Foggy's Deertopia Proving Grounds - Happenings

[Bowsnbucks]

As someone who's been in the electrical business for over 40 years, I can say if you want 24/7 power from a grid, it's gonna cost you something.
Here in Pa. (just for a comparison), we had a certain governor who pushed for - and signed into law - de-regulation of our power grid suppliers with the promise of lower rates due to more competition. Well ........ that promise was / is toilet paper we can wipe with. Rates have gone up & up & up & up. Many folks here switched to LED lights and energy-efficient appliances to cut kWh usage & bills - wife and I did too. Rates keep rising anyway. A power company or co-op needs X-dollars to operate successfully, so if we all cut our usage in half ........ rates will once again go up to maintain the X-dollar amount needed to operate.

Pay no mind to those $$$multi-million-dollar bonuses and the stock options the grid power company executives get paid every year. Grin ............. and say thank-you.

 

[Foggy47]

You don't need to justify your solar issues to me. Go for it. Enjoy what you got......as will I. Diesel, Gas, Grid, Fibre Optic, Cable TV, HVAC, well pump, electric heat, refrigeration.....it's all good. Grin. Did I mention welding and power tools? Wink.

Last year I think I averaged about $15 / month in electric costs. Less than $200 / year.....and no maintenance. What am I missing?

EDIT: Annual cost turns out to be about $500 for me. I guess I am remembering the old days. Here it is now $24 as a monthly hook-up fee.

 

[TenPoint]

That makes more sense. ~$41/mo. And even that is really cheap.

 

[goatman]

Foggy that is a great service charge at $24/month. I haven't checked since I retired but our coop was one of the few that still ran power to a home at no cost. Unless you wanted underground primary then you paid the difference. In relation to the other comment I am concerned what the coming bills will be like with all the solar being added. It does take x amount of dollars to run any company. You can hope they all go bankrupt but in the end you will be left with just solar. And that ain't enough power for the grid.

 

[Foggy47]

Checked my brassica plots yesterday.....after waiting a month for some rainfall which came on Tuesday. The dourght has left my plots pretty "spotty" with sone areas having little growth and others where clover is again taking over. We have a good chance of more rain on Saturday night and Sunday......and I think tomorrow I will hook up my drill and fill in a few weak areas with more brassica. Only another month until overseed everything with more clover and rye. (some clover plots by drill and the brassica plots by broadcasting).

Here is one situation.....and I am uncertain of what to do about it. Pretty late to start over......and rainfall has been iffy. The dark green is clover and the light green is brassica. Still got some dead standing weeds in the plot (non event). I suppose just leave it. Take note that this 1/2 plot on the right was nuked D E A D with 2 qt's gly and 1 pint 24-d in late June. All was toasted before drilling the brassica. Now look at the clover coming on. I suppose late October and most will be dormant again. Grrrrrrr.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I think you still got time for some good leafy growth on brassicas planted now, just wont get much for tuber size, if they arent choked out by clover @Foggy47.

I've got a lot of rain in the forecast this weekend, not sure if you do too further north?

I planted some plots last night and thought of you where I saw lush patches of clover bouncing back where I had sprayed. Not enough to choke out most of the plots though.

 

[Foggy47]

I think you still got time for some good leafy growth on brassicas planted now, just wont get much for tuber size, if they arent choked out by clover @Foggy47.

I've got a lot of rain in the forecast this weekend, not sure if you do too further north?

I planted some plots last night and thought of you where I saw lush patches of clover bouncing back where I had sprayed. Not enough to choke out most of the plots though.

Yep......I'm taking the day to consider if I should broadcast brasica and use the 3 point cultipacker over the top.......or drill the seeds tomorrow. I set my tractor up to broadcast small seeds via the front end loader and Herd seeder......and then use my 3 Point Spreader to broadcast the Winter Rye. Alternately.......I could put the cultipacker on the back and try to set those brassica seeds tomorrow.

 

[Tree Spud]

Checked my brassica plots yesterday.....after waiting a month for some rainfall which came on Tuesday. The dourght has left my plots pretty "spotty" with sone areas having little growth and others where clover is again taking over. We have a good chance of more rain on Saturday night and Sunday......and I think tomorrow I will hook up my drill and fill in a few weak areas with more brassica. Only another month until overseed everything with more clover and rye. (some clover plots by drill and the brassica plots by broadcasting).

