they are last year's (or year before kept in cold storage) crop from Mexico picked up cheap and resold to you in the grocery at premium price! If you have only ever tasted pecans like these I am very ashamed to tell you that we are pecan growers. You have not tasted a true pecan until you shelled an improved variety like "Pawnee" or "Desirable" and popped it straight in your mouth - no toasting, sugar, or CORN OIL needed! I guess in a way I should thank these purveyors of junk nuts because it has made me fully confident that our fresh nuts will blow them away once people have a chance to taste the difference. So, thanks, Diamond and Food Lion :) !
You're ensuring our success!

Shelling Pecans

2008-11-18T12:47:00.003-05:00

Saturday I was finally over the flu, so when D returned from a local pecan cracker with 10 pounds of cracked beautiful Desirables (that's a pecan variety :) !) we all sat on the back porch, spread them on the plastic tablecloth and shelled them. After weighing them into 1-pound bags, we delivered our first "prize" to friends and neighbors, reserving some in our fridge for soon-to-come Thanksgiving pies! The nuts were grown in an irrigated orchard in northern Georgia and make us even more excited about getting our trees in the ground and growing.

We pick up our first tree order next Saturday from Lake View Pecans in Bailey. D is taking Friday through the whole next week off to dig 3' wide, 4' deep holes at each tree spot with a rented bobcat with a 3' auger attachment. We will then hand mix lime into the soil (just a small amount) before refilling the hole, then he will subsoil both across and down each row which should break up any "glazing" done by the auger. After the subsoiling is done, we will use the tractor to smooth out the rows and will then replace each measured marker for the exact center of the hole. Our plan is to then be able to simply use manual post hole diggers for the hole and planting of each pot. We will probably try to get all of the NC trees (85 of them, 4 different varieties) in the ground before Christmas, but definitely by New Years. I will hand water and tend to the trees in the pots between this Saturday and the day they go into the ground. After New Years we will be going to Texas to get the rest of the trees (385 total but just two varieties). That's the plan. We will see what reality brings :) !

Fruit and Berry Order

2008-11-15T16:28:00.004-05:00

This past week I ordered a few more fruit and berry trees/plants for our fruit orchard (just to the Northwest side of the pecan orchard). We currently have plums, pears, peaches, apples, figs, blueberries and grapes for our personal consumption. The new order will add two more varieties of apples (Winesap and Granny Smith) to cross-pollinate with the Red and Yellow Delicious trees we have. The one Arkansas Black tree we have has never done well and we are going to attempt to dig it up and replant it when we rent the auger during Thanksgiving week. We will also dig the holes for the new fruit/berries that will arrive Dec. 12th. In addition to the two apple varieties we order one each of four kinds of muscadine grapes, more Arapaho and Navaho thornless blackberries (these are fantastic tasting, easy to pick - thornless!!!! - and grew extremely well both last year during the record-breaking drought as well as the almost wet summer this year. ) I sure am hoping to be able to make lots and lots of blackberry pies and jam soon (we ate all of this year's crop fresh except for one pie). I decided not to order any more blueberry or fig plants but try to really prune and carefully tend the ones we have already. I also opted out of more pear or plum trees since we had very ample crops of both this year, even though the trees are still very young. If I decide to make for gifts or sales more preserves from these we can add a tree or two in a few years.

Layout finished (hopefully!)

2008-11-03T14:06:00.003-05:00

Saturday we finished (hopefully!) the exact layout of the orchard, hand placing 362 flags in rows and columns up and down the hills to be ready for digging holes for the trees on the main portion of the farm. We still need to measure and flag the areas that will flank the drive, but that is a very easy task comparatively speaking. I was scheduled to take the two new soil samples we have (from the two areas where the millet didn't grow very well) to the CoOp Extension office in Smithfield today but Ethan has the flu, so we will hopefully go tomorrow or Wed., and take the tractor's radiator and fan to a "specialist" in Garner who will tell us whether it can be resurrected or we will have to buy a new one (over $400!).

The layout now includes:
235 Pawnee
12 Oconee
85 Desirable
15 Cape Fear
25 Stuart
9 Nacano
15 Sumner

(Shoshoni wasn't available from our suppliers so I have just left it out since we had more than sufficient of other varieties.) Here are my notes for choice of varieties and their location on the farm:
1 - Have enough varieties to withstand our "northern" conditions, including possibility of both drought and humid summers, early warm periods followed by potential late frosts, soil conditions, comparatively low wind speeds in spring when pollination is needed, potential for high damaging hurricane winds, rolling topography, minimum amount of topsoil, and natural pH and pests. We have set a minimum of 4 and maximum of 10 varieties, with the maximum due to the desire to have as consistent size, shape and color as possible between varieties.
2 - Have enough varieties to have some nuts maturing over several weeks, rather than all at once, in order to spread out the ability to utilize human resources and minimum amount of harvesting equipment, as well as spread out the availability of new product direct to the public for the longest amount of time, but preferably all before Thanksgiving.
3 - Have some temporary rows with varieties that are quicker (5-7 years as opposed to 8-12 years old) to come into production.
4 - Have mostly varieties that are at least moderately resistant to pecan scab, but balance the need for resistance to scab with propensity to break limbs, alternate bear, shell thickness, and tolerance to drought.
As you can see, the variables are almost endless and at the end of the day, we had to also consider the availability of the variety from a reliable resource. Their is no "perfect" choice because their is no perfect soil, or perfect weather pattern, or perfect world! But we have tried to consider as many factors as possible, and weigh each according to its value or distraction from what we want to accomplish with limited financial and labor resources. I'm sure in years to come we might play the "if only" game about varieties and layout, but we've done our best with as much information as we could get and with as much discussion with growers and between ourselves as we could. So for now,I have updated the spreadsheet, kept notes, and re-confirmed that our order this spring will give us more than sufficient of each variety. Actually, I really will miss this part, because it's like a big jigsaw puzzle and anyone who knows me knows I LOVE puzzles!!

