Second Look

Looking back at my posts I realized that I’ve erred and haven’t written too much about planting (or seeding) in Canuckland. Hard to do since obviously I didn’t have first hand knowledge seeing that I was in SoDak; I’m still waiting for a transporter so I can flash here and there. We talked a lot while I was gone but honestly? My weary mind doesn’t retain info like a bear trap as it does during the day and consequently that info drifts silently away like fog before the vivid tendrils of sunrise. My brilliant hubby graciously offered to give me a few notes on what has transpired.

Soybean seed

He writes:

A number of winter wheat and fall rye fields didn't survive and were planted into spring wheat or soybeans.  This was due to the fact of spring freezing and icing.  Like many places, a lot less wheat and lots of soybeans and corn around. Some places were very wet.  Spring was a bit dry but pleasant to seed in.  Some wheel tracks in some fields are present.

We started  seeding spring wheat April 21-22.  After a few days, had snow on it and resumed seeding April 29.  We grow hard red spring wheat.  Some wheat fields had anhydrous ammonia applied last fall of 80 lbs of N so a spring blend of 11-52-9-0 ( nitrogen- phosphorus-potassium-sulphur in lbs per ac ) was applied. We have 2 air seeders. Double disc drill on 7.5 inch spacing and put that blend of fertilizer in furrow. Seedhawk is on 10 inch spacing and bands fertilizer 1.5 inches to the side and 1.5 inches below the seedrow. A blend of 80-45-10-10 is applied on fields with no anhydrous. 

Wheat fields are currently 3 leaf stage (as of end of May) and will be sprayed again next week as the fields were sprayed with roundup before the crop emerged to kill the volunteer canola. All the canola is up. Had a close call of frost which nipped some plants on May 18. 

There is flea beetle pressure but since we've had a rain of 3 tenths on May 21 the canola should outgrow the flea beetle pressure. Fertilizer of a blend of 90 -45-0-10 was banded with the Seedhawk. Some fields we tried esn fertilizer which is a slow release of nitrogen as the nitrogen is coated with a plastic pearl. Seed rate is about 4 lbs per ac.  Only used 13 fifty pound bags per 160 ac.

Corn fields are poking up. Fertilizer is banded of a rate of 30-40-10-10.  Will apply anhydrous ammonia later in June. Soybeans are all planted and should be up this week. Many guys roll their fields.  We didn't but may do so when the beans are up for harvest ease.  Two fields of pinto beans were planted last week and will continue this week (end of May) to finish planting. Treflan chemical was applied last fall and some fields this spring.  Spraying will continue end of week and next week.  Steady off ‘n’ on trucking grain out to fulfill contracts over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks hun!

Currently now we are spraying herbicide on the edibles and will just be finishing the second round of spraying the soy beans. We’re hoping to finish spraying corn in the next two weeks (due to rain showers interrupting) with the final round of herbicide. Week after that we will begin the fungicide application for wheat and canola.

(Please note that in effort to keep the blog on a weekly schedule, I’m back dating this post to it’s intended day but I posted it on June 21. My apologies but I’ve been under the weather for the last week and a half.)