Seeding

The trees were barely perceptible.  There was only grey. Was it fog or had the rain come?  No pitter pats or pours.  I put on my glasses to see the haze more clearly.  It was a good day for field work!

Julia came with her horses at 10am. Lola hung out by the grape vines while surfer Baloo (doesn't he look like a surfer with that blonde mane and tan body?) was groomed and prepped to lead the seeding.

Julia and Baloo

Once Baloo's straps were in place, Julia and I adjusted the broadcast rate for the first planting of Triple IV for Mark Stambler of Pagnol Boulanger.  The broadcaster consists of a hopper that stores grain that is released through a rotating dispenser with an adjustable opening.  Unfortunately, the release mechanism doesn't stay true to the feed rate setting. 

Adjusting broadcaster

We seeded four kinds of grain: Triple IV (100 lbs), Red Fife (250 lbs), Sonora (250 lbs), and Rye (50 lbs).  Because of the variable dispense rate, we exceeded the intended 100 lbs/acre seed rate.  The red fife supply depleted before reaching the end of the row, so I filled in the rest with crimson clover.  I hand-broadcasted the rest of the clover between the different varieties to mark the sections and add some nitrogen fixing cover crops.  Plus, they're pretty.

I'm curious to see if grains will grow in the uncultivated but lush adjacent area, so I hand-broadcast oats and vetch that Julia had laying around in about half an acre.   Let's see what this storm will do!