First deep freeze of the season

2008-10-30T17:43:00.006-04:00

Last night was the first real freeze/frost of the fall. We have had three other nights in the past week and a half with very light "dustings" of frost but noooo doubt this morning. We've watched the parade of leaves floating down onto the front yard all day and tomorrow I will pull all the "burnt" flowers and herbs out of the beds. Pecan picking time is here!!!!

Easter Eggs and Pecans???

2008-10-30T12:53:00.002-04:00

I ran across a funny observation on a blog the other day that I really enjoyed -

The pecans are beginning to fall from the trees and I've been collecting them as I find the time. I'm beginning to believe that the Easter tradition of searching for hidden Easter eggs was created by southerners wanting to condition their children to find and gather pecans in the fall.

I think maybe his thought about Easter eggs and Pecans might just be right :) !

Fall is Here!

2008-10-29T12:32:00.001-04:00

Suddenly the summer is gone and fall is here, which means - IIIIIIIIIYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH! We have just a few short weeks to get everything done before we go to pick up the trees!!
Needed:
* Finish remarking each tree hole accurately (now that millet has been bushhogged)
* Put up fence (may wait on this until next summer unless we have problems with the deer in late Jan/early Feb)
* Dig almost 400 holes at least 4' deep and 4' wide ("ripping") and then mixing dolomitic lime with the soil, refilling the holes and leveling off
* Dig the actual tree hole (with auger attached to tractor - see next note!)
* Plant clover in the "alleys" between tree rows
* Get new radiator and water pump for old (very old!) tractor which of course has a very rare-type of radiator that has to be ordered from (are you ready to hear this??!!) - IRELAND! We've researched and called and talked to everyone we could find and evidently this type of radiator is now only made by one company in the world, so you can guess that it is not easy to get and of course not cheap! Since this is our only tractor, we don't have a choice (well, the only other choice is a new tractor and that's not really a choice!)
So right now we are "dead in the water" until the tractor is fixed or we decide to pay someone to do some of the holes. One supplier is ready for us to come get our trees in the next two weeks and then I will be the mother of 85 "babies" that I will have to tend to carefully until the spring. That brood will grow to over 400 after our January trip to Texas, so talking about being an expectant "parent" :) !

Other than the new trees, the other happenings are:
* Pick up, sort and collect nuts from a few local trees to try to grow rootstock from in the next two years (especially one very prolific old tree at the old homeplace where Derwin's Dad was born)
* Pick up, sort, and shell pecans for personal use and possible sale
* Develop website
* Finalize tax and other paperwork
* Prune and tend to certain berry and fruit trees that need fall attention
* Continue watering and tending cabbage and collards in the garden
* Gather and dry black walnuts from MIL's farm
* Cut/split more firewood for the winter

And try to keep the house and yard in order, do school with the children, teach Awanas, and all of the "normal" things to do on a farm and with a family! I am just so very thankful for our health and the opportunity to do so much together as a family. That's what makes it all worthwhile!

Journal

2008-10-18T23:15:00.003-04:00

In the past two weeks:
1 - D bushhogged the millet; still some patches where neither millet nor centipede grew and could erode later so we will be doing "spot" soil tests
2 - Confirmed the tree orders with suppliers; Mr. Bunn may not have all of the varieties grown to his satisfaction but we will adjust the layout when/where needed if necessary; Mr. Berdoll has more than sufficient to cover our Pawnee/Desirable order with him
3 - Re-laid three full rows just east of the fruit orchard, more accurate now that the millet has been cut. Ethan has been especially helpful pulling the measuring tape and driving the four-wheeler to get tools for us!
4 - Reconfirmed monies available. With recent economic crisis/market crashes/job layoffs/etc. it has been good to know we had made early arrangements and have the funds available thanks to D's good foresight.
5 - Had some dove hunters come on opening day but very little luck. A couple of weeks later doves are in large flocks all over the field !
6 - Will allow deer hunting this fall/winter with several neighbors and friends. Lots and lots of does and fawns roam over the field daily but very little sign of bucks. However, we know that when runt starts....
7 - Planned layout of some extra trees along the path and at the old sawmill site.

Quote

2008-10-11T14:12:00.002-04:00

Old Chinese Proverb:
"The best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow"

Old Southern Pecan Grower saying:
"The best fertilizer is the footprint of the farmer"

Pretty much saying the same thing. Maybe that's why my farm shoes are splitting apart at the soles.... maybe some of these would come in handy (hint, hint!!)

2008-09-30T17:19:00.001-04:00

Things may come to those who wait...

but only the things left by those who hustle.

-Abe Lincoln

Misc happenings

2008-06-27T16:27:00.004-04:00

Planted 10 pecans in large pots yesterday, from Pawnee nuts. Just experimenting with them. D finished bush hogging the fields and realized that he had run over about a half dozen volunteer trees from near Coy's old house. Next spring we will check around before he bush hogs to see if any of them would make good root stock. Got the disc tire replaced today, ready for D to use next week (he is off all week and we hope to get the rest of the sections cleared and planted in millet). The centipede in the back yard is amazing - it is not quite 2 weeks since we planted and it is looking like a golf course already. We've watered every day but it has been well worth it. Two corners of the yard have "leaked" seeds out in the orchard area so we already have some centipede started there (which is fine since that's what we want in the whole orchard eventually). One pound of centipede is almost $30 so the more it spreads naturally, the better.

