August 2022 - 20

NOTES FROM THE FARM
Working former orchard land calls for trial
and error; plowing wins out
It took the rest of the afternoon, but we
JERRY MILLS
Mills Apple Farm
jerry@millsapplefarm.com
finally got all the topsoil turned over. Did I
mention that our soil, when worked damp,
turns into brick material when it dries?
Well, tomorrow I must spray the
Confucius said: " He who plows in rain is
______ " . Fill in your own opinion. Did you
ever feel you were cornered and had to do
something, even though you knew better?
That happened to me last month, and it
was not an isolated incident.
I had been trying to groom four new
spots for pumpkins and gladiolus bulbs.
The spots were former orchard land
which had not been deep tilled for at least
fifty years. First try was the chisel plow. It
raised a few bumps but was too much for
my tractors. Tried disking. It scratched
the bumps and not much more. I have a
heavy rototiller for a skid loader. It might
have worked but the loader engine is too
small. It did leave a nice design on the soil
surface though.
OK. We'll PLOW! I have an ancient
four bottom Minneapolis Moline plow
that someone traded me for my nice pull
orchards. Rain is predicted for the day
after tomorrow and I want to be ready.
The fruit crop is almost spotless so far.
Today I sprayed pecan trees 100 feet
Doing farm work, like plowing and
spraying, during the rain can be full of
challenges. Photo: Jerry Mills
type two bottom John Deere in my old
implement collection. I could never use
the Minny plow until the 125 HP John
Deere came along. Now was a chance,
if the hydraulic hoses on the cylinder
held up. They did and we were making
progress until the tail wheel fell off. By
this time, it was raining but we still had
traction. Heck with the tail wheel. I
threw it on the plow frame and off we
went, sans tailwheel.
tall. We have three of them given to me
many years ago by a man moving to
Colorado. We also have younger ones
just beginning to bear. I purchased the
sprayer for those but since the big trees
are already here they will get a shot too.
We got into pecan production almost
by accident. In a burst of brilliance several
years ago I thought why not plant shade
trees for the parking lot. An even better
idea, plant pecans so parkers could pick
them up. An easy way to harvest and
more money in our pocket.
Last year the new trees produced the
first nuts, and they were way too good
to let them lay on the ground, hence the
sprayer. I soon learned if one is going to
raise commercial nuts, one better have the
right equipment. Pecans must be sprayed.
It seems they crave zinc and foliar is the
best way to apply it in the spring. My sons
said why not use the orchard sprayer,
which I tried. Woefully inadequate.
So here we are starting off on another
tangent. The irony is I'll be long gone
before they reach full production, and
considering the investment needed for full
equipment, fifty-three trees is not enough.
I am thinking of pulling out two
rows of apples along the west boundary
and planting two rows of pecans. That
would provide a nice windbreak for the
orchards behind them and give the farm a
reasonable pecan crop.
The best thing about pecans is most
of the care involves machines. Power
pruning, mowing, herbiciding, power
shaking and power pick up for processing.
The trees can live for three hundred
years which means I have provided
nuts for at least nine generations of my
descendants.
I hope they appreciate them.
P.S. Middle June, pumpkins not planted
and not many glads. One hundred
degrees predicted for most of this week.
Not sure why I keep doing this. VGN
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August 2022

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