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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Planting Potato's

Digging furrows with the tractor and a v-plow in the cultivator.
The sun is starting to set as we finish the furrows.
It was a little cold and rained some. It was warm by the fire.
The rows look good and are pretty straight.
Planted the potatoes last weekend. This is a family project for the fourth year. Each year it gets a little bigger. This year ten rows of Dark Red Norland (100lbs), and five rows of Burbank russets (50lbs). The rows are are nearly a hundred feet long each. We left about four feet between the rows so little tractor can easily cultivate, and add to the hills throughout the growing season. Some of the Norlands will be harvested as small new potatoes mid summer. We used the tractor to dig the furrows 6-8" deep. The seed is cut by hand in half's or quarters depending on the size of the seed. The moister in the seed will be needed for the tubular's to reach the surface. It is better for them to be a little large than too small. The seed is put in the rows with the high-tech process of walking along with a bucket, and dropping them in the rows leaving about ten inches between each one. They will need plenty of room to grow. The tractor is used again to close and hill the rows. The plants should start popping up in about two weeks. AH

Hilling rows with the tractor
Making furrows with the tractor

Garden Tractor - Finished


So the little Garden Tractor is finished, and in service. It was taken a part and everything cleaned up and painted. It was in good mechanical conditions so, it did not require a lot of repairs. The paint is International Farmall red. My favorite.
AH