Twilight Orchard Tour 2008

2008-06-03T22:17:00.001-04:00

Tonight hubby and I went on a "Twilight Orchard Tour" put on by NC Pecan Growers Association. What a great time we had, starting with the good food and fellowship at Lakeview Pecan Orchard and then lots of wonderful information shared by 3 different Co-Op extension agents and several long-time growers. We learned lots, confirmed lots and enjoyed it a great deal. Mr. Bill Bunn of Lake View Pecans has been such a tremendous help and source of great information for us as we make decisions that we feel we can never repay him for his time and trouble. We are really excited about getting some trees in the ground this winter!!

May Rain Data

2008-05-31T19:06:00.000-04:00

Since I do "weird times" rain data, I am actually finished with the data for May. [Basically I take my reading each day between noon and 1pm when we are taking a lunch break from school, rather than midnight to midnight (although I reluctantly admit that I am awake at midnight more often than I should be and then pay for it with a slow start the next morning)].

Anyway, here's my data so far:
May - 2.1 inches
March, April, May cumulative - 12.8 inches
(I only began in March)
Average rainfall March - May for RTP - 10.3 inches
Rainfall March - May 2008 for RTP - not yet available from USGS

Tractor Woes

2008-05-29T00:08:00.000-04:00

The tractor engine is still running after several repairs. Unfortunately the wheels just aren't moving :) ! Right now it is in my front yard with the wheel broken off and the axle propped up on a chunk of wood (I feel a redneck joke coming on here!). I am just very, very, very thankful that it broke off when my dear hubby was watching carefully and near the house. He slowed down as he saw it start to wobble and was stopped and dismounted by the time it came off. The evening before he had been in the far corner gigging until long after dark, and on a slope at that. I can only imagine what might have happened with him pinned under it. Thank you, Lord for protecting him. Today I will do my best to find a new (used) tire rim to fit so we can try to get it (safely) running again.

Ground cover - part 2

2008-05-21T12:20:00.000-04:00

Since we still do not have ground cover planted yet D spoke with a landscaper about what to plant this late in the spring that will be good for erosion control through the hot summer. We have now decided that we will supplement the clover and centipede (yes, we decided centipede over Bermuda grass) with millet. It will come up almost immediately, is great to hold the soil in place and cheaper than most other options. We are hopeful with the Memorial Day weekend coming up we can finally get things in place to sow the seed.

Rainfall Data

2008-05-03T00:26:00.000-04:00

April total = 6.41 inches!! Woohooo!!
March and April cummulative = 10.71 inches
Since the average annual rainfall for our area is about 43 inches, that means we have received 1/4 of our average in only two months. The drought effects will continue to be seen for years to come but for now we really need to be thankful for what we have received recently.

D is still working on clearing the stumps, smoothing bumps and hills and gullies to smooth out the farm getting it ready for ground cover planting. We are trying to determine whether to use bermuda or centipede grass along with the summer clover. So far there does not seem to be much difference between the two (we found a great website comparing warm season grass characteristics) so price may be the determining factor.

Just plodding along....

2008-04-21T20:27:00.000-04:00

Now that the order for next fall has been placed with both of our suppliers, we are just working to get the land smoothed, cleared of as many rocks and limbs as possible, and get groundcover planted. Saturday D worked with the box blade most of the day smoothing out the rough spots and trying to spread out and work in the ashes from the burn piles so that the concentration of ash won't be too great in one spot. We have continued to get rain, although definitely not too much, so that is a real praise. I have researched ground cover and we have decided on a combination of Durana clover and bermuda grass, although the exact brand/variety of bermuda is still not firmed up. If the weather cooperates we hope to plant cover by mid-May which is the ideal time for the bermuda, although a tad later than ideal for the clover. Once the ground cover is established, we can begin laying off the rows. The deer are very thick still (we have seen two sets of twins already, along with numerous adults), so we will allow hunting when the season opens back up and will have to fence off the trees with electric fencing after we get them planted.

2008-04-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

There seem to be but three ways for a nation to acquire wealth. The first is by war, as the Romans did, in plundering their conquered neighbors. This is robbery. The second by commerce, which is generally cheating. The third by agriculture, the only honest way, wherein man receives a real increase of the seed thrown into the ground, in a kind of continual miracle, wrought by the hand of God in his favor, as a reward for his innocent life and his virtuous industry.

-- Franklin, Benjamin

Rainfall Data

2008-04-10T16:04:00.001-04:00

I have set up a spreadsheet to collect our rainfall data for the farm. From it I can track rainfall for each day, the monthly cumulative and (eventually) annual cumulative. I will use the spreadsheet to record when/how much/where we irrigate and can graph any of the information from there as well. Sometimes you just gotta love technology!!
Total for month of March: 4.3 inches - Praise the Lord!!
April - 2.8 inches so far - another real Praise to the Lord!

