Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "TxBeeFarmer" <txbeefarmer AT hotpop.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper
  • Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 12:10:14 -0600

In the planter, I have no trouble planting things like okra. For smaller seeds, I use the slinger.

You'd be surprised how well rain works for getting things up - even though it only rains 17 inches a year here. Yes, I have had to replant when it rains just enough for the seeds come up without enough moisture to get established, but that's just part of farming. But note, when the small seeds were broadcast planted, they were dry planted. Larger seeds, using the planter, went in after a good rain. Why dry for small seeds and wet for larger seeds? Small seed germination time is so short, the crust on the soil after a rain doesn't have a chance to get hard before they come up. Larger seeds germinate slower allowing the crust after a rain to form and get hard. With a planter, the crust is removed by the leading buster plows.

There is a method of dry planting everything, but it involves scratching the ground after a rain to remove the crust. The reason the

Well, yes I do waste seed, but only 50% since the furrows are the same width as the beds. Small seed, for the most part, are pretty cheap. A pound of turnip seed has more than I'd care to count and will cover a lot of land. How much do broccoli seeds cost.

I water the blackberries with water haul in and stored in large tanks. The berries are mulched and are drip irrigated. I do plan to catch rain water off the various barns and building around here (approx. 50,000 gal.) but will probably still have to haul some. The berries are the only thing irrigated here. It's amazing how well a garden will do without irrigation. The key is getting the roots to go deep. That's why I run the chisels where the beds will be.

TxBeeFarmer
Mark (West Texas - Zone 7b)

----- Original Message ----- From: "Willie McKemie" <mf AT austinfarm.org>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2005 10:47 AM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Bed Shaper


How small can you go on the seed? Okra? Beet/chard? Smaller?

On small seed:

I'm surprised you rely on rain to get your small seed up. We would
have many (I should say many MORE) crop establishment failures if we
didn't water them up.

Sounds like you may waste as much as 90% of the seed? That would limit
you to pretty cheap seed; you couldn't afford to direct seed hybrid
broccoli that way.

How did your "water blackberries with rainwater" project come out?
Still have blackberries?

We have had close to a west Texas rainfall year; not much over 20"
rather than our "normal" 30-40".

--
Willie, ONWARD! Through the fog!
http://counter.li.org Linux registered user #228836 since 1995
Debian3.0/GNU/Linux system uptime 23 days 30 min minutes
_______________________________________________
Market-farming mailing list
Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming

Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page