Here is one situation.....and I am uncertain of what to do about it. Pretty late to start over......and rainfall has been iffy. The dark green is clover and the light green is brassica. Still got some dead standing weeds in the plot (non event). I suppose just leave it. Take note that this 1/2 plot on the right was nuked D E A D with 2 qt's gly and 1 pint 24-d in late June. All was toasted before drilling the brassica. Now look at the clover coming on. I suppose late October and most will be dormant again. Grrrrrrr.
View attachment 55504

You could throw some Urea 40-0-0 on it to give it a burst of growth. Right before this weeks rain would be perfect timing.

 

[Foggy47]

You could throw some Urea 40-0-0 on it to give it a burst of growth. Right before this weeks rain would be perfect timing.

Due to the weather forecast......today I decided to broadcast a mix of brassica in the thin areas of my plots.....and also put down a little 25-6-18 to get that brassica going a bit better. Of course about the time I finished all the work......they have downgraded the chance for rain. Not happy.

One nice feature of having my Herd seeder on the loader......is that it's at my eye level when operating.....and I can actually see the seed flowing through. the gate when it's opened and see when it is closed. That is extremely helpful to me.....as I rely on a rope and pulley system to operate the seed gate. I considered pulling my cultipacker behind.....but in light of the forecast rains.....decided to just let the rain set the seeds. Pics from today.

I like to show this oak tree. When I first saw it.....it was in my yard and about a foot high and I put a cage around it.....that was about 15 years ago. It's now 15 feet high and has been producing acorns for the past two or three years. Pretty nice ones too. I've got hundreds (or maybe thousands?) of small Burr Oak like this throughout my property. This is a good visual for my family to know about the growth of these trees.
I also have a plumb thicket that likely was planted by the original homestead on the east side of my lland. There may be about 10 trees in this thicket......and despite the drought the trees all all loaded with fruit. Strange. Also have a few apple trees that have abundant fruit this year. I have odd land....in that it's sandy......but the water table is just a few beet below grade. Therefore deeply rooted trees seem to thrive even in dry years.

 

[Foggy47]

I meant to include this pic. It shows a rheostat which controls the speed of the spinner under the seed drop. I run a pair of wires to my accessory outlet in the cab.....and have an inline switch to start / drop the spinner plate. Thus with the ropes to operate the gate and a switch to run the spinner.....I have pretty good control of the seed. As said....added bonus is that I can watch the seed gate open and close which really helps my wonky rope pulley set up. Normally, I will pre set the spinner plate for a speed that suits the width I want to spread.....and I can also vary my speed and the height of the seeder to suit the situation.

A few years ago..... I adapted my Herd seeder to use their "small seed plate"....which essentially blocks off 1/2 the gate area. This allows me to seed as low as a few lbs / acre. Beats the hell out of walking and turning a crank. I'm not sure what the max lbs / acre would be with my blocker plate.....but I really dont do super high volume seeding with this machine. As equipped....it maybe it would put out 50 lbs/ acre of rye wide open?

I use a green cord to pull open the seed gate.....and a red cord to close the seed gate. LOL.....I need all the help I can get. I can operate the Herd on the front of my Honda UTV or on my tractor as shown. Sometimes the tractor may be better as I can lift it high over tall crops to overseed rye and clover in fall. (this year that does not seem likely). Also my cab is air conditioned. Grin.

 

[goatman]

I'm glad you posted the picture of the pulley system. I'm wanting to do this with my herd seeder.

 

[Foggy47]

I'm glad you posted the picture of the pulley system. I'm wanting to do this with my herd seeder.

It's all a bit Jerry Rigged.....but it works for my needs. Looks like that bolt where the ropes are attached could be 2" shorter......and I see a few McGyver solutions that I have made over time. It all works for me.

 

[Skeeter]

The thatch thing is interesting. Being new to this, especially no-till, at what point is there too much thatch/residue tying up nutrients?

After mowing and nuking RCG all spring and summer last year and then drilling rye/clover in mid sept, there is still a pretty tough layer of duff from the RCG sod. That duff has been great for keeping moisture this dry spring/summer but I wonder if the microbes are unable to help the whole system because of how much carbon there is from the RCG and following rye residue.

@Foggy47 - you can tell me to take my stuff into a different thread if you desire

 

[Foggy47]

Rain appeared imminent later today......so I made the 15 minute trip to Deertopia to check my brassica after we had two recent rainfalls of over an inch. The brassica is FINALLY taking hold after holding on for a month through a drought. I did put a little seed in my Herd Seeder and overseaded some areas where it was a bit light. Hoping for another cloudburst tonight and will be doing a rain dance as it gets dark.


This last pic was about my worst area.....allthough there is a little brassica just getting started if you look close. None the less I did broadcast more seeds here to thicken things up. 45 days ago this was pretty lush clover. I nuked it before planting the brassica.....but the clover is on its way back.