Update

2008-03-26T23:42:00.001-04:00

No rain yet this week. The fruit trees so far have escaped damage from two cold nights but the weather is supposed to be exceptionally warm for the next few days so we don't need to be concerned about that. Bridgers came yesterday and limed all 14+ acres with 1.5 tons per acre and D began last night and continued again tonight discing it in. He got stuck in the "soft" area again so not only did I get to drive the tractor but took my first drive on the backhoe, too. Maybe I'll turn into a farmer after all :) !
EO and I finished reading his "Farming with Father" book today as part of his school and it has been a delight to read it to him and let him read some of the words, too. I think it's great that some of the first words he reads on his own are "farm, cow, tractor, hen, hay, help, rain...." What a blessing to be where we can see God's hand in everything and it makes it so much easier to realize the temporary nature of what man creates compared to God. Oh, to have my children understand first hand that they should be grateful for every ray of sunshine, every drop of rain, every stalk of wheat, every refreshing breeze, every buzzing bee and blooming flower, every breath and beat of our heart, every morsel of food to eat and sip of water to drink. we are truly blessed.

Placing "the" order

2008-03-24T23:43:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I will confirm with both of our suppliers the exact quantity, variety and size of each tree that we plan to plant next winter. We have "finalized" our layout (again!) but of course we will revise it if we cannot get the exact number of each variety that we want because we really feel like it is more important to get the good quality of trees as long as we can get almost all of the varieties in the quantities we want. The local farm supply place is scheduled to come and lime (1.5 tons per acre) tomorrow and then D will begin discing it in before we plant ground cover. I am still researching exactly what type of cover we need to plant at this time of year (usually you would plant it in the fall).

Tonight it is supposed to be down to about 30* so I spent a little time this evening covering the fruit trees with sheets. It looks so funny to look out and see two rows of sheets swaying in the cold north wind!! We will see tomorrow how much damage has been done. I didn't cover the blueberry bushes because they are still so small that I was considering plucking the blooms off for one more year anyway, to help advance the growth of the branches.

There is a possibility of some slight showers overnight but no further rain in sight for the rest of the week. Once the fields are limed it really would be good for it not to rain until we get them disced and sowed with some cover.

Back on the roller coaster

2008-03-13T15:58:00.000-04:00

Well, here it is. Another "loop" on the ride. Just as I posted a little over a week ago that we were going ahead another few things went awry. We had rain - lots of it- at the end of the week and so of course the land graders weren't able to come as planned. In addition, since we had not made a firm order and paid our supplier in Texas (not knowing when or if we would be ready), he has now sold out of all but one of the varieties that we wanted during a big conference last weekend. The graders are supposed to come this weekend but the weather forecast is calling for rain again (which we do need but why can't it rain during the week?!) and the farm supply for our lime is now into spring farming season and will be backed up for days or weeks. So again we reverse our reversal of our reversal .... whatever, we are not going to plant this year. It's just too far into the "iffy" window of spring and we really want to do it the right way, not necessarily the fast way, so (for today) it is (almost) sure that we will not have any trees in the ground before next winter.
In the meantime I am looking into the possibility of some specialized crop farming this spring/summer and will keep you updated with that. Also, we will be placing a "very firm" order including down payment on our trees that we want to be sure to get late next fall/early winter, both from Texas and locally. In the meantime, it is nice to get rain to relieve this drought and refill ponds and lakes and I cannot be sad about almost anything in the beautiful springtime!
(Photos by Russ and Matt Creech)

RAIN!!!

2008-03-05T14:12:00.000-05:00

Over 1.2 inches last night. Unfortunately some very strong winds, lightning, etc. but thankfully we did not have the trees in the ground yet to be uprooted or damaged so we are just very, very thankful for another rain. We are now nearing "normal" range for rainfall for the past month and are praying that we have seen the worst of the drought over.

Birthday present

2008-03-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

D got the best birthday present ever 6 years ago - another son! But this week he got his next birthday wish - no, unfortunately not another child - pecan trees! We confirmed with our Texas supplier and land grading company and liming farm supplier and hole digger (me!) and disc-er (me & D) that if the Lord is willing we will get the trees in about a week and a half and spend the remainder of the month of March planting, pruning, staking, berming and tending to 400 trees. What a great gift!

How things look today...

2008-03-02T19:38:00.001-05:00

Don't think I'd mentioned that we bought the water tank last week. 1000 gals worth. We will be using it for both the farm and for an opportunity that we have to rent it during this severe drought in Raleigh. In a way we have been blessed from this drought because it caused an opportunity for us that will actually help us on the farm!

Prayer. I'm ashamed that I do not pray like I should when it always gives me a way to be used by God and learn more about him. The 3 days of prayer we committed to have been amazing. Doors that had been closed for months suddenly opened. We got some rain last week but no one expected the burn ban to be lifted. It was (effective Sat., March 1st). If the Lord wills it according to the weather and other factors the final removal of the left-over burnt piles will be removed next weekend at half the rate we expected to pay (isn't HE good?!!), the following week we will lay off the rows and begin digging holes and the next week (third week of March) we will go to Texas to get 2/3 of our trees. The other 1/3 will be bought locally (varieties that are not available from Mr. Berdoll). This is just inside the planting window and with the addition of the water tank to our family we should be able to go forward. I know you think we are building a roller coaster ride but that's the ride called "farming". Weather, wind, rain, equipment breakdowns, supplier problems, money, labor, time, weather, money, well.... each and every one causes another twist and turn on the ride. I've always liked roller coasters myself. Good thing, I guess!

Update

2008-02-28T00:27:00.000-05:00

Rained twice so far this week - about 1/10th on Sun night and about 4/10ths Tues night/Wed morning. More rain projected later this week - Praise the Lord! The drought continues but if we can get some more rain more consistently it might break the trend. Burn Ban is still on (since 2/13). No news from relatives about possibility of leasing land to plant trees on so tonight we decided to pray for 3 days about planting in the next few weeks. If the burn ban continues and we do not get an enthusiastic agreement to lease the land we will stop trying to make it happen this year and resign ourselves to the fact that no trees will be planted until next winter. It is very discouraging, especially to D and along with continued layoffs and demotions at his work, so please pray that we will persevere and also that we will have wisdom both in decisions and their timing.

