putting in the crop

Harrowing the field.



Planting the seed.

Two men work together to plant the crop. It was an interesting hour or two spent watching the tractors work the large field in tandem, a ballet of sorts as the John Deere's each performed their task as they swept back and forth across the field, cutting wide swaths. The first farmer is harrowing the field, which is dragging a long piece covered with tines, sort of like a huge comb, breaking up whatever clumps might be left and smoothing the surface. Notice how black and rich the undersoil looks when the dry top layer is broken up. The second farmer follows behind, always several swaths behind, planting the seed. The seed planting equipment is amazing. The first row of blades cut the furrow and those yellow buckets hold the seed, which is dropped down the center of the furrow. The sets of twin wheels on the back, angled slightly towards each other push the soil back over the furrow, and voile', the job is done. This was a horribly labor intensive job back before modern machinery. We'll visit this field again, and watch as the crop emerges. There's nothing more interesting than sitting on a porch, sipping ice tea and watching the corn grow!