2018 - The Farm

Well, I've been gone a few years from the board, and away from growing peppers, but looks like life is pushing me back that way again. 
 
I recently (last month) closed on a 25 acre farm in Central Illinois with some primo soil, and I'm going to give a commercial grow a test run. 
 

 

 
From up on the roof, when I was doing some roof repairs on the outbuildings. Not much as far as the eye can see, but cornfields...
 

 
 
Has a 4 stall garage and a horse stable on the property
 

 

 

 
Probably do my grow room upstairs here after I insulate it
 

 
Built some doors for the horse barn and patched the roof last month
 

 

 
 
Anyway just dropped a cold grand on seeds from pepperlover and buckeye, going to hit a greenhouse supplier up for other materials next week.
 
Have plans to build a 30x72' greenhouse in the spring, and a ~1200 sq foot dedicated grow room. Too late really to help with this year's grow, but next year it'll save me a lot of hassle on hardening off. 
 
The greenhouse, I am going to do a piped infloor heat slab, with a horizontal loop geothermal system (I own a mini excavator) that is solar powered. So heating should be nice, uniform, not create heat / cold bubbles, and not dry out plants like forced air would. I build circuit boards in my day job, so I will also build a microcontroller to handle the automated watering system with soil moisture monitors and actuated plumbing valves on the water supply.
 
Also plan on building a "deep winter" greenhouse for year round production. Got blueprints I made from a couple of years back, those are walled on three sides with heavy duty insulation, with the glass wall side angled to face winter solstice, so you can grow in the deep freeze months of the north. In the summer, those get hot enough to use as a natural dehydrator, replace the tables with racks for bulk drying.
 
Only doing a half acre or so of peppers to start with this year, the balance will be put in corn. I can't manage more than that with the labor I have available. (When you start talking thousands of plants, simple tasks like up-potting grow in to hundreds or thousands of man hours...)
 
Going to hire some local kids to help, school has a good ag co-op program for high schoolers, they can get school credit working on local farms. Since the plant out and harvest doesn't conflict too badly with corn, shouldn't have a problem finding labor around here.
 
Anyway, that's the plans.
 
We'll see how it goes.. er.. grows.
 

 

[TrentL]

At least your germination figures will improve.[emoji3]

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Haha yeah don't even get me started again on that.
 
In completely RELATED news, I finally have the closing chapter to the ground cover.
 
You guys remember, I ordered that early May, so I could unroll it in the field, and transplant in to the deployed ground cover. 
 
The original shipment was lost by Roadrunner freight line, en route between Missouri and Illinois (a 5 hour trip).
 
About a week after it was shipped, the greenhouse company (greenhousemegastore.com, international greenhouse) worked to try to find the shipment, things went sideways, and finally after over 3 weeks a replacement shipment was dispatched from DeWitt's factories. Unfortunately in the intervening weeks, I couldn't hold the plants in 4" pots any longer and we HAD to transplant them to the field, there was no more delaying plant out or I was going to lose the pepper crop. (I ended up losing roughly 100 plants because I delayed TOO long; about 4% of our crop was lost)
 
Around Memorial day, after everything was already planted out (or nearly so), we got a truck at the farm with 12 rolls of battered, damaged ground fabric. No stakes though. The next day, a pallet of stakes arrived. I didn't know it at the time, but it turns out the rolls were from the ORIGINAL shipment, which was miraculously found by Roadrunner after nearly a month. The STAKES were from the REPLACEMENT shipment, which was missing the replacement rolls of fabric!
 
Over the next few days, we received ANOTHER 12 rolls showed up at the farm. "Uhh, something isn't right here" - I called and let the greenhouse co know that we'd got a double shipment. 
 
Then the next day ANOTHER pallet of stakes showed up. The original Roadrunner shipment's missing stakes. Battered and weather beaten.
 
So over the course of 4 days (with an intervening weekend) we received 24 rolls of ground fabric, and 36 boxes of stakes. 
 
The greenhouse company said to use the undamaged rolls, so I started cutting them up to deploy. (4 of 12 of the original shipment rolls are fine, but 8 have taken moderate to severe damage; some puncture wounds in the rolls 1/2" deep, ends ground by being dragged, melted together, etc.. these things were BEAT TO HELL.)
 
Got a call from a freight company a few days later, wanting to pick up the *replacement* stuff. But I'd already started deploying those. Some time passes.
 
I get notification that I'm going to be billed for the replacement rolls. 
 
Lose my temper. Send a string a furious e-mails. This has ALREADY cost me a FORTUNE at this point.
 
See, instead of rolling out these rolls and cutting nice neat X's in them for transplants (or burning nice round holes in them with a torch), something I can re-use year after year, I had to slice up the rolls in to small fragments (which tatter), and pay workers to meticulously unroll them between rows of already transplanted plants. 
 