14th Annual Pecan Conference

2008-02-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday D went to the state-wide pecan conference and learned lots of wonderful things. At this point we are inevitably frustrated that we have done all this work and yet it seems that we probably will not be able to get trees into the ground until next year.

One of the interesting things D learned was that our brief knowledge and "gut feel" for overseas opportunities seems right on the money. We just wish we already had the trees in the ground about 5 years ago but as the old saying goes "When is the best time to plant a tree? 10 years ago. When is the second best time to plant a tree? Today."

Unfortunately, the burn ban has been reinstated adding to our frustrations and complications but what would farming be without furrows (on the brow)? So trying to look "outside the box" we are talking with a relative about leasing some unused farm land of theirs to plant on immediately but so far we haven't gotten an answer. Please pray for us to make wise decisions in the use of our (limited) resources.

As far as other information from the conference, most of it just confirmed our choices and decisions to date including sources of trees, varieties, layout of the farm, etc. A lot of new and interesting information regarding irrigation was very valuable as well as some sources for crackers/shellers that are local.

Quote of the Week

2008-02-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

Give fools their gold,

and knaves their power;

let fortune's bubbles rise and fall;

who sows a field,

or trains a flower,

or plants a tree,

is more than all.

-- Whittier, John Greenleaf

(Picture by Robert Duncan)

Update

2008-02-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well, the piles are still burning (sort of). With cool temps, sleet, some rain and little wind it is amazing that they are still smoldering. Unfortunately this is because they are not burning nearly as well as we had hoped and this week we will meet with some grading people to see what needs to be done to get rid of all of the massive amounts that still remain. Next weekend D&I plan to attend an all-day conference by the NCPGA and he has had to work all weekend last weekend and this one on his construction job so almost no progress has been made in prepping the land. We haven't heard back from our source in Texas to see if he still has stock of varieties we want or not and it is looking more likely every day that we will just clear and plant ground cover this year and plan on planting trees next winter. It's a hard pill to swallow but there is no sense in rushing and not having the land and soil right before the trees get planted. Pray for Godly wisdom as we decide how quickly and exactly how to proceed.

Better than a Persian Rug

2008-01-17T00:45:00.000-05:00

To me a lush carpet

of pine needles

or spongy grass

is more welcome

than the most luxurious Persian rug.

Helen Keller

Burn Baby Burn!

2008-01-08T00:35:00.000-05:00

Saturday we began burning stumps. As of today we have had lots and lots and lots... well, you get the idea.... of smoke. The stumps don't seem to have been reduced in size much and several of the neighbors are somewhat irritated. The weather has been very warm for January and tomorrow is supposed to set a new record high but what we really need right now is WIND. It would help fuel the fires so that they would burn rather than smolder and it would keep the smoke moving rather than just hanging around. I hope that tomorrow might be a "rather blustery day" to help the process along but alas, I lost my power over the weather when.... OK, I have absolutely no control over any part of the weather but wouldn't it be fun if you could turn the wind or rain or sun off and on like a switch? Until I invent that contraption, I'll just sit and watch the smoke roll by and pray that the stumps will burn completely (and soon).

YIPPEEE!!! Great way to start a new year!!

2008-01-03T02:37:00.000-05:00

D got the news this evening on the radio on the way home that the BURN BAN IS LIFTED!! We had several good rains over the holidays and thankfully the Governor has finally lifted the ban. I will go try to get a permit tomorrow morning and we will begin burning (if there's no wind) this weekend. We are hoping that our neighbor Mr. Simpson can help us keep the piles in order for the next week or so. I'll post again as soon as something is definitive. If we can get the piles burnt in the next two weeks, then two weeks for prepping the land and two for liming will put us about late Feb. to plant, Lord willing. Just barely enough time if all goes well between now and then.

Burn ban status

2007-12-20T02:48:00.000-05:00

Well, Monday morning I eagerly called our local "general store" to see how quickly I could purchase a burn permit. Nope. Gov. Easley didn't lift the ban even though we had rain (and in fairly substantial amounts in many places across the state). The locals recommended I call the Governor's Office directly to voice my concern. I called. They gave me a pat answer about lake levels being too low to fight any significant fires (there's not even a reservoir in my county but I didn't argue). So here we wait. Still. This morning we had a slight shower across much of this region (about an eighth to quarter of an inch) and there is a chance for more brief showers for the next 2-3 days. It's enough to keep me from hanging laundry but unfortunately not enough to make the one change we need. (Insert big sigh here). Maybe by next week......

Rain, beautiful, wonderful rain!!!

2007-12-15T23:34:00.000-05:00

Today we have had rain. Not a "spit" as my Pop used to say, not a sprinkle, but real, genuine rain. For the first time since.... well, I don't even know when it's rained like this last! Months and months for sure. So we are praying hard that since this rain is slow and steady (and statewide!!) that Gov. Easley will lift the burn ban Monday morning. It has been a long, long drought and I am sure that it will take a long, long time to recover but there is temporary relief tonight anyway. Praise the Creator who has a purpose for all things, even droughts.

