Its Planting Time!

Yes, I can see that it is fall.  There are pumpkins on my counter top and apple cider in my fridge.  But I promise, it really is planting time.  For wheat anyway.

This is the field behind our house.  Cory is using the drill to put the wheat seeds into the ground.  It was so windy and the dirt is so dry I couldn’t get a great photo of the equipment, but here’s one of the drill planting beans in the spring.

It may look a lot like our planter, but a drill is quite a bit different.  To a farmer anyway.  A planter precisely places seeds in the ground.  A drill is for crops that are much less picky about their conditions, but no matter how you put them in the ground, these wheat seeds need to be planted in the fall.

The weather man says its going to rain next week, which would be great for our wheat crop.  Ideally it needs to be planted in cool temps, but with enough time to grow a little before freezing weather hits.  The field will hopefully sprout green in a few more days and then be ready to go dormant when the snow flies.  Some wheat needs cooler temps than others, which is why you’ll hear of wheat being grown in states like Montana.  Other types are fine here in the Midwest– mostly in Kansas. 😉

Wheat is one of my favorite crops and I love having it grow in the fields around our house.  It will be among the first signs of spring and long before our yard looks lush the wheat will be several inches high.

I snapped this shot on March 27, 2012.

So harvest continues.  Hand in hand with planting.