Now that the sun has been shining for several days in a row the fields have dried up enough to finish the field work. After disking once I applied Mono Ammonium Phosphate as a phosphorus source and Ammonium Sulfate as a nitrogen and sulfur source (both are friendly to soil life). I wanted to also add Potassium Sulfate but my supplier couldn’t get it right now. These additions were added based on needs indicated by a soil test.
Then I disked and the ground again to incorporate the fertilizer and further break up the grass clumps.
To use my 6-row seeded to seed carrots I need a rock-free and debris-free seedbed. After using the bedshaper this is what a typical bed in the field looks like.
This is much too rocky for the seeder to work so that means I need to spend some time with a rake to get the desired results which then look something like this.
Ah, that’s much better. Now I can use the seeder. However, before I do so I plan on trying to get the weed seeds to germinate so I can lightly till to kill them and then I will plant the seed.
First of all, I would dare say it’s probably a first to be plowing in Star Valley on Thanksgiving. I remember two years ago it was -25 F on Thanksgiving. So these are the bonus days that help me to get caught up on things that I need to get done. The plowing could have been done earlier but it has been so dry that I decided to wait and the recent moisture made the plowing much easier.
The use of the moldboard plow has been the topic of discussion in the sustainable agriculture crowd. The argument is that it is to disruptive to the soil and the life in the soil, particularly earthworms. On this particular field I decided I had no option other than the plow because grass had overtaken the alfalfa and the only way to get rid of the grass is to plow (or use a non-selective herbicide which I don’t want to do). By using other management techniques like growing cover crops and/or green manure crops I plan on working to increase soil organic matter and thus encourage soil biology.
See the plowing video at
Farming at 6000 ft in the mountains of Wyoming and loving it…