Rocks and roots

2007-12-11T12:38:00.000-05:00

I know this will sound weird to most people but we have been having a grand ole time picking up rocks and roots to clear the land. We still can't burn the stumps and it is looking very possible that it may be next winter before we are able to put trees in the ground since we can't finish clearing it unless we can burn. If the ban isn't lifted in the next 2-3 weeks, it will probably be impossible to go forward until 2009. In the meantime, there is still lots to be done. Lots of rocks, lots of roots :) ! D marked off the acres in sections and we work on part of a section each chance we get. We pull the 4-wheeler into the area, load up the wagon with roots, put rocks in buckets on the wagon, and when needed we rake the roots and stumps off into the burn piles and dump the rocks at the side of the garden shed to be used for building things with later (lots of plans as always!). We really like working together with our hands and the children enjoy it (since we don't do it every hour of every day). Our prayer is that years from now they will look at and remember all the hours spent talking and laughing as we did something useful with land that was in an almost useless state. If the land can't be cleared (burned)in time, we will just plant a cover crop between the piles to hold in the soil in case we ever do get rain again. The rabbits and deer will love us, I'm sure!

Marketing thoughts and ideas

2007-12-05T02:19:00.000-05:00

Now D is much better at marketing than I will ever be. But our daughters seem to be better than both of us put together (got their Grandma's talent for that - she was a top-notch cosmetic salesperson for years). So as we put together information and ideas on marketing we are going to use family to "test market". Considering the wonderful size of our extended family (over 35 sets of aunts/uncles and multitudes of cousins as well as immediate family!) we should get a good idea of how well we are doing. This week we really got a boost when D told several of his co-workers about how we plant to process, package and market our products and several of them seriously asked him about if we would consider investors! These are ladies in real estate and marketing and they are very gung-ho about pecans?!! Hopefully that means we are on the right track! Personally I really look forward to the interaction with the customers when the time comes because that was so much fun at the Bagel Shoppe. Right now I have to begin testing chocolate coating recipes (oh, poor me!!) and chocolate fudge recipes and pecan pie recipes to get those down-pat. I must admit that we are all becoming "pecan connoisseurs" and I can now tell something about the age/drying time of a pecan although I still can't taste the difference in varieties that some people claim they can taste. Maybe with time.....

Prepping the land

2007-11-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

Praise for rain in the past few days but so far still no lift of the burn ban. In the meantime, D has spent all of his waking hours gigging the land and we now have lots and lots of rocks and roots to pick up to keep us busy while we wait for that ban to lift! Today I finalized the number count on the varieties based on our "master plan" and adjusted for the poor availability (many growers are saying they have the smallest stock they've ever had due to the drought, heat and late spring freeze). In other news, I have gotten prices for the nurse tank and trailer (looks like AgriSupply has the best price), a 24" auger to dig the holes, a sprayer that can be attached to the tractor or the ATV, various insecticide and herbicide prices, prices for lime and zinc, nickel (if needed), and a trailer hitch for the ATV in order to pull the wagon D bought today to use for many things, but for now especially to haul the roots and rocks we will be picking up for days (weeks?) to come! Moving along, just not as quickly as I'd like but then again I always said "Rome wasn't built in a day.... I think a few hours should be plenty."

Quote of the Day

2007-11-24T12:14:00.000-05:00

"George Washington was quite a farmer. He was a farmer, Civil Engineer and gentleman. He made enough at civil engineering to indulge in both the other luxuries."

- Will Rogers

Texas

2007-11-21T00:32:00.002-05:00

D returned weary but happy very late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning). Where do I begin? There was so much to see and do and find out but the main things are:
1 - We will definitely get as much of our stock as we can from Berdoll's. He does not carry some of the "Eastern" varieties we want but he does carry Pawnee and Desirable, 2 of our 3 main varieties.
2 - Other nurseries in Texas don't even come close to the quality he has (and we want)
3 - We are more convinced than ever that the key is going to be not just in growing a great product but in marketing it directly to the consumer, often with additional processing being needed.
4 - We will have lots of headaches, problems and many, many hours of labor before we produce a crop but won't it be great to produce something that is healthy and of real value, not like so much of what is produced and consumed in this country (eg movies!!). Sure, we'll never be as rich or famous as movie stars but that's another good reason to do this!

On the home front, it looks like we will still have to wait on burning for now. Praying for more rain and for that ban to be lifted soon so we can finish prepping the land and get some of those beauties growing!

In the meantime, I'm having lots of fun "taste-testing" all the goodies D brought back with him from Texas!

Daily journal

2007-11-16T02:03:00.003-05:00

D is in Texas and had a fantastic meeting with Mr. Berdoll. We will definitely be getting trees from him but we need to decide fairly soon what size and get our order in to him before someone else snatches them up. Nursery stock is very short this fall after that very late spring freeze and ridiculously hot and dry summer here in the South. (This man and his family produce well over 1 million pounds of pecans a year, buy more from other growers to meet their demand, and sell about 25-30,000 trees a year! I can't even begin to think in those kind of numbers!) Tomorrow D goes to visit one other nursery and several orchards, retail stores and processors.

I haven't made much headway with the number crunching but hope to do so tomorrow. The land is cleared and graded (thank you Lord!) and we had a little rain this morning (much bigger Thank you Lord!!) If the Governor will just lift that burn ban for a few days we can finish prepping the land. The fruit trees and berry bushes have been hanging on and I am hopeful to keep them alive and actually get some small harvest from them next year, Lord willing. I especially would like to see the raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and grapes produce at least a little. It will probably be 2009 before we see any apples, pears, peaches and plums, though.

Bees - still researching how/when/where to set up the hives. As soon as we can get the clover established in the pecan orchard and it is feasible we would like to set up hives. It will not only be good for the clover and the bees but for the whole farm.