I have had a crew of 4-6 workers out in the field EVERY DAY since Memorial day working on that task. It has cost me an average of $3,750 a week in labor, for 3 weeks now, and we still aren't done. Plus, the ground cover I am using is effectively destroyed in the process; won't be reusable next year, so the $5400 in cover is a one-shot expense. 
 
So yeah, I got rather upset about the whole thing. At this point, there's an "injured party" (me, taking financial losses) and I start kicking around the idea of engaging my business lawyer to get this whole situation resolved.
 
Get a call yesterday at lunch. 
 
I'm allowed to keep the damaged shipment, no cost. I can use the 4 undamaged rolls next year, and whatever I can salvage off of the 8 damaged rolls. 
 
So the matter is finally resolved. I'm still reeling from the setback, with over $11K in labor expenses deploying ground fabric (compared to what SHOULD have been an easy afternoon of work), with at least one more week of deploy to go, but moving forward I at least know NEXT year will be SOMEWHAT easier as I already have *some* of the materials on hand. 
 
The delay to other stuff at the farm has borderlined on NIGHTMARE levels. My entire complement of laborers has only been working on ground fabric deployment, and it has seriously hurt everything else. I've lost about 20% of my cucumber crop now to weed pressure, since we haven't got to them yet. I have hundreds of bales of straw to deploy, which hasn't been done yet, because I have no workers available. We had to stop planting on the North field, so there's 3/4 of an acre that is just laying fallow this year, which will be 100% unproductive (that hurts a LOT; that is a potential $150k in income we won't have this year). I couldn't add more work on top of the massive pile of work, so quit planting more crops when the ground cover finally showed up. 
 
The tomatoes haven't been strung yet; my vine tomatoes are massive, and I doubt I CAN string them at this point without damaging them. Going to TRY, but I'm betting I do more harm than good at this point. 
 
The high tunnel isn't done yet for my isolation plants. I lost *40* of those isolation plants to neglect as we had everyone tied up on ground cover. 
 
Weed pressure in the north field is getting intense as I haven't had labor available to spread straw for the melons, which is compounding the issue. Now I'll have to do weed removal (manually) before we can spread straw, greatly increasing the labor of maintaining that field. 
 
The organic pasture is under intense weed pressure now. The ground cover deployment has drug on for 3 weeks now with at least 1 more week left on it, which slows up the deployment further, as I have to task workers with weeding around plants as they go. It takes an average of 4 hours for a pair of workers to do one 100 foot row of ground fabric at this point, having to move drip irrigation out of the way, deploy and cut up the fabric around plants, weeding around the plants as they go, re-tagging, re-installing dripline, etc.
 
The ground cover issue has been a gigantic cluster-f*ck this year, and something I most definitely DID NOT NEED on top of everything else that's gone wrong. 
 
Anyway, the chapter will soon be closed, and IGH / greenhousemegastore.com made a good decision in the end. They are standing by my side on this, and I bear no ill will towards them. Pretty much ALL materials on the farm were ordered through them this year, and they've been very helpful with regards to the high tunnels, and so on. Everything from my starter trays, to my pots, to my high tunnels, and everything in between were purchased through them. (I did source irrigation from a place which specializes in irrigation, but everything else came from IGH).
 
I'll continue to rely on IGH / Greenhousemegastore.com in future years. They had my back on this incident, and that goes a long way towards building mutual relationship as we build out on the farm.

 

[Sawyer]

...fungus... makes growing anything other than grains on that plot risky as hell for future years

Are there many micro-breweries in your area? Winter barley could be an option. With your gumption, you could even put in a boutique malting house.

 

[TrentL]

Are there many micro-breweries in your area? Winter barley could be an option. With your gumption, you could even put in a boutique malting house.

 
Haha oh hell I need a still at the farm.

 

[Sawyer]

Hey, now, I'm not suggesting anything illegal.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/13/illegal-moonshine-operation-discovered-in-alabama-woods.html

 

[Edmick]

I like greenhouse megastore. I've done a lot of ordering from them this year and a couple orders have been messed up but they fixed it no questions asked and even sent me some extras for the trouble.

 

[TrentL]

Hey, now, I'm not suggesting anything illegal.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/06/13/illegal-moonshine-operation-discovered-in-alabama-woods.html

I stumbled across a moonshine operation when I was hiking down in the Ozarks once, 20 years ago. I was barely 21, and an older buddy of mine had some land down in the ozarks. Four of us headed down to do some camping, hiking, and long range shooting. Well, these old hillbillies had set themselves up a bit of a moonshine operation on the back side of his land. Was also a well kept foot path back to a clearing in the woods, where they were growing some sort of plant or another.. I didn't ask..
 
