An ariel view of your future fries being planted. You’re welcome! You can visit the “Spring” category in The Common-Tater to see pictures and videos of potato planting over the past 10 years.
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Spring has sprung! Our signs of spring are a bit different here at the farm (even though we do have crocus, tree buds and robins like all normal people!) RJ and Curtis are back in the tractors preparing the land so we can plant our crops. Our crew is busy cutting seed potatoes, and John has finished planting potatoes in several fields. Oh, and construction on our new workshop has finally begun! Make sure you keep an eye on our social media so you don’t miss any of the excitement as we plant our 82nd crop of potatoes. You can visit “Tractor Joy Riding” to see a video of planting potatoes from inside the tractor.
As we spring into summer, I have one last planting video to share. This is an overview of how we prepare our seed bed for our soybean crop. We start with the disc harrow to break up large clumps of soil and break up weed roots. Fertilizer is spread and worked into the ground with the cultivator (which also creates an even seed bed.) Next the soybeans are planted. The final step is rolling the soybean seeds to press them into the soil. The roller also pushes small rocks deep out of the way of the harvester.
Soybeans are an essential rotation crop here at the farm. We’re working on a three year rotation cycle to give our land a break from the potato crop. The rotation crops we plant include grain corn, sweet corn, soft red winter wheat, pumpkins and soybeans. These crops boost our soil nutrients and help us manage weeds so the field can produce a bumper crop of potatoes every three years. You can visit “Planting Sweet Corn” to see a video showing how we plant another rotation crop. Meanwhile, at the back of the farm…While Johnny has been stealing all the social media glory planting our potatoes, Curtis has been quietly planting our highly anticipated sweet corn crop for many weeks now. The planting of sweet corn is spaced out over 2 months to ensure that we always have a ripe section to pick for our customers. This video was shot as Curtis just started planting our second field. You can visit “Sweet Corn Fields” to see an aerial video of our sweet corn fields in full flower.
Let’s celebrate “Local Food Week” by introducing you to the farmers who plant our crops. These dedicated men plant our potatoes, sweet corn and all the rotation crops that are vital to our soil health. Thank you to John, Curtis, Doran and Mike for working tirelessly to ensure the crops are planted in a timely manner! You can visit my “Recipes” section if you’re looking for inspiration for delicious recipes that support local farmers.
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