Planting Season by Cory

November 9

The soil test showed a need on most of the fields for dolomitic lime to provide calcium and magnesium and to reduce the acidity of the soil. 

We aren't prepared to apply the recommended thousand pounds per acre but could handle about 200 pounds per acre spread in the rip lines where the rows of corn will be planted.

The weekend after the lime spreading we had good rains but lightning burned out the utility part of the campus water pump.

We installed the new pump we planned to install in the new borehole but it seems to be defective on utility power and it has given many maintenance challenges.

It can pump now with solar power so we have water when there is sun.

It has not worked well to fill the storage tank so everyone on the campus, including us heads to a pipe between our house and Rev. Benson's to fill buckets with water when it is pumping. 

Tuesday or Wednesday would have been good for the tractors to plant but the farm institute was busy with their inauguration celebration of the new government supplied equipment and promoting its use for small farmers.

It was a long program with some traditional dances and talks by the seed companies, and a nice mid afternoon lunch at the end.

By the time the the tractors were ready to plant or fields they found the planter didn't dig deep enough in fields that had dried.

So we wait for rain again.

In the meantime we did some hand planting. 

28 people worked close to 6 hours to slightly deepen the rip lines, plant seed and fertilizer and cover the seed on 3.3 acres.

If the workers had long handle hoes it would have been much easier work.

So today we had 2 pair of oxen open planting furrows and they did 4.4 acres in 4 hours.

They will work again tomorrow and then the planters will be hired along with 4 teams of oxen to cover the seed.

Patrick and Cory planted fruit trees in the orchard to fill in where trees, mostly avocados, had died during the past two years.