May Our First Planting

We are so excited! Our first planting has finally happened. Everyone helped out as we planted a 1/4 acre of corn. It took some trial and error to get used to our seeder. Ron discovered that if you filled it up too much it was likely to drop multiple seeds in one spot. Originally, we had two seeders hooked together so we could plant two rows at a time, but sadly one seeder was dropping too many seeds and it was just too cumbersome to use. I didn't realize how big a 1/4 acre was until we had to plant all the seeds! Our goal is to plant 1 acre of corn this summer. Fingers crossed they grow big and strong.

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April Electric Panel

This month we also got electricity! Since we don't have any permanent structures, we had to mount the electric meter on an outdoor panel cemented in the ground. Also, to meet code requirements, the meter panel had to include a main shut off installed at the same location. This different from how residential electricity is set up because the outdoor meters are typically installed close enough to the main panel inside the house so you don't need a separate disconnect. While we didn't appreciate the added cost and inconvenience, it worked out in the end. We dug a trench from the pole to our meter location, and then continued the trench to the shed where we chose to install a 200 amp panel. We have more than enough power available now for the well pump and controller, electric fence, and anything else we need to run. Now that we have electricity, we will be able to complete our electric fence installation.

June Ditch Digging

Now that we have a well, it is time to get that water to our plants. We will be bringing the water to the fields through buried water pipes. One thing we forgot to do when we prepared our fields was to dig ditches for the water pipes. Luckily, our tractor was able to fit around the fields and help dig most of our trenches. But, the areas between where we already planted need to be dug by hand. Phew! It's hard work, but very satisfying to see what one person with a shovel can do.

June Pumpkin Patch

It's time to get our pumpkin patch ready. Well, they should have been planted a while ago but we are a bit behind schedule (but better late than never!). We will be planting large, medium, and small varieties of decorative pumpkins. We covered the field with woven ground cover that already had holes in them spaced for pumpkins, melons, and other similar vegetables which we purchased from farmer friends of ours who are moving to a different ground cover system. It took us a good hour to lay out all the ground cover and move all the sandbags. Ron finished planting them this past weekend and we cannot wait to see them grow!

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