Its That Time Again

[Hobo,NC]

If I get at it I may have a window to get maters and beans planted. Its been to wet to plant here. I did plant corn last week, taters and onions. It was to wet but I had the itch ... I broke up the hard pan yesterday with my All purpose plow it does a good job....

 

[Bruce (VA)]

Looking good. I like the drag attachment.

Just got the tomatoes, peppers, etc in Monday. Need to get some pictures.

Garden is slow. No asparagus yet. Strawberries are just blooming.

 

[01BIRDDOG]

Looks like a beautiful area with good soil. No planting up here yet as its been too wet. Sure like your pie set.

 

[souNdguy]

nice looking patch o' dirt you got there!

 

[ZANE]

Good looking patch of ground Hobo.

I broke and planted about 3/4 acre of surguhm cane the first of this week.

Acquired a big Columbus #18 cane mill about two or three weeks ago and have been working on it ever since. Had been sitting for about 50 years. One of the roller shafts was badly rusted. I welded it up and turned it back down with my old 100 year old lathe.(Like a cat eating a grind stone). Poured new babett bearings and got it back together. Got to hitch it up to the B John Deere now to give it a test run with the flat belt.

Now all I have to do is learn how to make Sorguhm syrup and about a hundred other things????

I've got a few yellow squash up and four tomatoe plants. Irish potators up sort of.

Okra probably will have to be replanted. Okra doesn't like cool ground.

Zane

 

[Jerry/MT]

Heck we had 8 inches of snow on Sunday and it was down in the teen"s at night until Wednesday! Our last frost free day is May 31st. You guys down South have a real jump on us.

 

[William Fissell]

looks great! What are you pulling the chisel plow with?

 

[Dell (WA)]

who the 'ell likes slimy okra??? YUCK!!! ......gaggin' Dell

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 11:22:24 04/26/13) who the 'ell likes slimy okra??? YUCK!!! ......gaggin' Dell

f you learn to slice thin, roll in corn meal & fry it, it won' t be slimy!

 

[HCooke]

Nice looking tiller.

 

[NOXJohn]

In south central PA we are supposed to have frost
Saturday night. Temperatures in the 60-70's during
the day but down into the mid to low 30's some
nights. Peas, onions, potatoes, radishes beets and
spinach planted. We will need to wait awhile to
plant corn, beans or vine crops.

 

[McNugget]

My dad remembers being a boy and watching his grandfather fill a lard bucket from a cream can of sorghum syrup. It was the height of the Depression and sweets were not common. That ribbon of syrup folding into the bucket made a big impression on him! I think he has three mills and assorted equipment scattered all around now. Note that this is western Iowa, in the Loess Hills. You probably have more sorghum history in your part of the country.

We made sorghum in a large flat pan, 3 x 8 foot, maybe 10 inches deep. Wood fire underneath a supporting frame and a skimmer to stir the juice and clear the foam and such off the top. Took about 10+ hours to boil down. Mom and dad would be staring in the pan with a flashlight around midnight calling it good enough. We would slide the pan off the fire and ladle out the syrup into a cream can. I think the yield is around 1 gallon syrup to 8-9 gallons juice, less than that if you want it strong and thick.

Stripping cane leaves was a good chore for young boys. We had wooden swords that we slid down the standing stalks. Then we would top the cane and cut it with a corn knife, cradling the stalk so it didn"t land in the dirt (mom would emphasize keeping the stalk clean!). We would cut a rack of stripped cane a day or more ahead, especially if a frost was predicted.

In the beginning we ran the belt (John Deere B, running above idle but not fast) from the feed side with a twist, but later years we ran it straight from the discharge side of the mill. You had to keep off bearing the crushed cane, but things seemed to work better that way.

Strain the juice at the mill outlet and also when dumping it in the pan. It pays to stop and clean out the mill. About three people around the mill feeding, off bearing crushed stalks and buckets of juice. Everyone was keeping an eye on the weights for the floating roller making sure they were in place.

Start the fire when the pan is over half full, earlier if you have a good crew. Someone is always stirring and skimming.

We worked my college roommate and his bride for a full day until midnight, and then he tried the syrup and exclaimed, "All that for this?!" It is a strong taste! We always talked about having popcorn popped and ready to dump into the empty but sticky pan. I think we were too tired and ready to bank the fire and call it a day when the syrup was done.

Best uses: cookies and when cooking a good cured ham.

 

[JoeN'Mo]

Good lookin" set-up you have there Hobo. I"m still waiting for warmer weather here in Missouri to set out my tomatoes. But lettuce, onions and peas are doing good so far.

Joe

 

[BillM (OH)]

Nice setup and good looking dirt Hobo - looks a lot simpler
than the way I do it - plow in the fall, lots of dragging with a
springtooth in the spring, and I also use a walk behind
rototiller in the rows to finish breaking up the clay clods when
necessary. Peas and beets in here in SE Ohio, but it was down
in the high 20's last night, so no maters, squash, cukes nor
beans quite yet - maybe in another week or so. I don't do
corn anymore - farm stand just down the road always has
corn early (before anyone else) and late - through September
last year, so I don't bother with it.

 

[ASEguy]

I like your plow Hobo. Don't think my N would pull it though. Looks like you're ready to go.

 

[Hobo,NC]

(quoted from post at 16:45:39 04/27/13) I like your plow Hobo. Don't think my N would pull it though. Looks like you're ready to go.

A good N will pull it that's what I pulled it with before I got a 850 and the 3000.. You can drop points till a N will pull it are make several passes till you can work it deep ...

I got all I plan to plant till June done yesterday and today was gonna shoot a few pix but I had to take my mom to the er last nite and did not get home till 1:30 am... I got my garden and my aunts done today along with making 2 trips to a auction 15 miles from here... They had a Ford 3910 their that I wanted it brought $5600.00 my top bid was $5500... The buyers premium 10% and sales tax 7% was the killer... The equipment went dirt cheap