We've sketched out the layout of the retail space and will work on it ourselves over the next couple of years so that hopefully it will be ready by the time we need it. D and I have also been playing around with the layout of the logo but I think we need some more help. I am going to try to get Matt, Russ, Katy and Joanna all to give it a try to see what they can come up with either from their own photos or drawings or computerized drawing.

Update

2007-11-11T22:55:00.001-05:00

1 - Planned D's trip to SE Texas to see orchards and nurseries - probably the end of this week
2 - Revised (again!) orchard layout - adjusted two more rows to be Pawnee after discussions about availability of productivity
3 - Dug 9 three-foot holes (7 on our land, 2 in Gran's pasture) to determine "perkability" - as of 24 hour mark, more than half have completely drained, remaining ones have from 2-6" left. Will recheck tomorrow morning (about 40 hour mark) and tomorrow afternoon at 48 hours. Recommended by Texas growers to determine whether soil composition is good and for which varieties on which part of the farm.
4 - Attended the last part of "Pecan Day" at Oak View in Raleigh. The good turn out at this event is a good confirmation that we are proceeding with the right idea. Mr. Bill Bunn and his wife were there and although we missed his presentation (busy fixing the tractor - which did not want to start on this cold morning - and attaching the auger to dig the holes) we were glad to get to see his slide show and see him for a few minutes. He had pecan halves, in-shell pecans, pecan pies all for sale; samples of cinnamon and sugar pecans as well as "roasted"/salted ones and taking orders. We bought enough halves for two or more pecan pies for the church supper next Sunday :) !
5 - Still unable to burn due to burn ban; still praying for rain!
6 - Still awaiting bulldozer for final grading (supposedly mid-week this week)
7 - to be done this week; finalize some cash flow projections including fencing, lime and ground cover costs; finalize D's trip (he will check Monday am about taking off work since they just had 20% of their workers laid off last week); discuss plantings on family land; continue research for crackers/shellers

Quote of the Day

2007-11-03T01:58:00.000-04:00

"This session of Congress is also to relieve the farmer again,
relieve him of any encouragement

that he might have received during the last one."

-Will Rogers

Done. Finished. Kaput.

2007-11-03T01:30:00.000-04:00

The layout of the orchard, that is. I have described it as a 5-D puzzle without the picture. I love puzzles. But this one has gotten to be frustrating and changed too often so I really am glad to see it finished. I'm sure in years to come we probably will say "if only"... about 423 times (that's the number of trees we will plant in the next 3 months, Lord willing) but we honestly have done our best. Several people have been invaluable with feedback and questions and experience and knowledge, most especially Mr. Bill Bunn. But now we will move forward and try to take the paper and turn it into an orchard. We can't burn yet (burn ban from the drought is still on per the governor's orders) but as soon as we can, we will burn, lime, plant clover and begin putting trees in the ground. This week ahs also seen many hours spent on determining the best watering tank/system. Amazing how many hours these things take if you want to try to make a good decision. And answers about root borne diseases, termites, marketing data on this year's crop, possible ways to visit a large orchard in Texas, more information about varieties and pruning and another week is gone. I can't seem to find a way to post the layout of the orchard here right now but I might come back and do so soon (after I order more printer ink and it prints clearer for a scan). Here's the rundown of the numbers, though:
Pawnee 115; Kiowa 98; Desirable 61; Oconee, Sumner, Stuart 34 each; Forkett 27: Cape Fear 16; Nacono 23 (if we can get them) - total count 442.
After first thin in 7-10 years we will have 239 left and after second thin we will have 128.

Rain, beautiful rain!!

2007-10-27T23:34:00.001-04:00

Got over 3 inches of rain in the past 3 days - what a praise and not a coincidence that our church had a special prayer for rain this past Sunday. What a relief. Now may we just get more to replenish all these long months without it.

Daily Journal

2007-10-24T13:50:00.000-04:00

To do this week:
Finalize order for trees
Begin burning piles (yippeee!!)
Price lime (need 21 TONS!!) and determine delivery date
Determine if water tank we saw for sale in Creedmoor is a good deal or not;
Get prices on parts for tank set-up from various suppliers
Confirm NCPGA membership and find out when next meeting will be
Reply to NCDA marketing expert about potential of markets
Speak with Johnston County Coop extension agents about pros/cons of pond irrigation versus digging new well
Call Soil & Conservation and find diver to work on large pond drainage
Check on used cracker/sheller equipment and local production
Anything else that comes up that I also don't have time for :)

Pecans and Bees

2007-10-20T14:07:00.001-04:00

Interesting articles that I have read lately about bees and the "CCD" (colony collapse disorder -aka: nobody knows what's going on) and in two articles people blasted commercial pecan growers for trucking around the bees. FYI - pecans are wind pollinated, not bee pollinated so although other nuts and fruits and veggies are dependent on bees, pecans are not. That being said, I think we are seeing the results of long years of "artificial farming" where large corporate "farms" are so interested in profits that they have caused immeasurable damage to the environment and the consumers' health all for the sake of the dollar. Just another wake-up call to revert back to God's natural way of doing things rather than man's greedy way. We are seriously considering clover as a ground cover in the orchard (probably a white/crimson mix of annual and perennial as recommended by Oklahoma extension service and depending on the availability of local seed) because it is not only good for the soil but encourages beneficial insects like ladybugs and caterpillars. That being said, we really want to have hives not only for the clover and any honey they might produce but also to see if honey bees will do any better here than in other places since they are getting so scarce. It means more management on our side to make sure that any chemicals we do have to use, including fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides are "non-toxic" and as natural and organic as possible, which we would do even without bees. No chemicals? Not sure but we definitely will be very selective in both the choice of chemicals and their quantity if it becomes a necessity. We have now chosen 7 varieties whereas most new orchards are using 2 or 3 new varieties. We really feel that what we might give up in "mammoth size" is more than offset by having more native varieties that do not require so much chemical treatment and the cross-pollination of these trees is so much more natural than the "forced" ones in large orchards. (Photo above by Russ Creech)

