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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Work til the Work is Done

The past couple of weeks, our days have been cooling off, the winds have gotten more 'nip' in them but the job still has to be done.  Bill and I took on a part-time job as potato farmers.  He does all the field work, I answer the phones and make the contacts for loading and unloading.  I guess that would make me the ' loading Doc!'  Hmmmm, I always wanted to be a Doc.
 This morning we woke to an inch of snow and it's still falling.  The boss told us that it doesn't matter when the fields get prepped, just so they are ready for spring planting.

That worked fine today cause of the cold wind and snow.  No one likes to work in those conditions outside, especially for 8-9 hrs. straight.
 I asked Bill if he's still liking what he's gotten himself into.  His answer is always yes.  He never has been one to sit still for long.
I find that ironic, as he doesn't do much moving around and does take a day off once in awhile due to what he calls, ' tractor seat.'
John the John Deere tractor gets a rest today.  We all do.

The fields that are being prepped now are being disced a few times and plowed, disced again, fertilized with 'dehydrated chicken poo', disced again and then planted in winter rye seed that will be turned under in the spring as natures nutrients for the potatoes.  

All of the fields we are working will all be organic.  Being the first year for some of these fields, the production cannot be labeled organic until the ground is certified.   It takes 4-5 yrs. for potatoes to earn that name along with the nutrient rich ground they grow in.  

We are sure learning a lot.  There are absolutely no chemicals or pesticides used.  Even the winter rye seed used, is from organic farms, this case, the seed is coming from Iowa.  The seed company we work with have generously given us the fertilizer and winter rye seed we need for our own gardens.
  
For those of you who have followed since spring, our field did produce some beautiful potatoes, but the problem is what nature dropped us millions of years ago when the glacier slid through....lots of rocks, and so many the same size as the potatoes. 
For that reason, our field did not qualify to proceed as a potato field.  The rocks slip the tracks off the potato picker, making for more maintaining than either Bill or Greg wanted to deal with.

Anyway, no matter the weather, the work must be done.  Bill has been 'hard at it,' but today we are both taking the day off.
We are going to our tiny town hall to vote and to the bank and the general store.  

You all have a wonderful day and remember to ' VOTE.'
This is probably my most important vote yet!

BlessYourHeart


12 comments:

~mel said...

Gotta love that snow ~ 'cuz it's with us for a long stretch each winter. I don't think this round is going to melt off. We had some Purple Viking's baked last night ~ yummers!

jack69 said...

This is a very interesting entry. Education in potatoes. We visited the potatoe museum out in Idaho, that was interesting, but reading the infor right from the 'loading doc's' mouth is much better. LOL
SNOW??? Awready??

Oh yea, we are voting early and voting often down here!!! Our dead relatives vote also.
Sending love on NOV 6th, to the folks in CCOLD country.

jack69 said...

Oh yeah, I know what I was gonna say. I never thought of the small rocks causing that much problems. I remember what my daddy used to say. "Don't tell me rocks don't grow, we cleaned the fields every year and next year they were right back, some bigger and better.." ha!

Dar said...

Re: Mel, yes, those Purple V's sure are wonderful, especially mashed...
Re: Jack, I know what you mean, the frost pushes more and more rock to the surface each spring...we were worried about that but at least we still have work. Thanks for the compliment straight from the Loading Doc's mouth. Lol
Blessings

imac said...

Put feet up with a glass of wine,
Voting, No matter who gets in - the poor always pay for the rich.

Suz said...

ha that last comment made me laugh
it's the other way
the rich always pay for the poor
...and that's not a bad thing mind ya
but a poor man never employed anyone
and tell your hubby
he didn't plow that
love ya dear Dar
you are a hoot

Michelle said...

Snow?! I am afraid we will be getting our dose of it before long.

Shug said...

Oh goodness, Snow?? I would definitely say that this is a good reason to take the day off..
I know all too well how it goes in the farming business....farming can be great, but it sure requires a lot of hard work.
I've even tried some of that tractor driving myself...at first I really liked it, but after a while, it can become very trying!
Y'all stay warm!
Blessings sweetie..
Shug

Muffy's Marks said...

Great minds must work alike, I posted a picture of my pumpkin with snow on it, on facebook!! Enjoy your day off.

Paula said...

Interesting post about the potatoes. We just had baked potatoes for supper. I always learn something here.

Fred Alton said...

While Frances helps get the new Pres elected i thought I'd make use of the time and read a few blogs. Nice post. Very informative about the organic growing process. It's about time you and Bill rested a little. ☺

Chatty Crone said...

You have SNOW!