Misc happenings

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

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

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

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

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

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....

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.