Daily journal

2007-10-18T21:51:00.001-04:00

"Spit" of a rain today (less than 1/16") but happy for anything at this point. One loader worked about 6 hours to pile stumps; looks like he might have it ready to burn in about 2-3 more days. Need a dozer to smooth after he finishes . Will have to have more rain before we can begin burning. Soil report came from NCSU - need 1.5 TONS of lime per acre - ouchhh$$ !! Am online now looking for a deal on lime. Still no decision on suppliers - awaiting return calls/emails from 2 prospective ones - one in NC, one in TX. Trying to weigh pros/cons of container vs. bareroot.

Quote of the Day

2007-10-17T17:21:00.000-04:00

Will Rogers:

"You got to do more

than just live in the country

to be a Farmer."

Everything I ever needed to know....

2007-10-14T23:39:00.000-04:00

... I learned from..... no, not Kindergarten, not even the internet. I learned it from those who have blazed the trails before me. Those who've "been there, done that" and care enough about those who come along behind them to help them avoid the pits and find the paths. So I want to say a big ole "THANK YOU" to those who we have talked with over the past few weeks/months who are great farmers. They know the land, the crops, the troubles and trials, the rewards, the headaches, the "tricks of the trade" (aka: Plain old hard work, optimism in the face of severe trials and the gumption to carry on when everyone else says you're crazy). We have had the privilege of meeting some of the best "old timers" around and pray that it is the beginning of long friendships with them. Now on to dealing with root-borne diseases, lack of pecan seedlings this year, and other fun problems. Seriously, if it ain't fun to figure out how to deal with constant and new problems, don't consider farming!

Varieties and Layout

2007-10-09T23:51:00.001-04:00

The layout of the farm is finished. Depending on availability, the plans now are to have the farm mapped out in 4 zones for different varieties and for irrigation purposes.
We divided the farm with each block within a zone representing 36'x36' for each tree. From East to West and North to South, the first zone is almost 400' wide x 360' long. The second zone is about 680' long (also 400' wide). Both of these zones are on the Eastern side of the farm with neighboring woods to the East and a dry creek bed (wet only during rainy times) to the south of the second zone and we have left about 72' of "buffer" where we will plant ground cover, put up an electric fence and use to spot "pests" that need to be hunted on both the east and south sides. We plotted the orchard in these two zones (East to West) 2 rows Pawnee (54 trees) , 2 Kiowa (54 trees) , 4 Pawnee (108 trees), 2 Kiowa (54 trees). The winds are usually west or northwest to east/southeast so we have the Kiowas on the Western side of the Pawnees. The rows are almost exactly north/south.

The remaining two zones are broken into one large area (360' wide x 680' long) and one small area that is actually part of our "yard" on the 2 acres surveyed off with our home. The smaller area is only 18 trees, 6 each of Cape Fear, Stuart and Nacono; sort of our "test" area for these, none of which we chose to be a large part of our commercial production (for now) but wanted to have to see how they do. The larger area is planted with (East to West), 2 rows Oconee (34 trees), 2 Sumner (34 trees), 4 Desirable (68), 2 Forkett (34). There is also another 70+ feet buffer on the west side of the farm that adjoins a less densely wooded area. Again, we chose to have the Forketts to the west of the Desirables.

Total tally: about 400 trees (after taking away those rows that will be shortened due to the southern ravine), 136 Pawnee, 86 Kiowa, 6 Cape Fear, 6 Stuart, 6 Nacano, 34 Oconee, 34 Sumner, 68 Desirable, 34 Forkett = 400. Right now supplies of most varieties except Pawnee and Stuart are very small so unfortunately rather than dealing with one source we will have to deal with several. In addition, our main supplier no longer sells bare-root and we now have to decide whether to go with a less reliable supplier or spend almost double the amount we planned to purchase container grown, and if the latter we also have to figure out a way to get that size and weight of a load from Texas back to NC! Stay turned to see what new problems arise in the next episode of "As the Pecan Turns".......

Choice of Varieties

2007-10-07T01:52:00.001-04:00

There are over 400 varieties of pecans in the world, but only about 100 that are commercially viable. So far we have researched in detail about 14 varieties that can be grown in NC and that we felt would produce the type of pecan we want to market. But with limited acreage at this point, we really need to hone it down further so after long talks with several "old timers" in the area, I think we have decided on the main varieties we will plant. Off I go to the spreadsheet to map out where/how many of each, taking into account wind conditions, lay of the land, size of rows, pollination production and receptivity, woods nearby, irrigation needs, size, color, shell strength and shellout of pecans, and a host of smaller variables. Good thing I enjoy jigsaw puzzles because this is like a giant 3D puzzle and I'm missing the box cover!

Blog of Pecan Orchard Farming

2007-10-06T01:59:00.000-04:00

This blog is for us to "journal" our adventures into pecan farming. It's my notes about decisions and mistakes that we will make. It will include tidbits of information and resources for us to return to whenever needed. And it is a record for our children and others about how and why we got into the pecan business.

" I know of no pursuit in which more real and important services can be rendered to any country than by improving its agriculture, its breed of useful animals, and other branches of a husbandman’s cares."

GEORGE WASHINGTON, letter, Jul. 20, 1794