 

[Foggy47]

Since the rainfall on August 1.....we have had little to no more rain at my place. I've got some chickweed and grasses taking over my plots.....but my clover and brassica plots are no so badly wilted in most places that I am afraid to spray any herbicide on them. Also dont know if the grasses are actively growing enough to make a difference? So....I am in a holding pattern waiting on some rain to bail me out once again.

Supprisingly tho.....I got some nice apple trees and a great crop of plumbs that are now ripe and ready to be picked. I suppose I have about ten plum trees in a thicket area in the middle of one of my 40's. My BIL makes plumb jelly.....so he will scarf up a few gallons pretty soon.


My land is "different" in that the top soil is very sandy.....and under that top soil is more sand.....and under that is more sand. The good thing is .......the water table is just a few feet down from the surface and the big trees and bushes all thrive here even when the food plots are dried up.

I suppose I should consider what kind of Forbs or warm season crops have deeper tap roots to get some benefits from that water that is just a few feet away from the surface. I wish the Ground Hog Radish's were perennials.....lol. Any good ideas are welcome.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Those plums look great, Foggy!! I can almost taste them. Probably make a good plum "jam" or puree for basting on salmon or pork??
Chicory is known to have a deep tap root - but I don't know just HOW deep. It's also a good scavenger of minerals = antler growth??

 

[Foggy47]

Those plums look great, Foggy!! I can almost taste them. Probably make a good plum "jam" or puree for basting on salmon or pork??
Chicory is known to have a deep tap root - but I don't know just HOW deep. It's also a good scavenger of minerals = antler growth??

Great response Bowinbucks. At one time, I had some very good results when planting chicory.....but I do not remember the weather circumstances. My deer absolutely hammered my chicory when fall came around. Then I somewhat soured on chicory as it was difficult to keep it in a mix and use chemicals to control weeds. Just this summer tho....I bought and added some chicory to my brassica efforts in early July. I drilled about 2 lbs / acre when drilling the brassica crops. I do plan to add chicory again soon when I drill my winter rye and clovers mix.

I was really doing well for nearly two years.....without much need for herbicides. And I feel sure I could have continued to succeed in that area had I not nuked 1/2 of my clover to plant the brassica. (which I need for a November draw). Alas....the drought has one again pummeled my efforts. And here we are.

In the past.....the chicory was slow to develop......and then all of a sudden it came on like magic.....maybe it will come through once again. I've never considered a solid stand of chicory and clover. Maybe?.....I need to think on that idea. Thanks for re-establishing that idea.

 

[TenPoint]

Wild plums foggy?

 

[Foggy47]

Wild plums foggy?

Well....not really sure. I am told (by a deceased, old timer-neighbor) that the area of the plumb thicket here.....was near an old homestead from the 1800's. I have plowed or disked up numerous chunks of foundation concrete at times....but there have been no other signs of the homestead on this 1/4 section....other than some hog wire and old fence posts. Tho I have another old homestead on my other 80.

My forester said that the big white pine tree very near the plumb thicket is way over 100 years old.....and was likely the remaining "Mother Tree" to the many other white pines and central to the homestead where that concrete came from.....as most of this area was once logged for the value of those huge white pines back in the days of Paul Bunyan. This area overlooks a fairly deep depression in the area which holds another plumb tree....and usually holds a bit of water. Great place to raise livestock and have a pasture you could keep an eye on....which was likely a huge factor with all the toothy critters around here.

It was also logged a time or five before I got this land. So.....I wonder if the plumb thicket may have been established by those settlers way back then? Tho I do have two more areas where I have a few plumb trees too. This land is interesting to me....as it is mostly only a few feet above the water table. Yet the sandy surface soils can be quite dry. Al the area's excess water ends up flowing (via underground) into the Pine River and then into the big Whitefish lake chain....and eventually to the Mississippi.

During the dustbowl days of the 20's....lots of Nebraska folks took their livestock (hogs, mules, and cattle I am told) and moved to the swamp areas around here where there was enough natural green vegetation and water to raise their animals. Thus all the hog wire I have run through my tiller as I "re-broke" this land.

The area where this plumb thicket is located gets partial sun and is somewhat protected by an interesting variety of pine, balsam, and spruce trees. Really dense and thick. I kinda leave these few acres as a sanctuary as its in the very center of this 40 with some food plots and trails around it......and it is quite difficult to penetrate and it's full of critters there. When we logged my land a few years ago...we decided to leave it undisturbed....which it remains. Interesting area and I think it's likely the center of that old homestead.

Ain't you glad you asked? lol.

 

[Tree Spud]

Daikon or tillage radishes have a deep root/bulb.