Well, we'd rolled up in a pick up truck and four of us jumped out wearing full camo with long guns, pistols, the works. I had an H&K G3 on me that day (308 cal), one buddy had a Galil, one had a FN FAL, and the other had an old Daewoo AR. Except for the Daewoo (which was chambered in 223) all were heavy hitting intermediary cartridges. We were heading down to that end of the stretch of land because my buddy said there was a decent backstop down that way, and we could get some half mile shots in, so we were loaded for bear on our way to go shooting.
 
Well, these old squatters had no f'n CLUE who the hell we were when we drove up in that pickup truck, and four of us jumped out with long guns and ammo pouches, and walked up to them in full camo with all these guns. They just sat there real polite, like, and didn't move so much as a muscle.
 
The guy who owned the land, and the 'head squatter' went off to have a conversation while the other three of us made small talk. 
 
Buddy came back and said "they're just looking after the old cabin here, we'll head on over to the other end of the property and shoot", and that was that. 
 
Never asked any more questions, probably wouldn't have got any more answers anyway.

 

[TrentL]

Also if you've never had it, there's some damn good moonshine out there. Had some given to me from a friend out east who was visiting, a few years ago, that's smooth as silk going down, although it'd like to set your insides on fire once it hits the belly.
 
Moonshine has a bit of a family tradition, one remote branch of my family from Arkansas (paternal side of my lineage) used to run a moonshine operation back in Arkansas during prohibition. The ones that settled up in central IL did so after prohibition lifted, they threw down stakes around here for factory work, after the market to haul liquor up to Chicago dried up. It'd get trucked up to this area, then the bootleggers from Chicago would drive down and load up the stock and finish the haul. 
 
My old great uncle, he could tell some stories. Hard deciding which ones were true, though, one thing about hillbillies that you learn, is the longer the timespan, the larger and more unbelievable the tales grow.
 
 
 
 

 

[Sawyer]

That's a great story. When I got to, "...jumped out wearing full camo with long guns...", I literally laughed out loud.

 

[TrentL]

Yes there were many laughs around the campfire that night. Right up until I realized I pitched my tent over a patch of earth that was plum full of chiggers. HORRIBLE night. 
 
The next morning I stripped down, and washed my legs with kerosene, to get the bastards off me. Then I dribbled it on my boots, soaked a couple spare socks in it, and tied those around my ankles. About all you can do out in the middle of nowhere. Ticks, chiggers, etc don't like the smell of fuel, they'll stay off of you. 
 
 

 

[cone9]

Yes there were many laughs around the campfire that night. Right up until I realized I pitched my tent over a patch of earth that was plum full of chiggers. HORRIBLE night. 
 
The next morning I stripped down, and washed my legs with kerosene, to get the bastards off me. Then I dribbled it on my boots, soaked a couple spare socks in it, and tied those around my ankles. About all you can do out in the middle of nowhere. Ticks, chiggers, etc don't like the smell of fuel, they'll stay off of you. 
 
 

 
It's good your wife was not along on that trip.  Wive's don't like the smell of kerosene on their men either.

 

[TrentL]

Sudden wilt spread by the striped cucumber beetles.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Those striped cucumber beetles are a serious pain in my ass this year. Plants that get chomped on can go out to grow fine, until they set flowers, then BANG.. dead.

 

[TrentL]

Meanwhile, other melons, they're just fine.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TrentL]

The south pasture;
 
3x rows of Okra, rest is melons;
 

 
Weeds and some surviving cucumbers
 

 
10x 56' rows of peppers, mostly numex, santa fe grande, brain strain, although there's a few others towards the back
 

 
7 1/2  100' rows of peppers, these are all MOA scotch bonnet and turkish cayenne
 

 
9 100' rows of peppers
 

 
Royal burgundy beans
 

 
Some slicing cucumbers buried in weeds
 

 
Ez-pick beans
 

 
more slicing cucumbers
 

 
10 100' rows of peppers
 

 

 
Pickling cucumbers
 

 
More ez-pick beans, and Leroy, the random corn volunteer.
 

 
8x 100' rows of peppers with a couple rows of royal burgundy bean fillers
 

 

 
More cucumbers
 

 
More royal burgundy beans
 

 
 
 

 

[TrentL]

Added a purge valve to the end of the high tunnel irrigation yesterday so I didn't irrigate with 150F water and cook the plants. The black poly tube I ran down the length of the high tunnel catches sun and holds some serious heat. Took 10 minutes of purge before the water finally cooled off.
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

[TrentL]

Kind of glad these Japanese beetles like my soybeans better than my vegetable crops, right now.
 
Although next year when I have wheat growing, and all the neighbors are back growing corn, I'll give you ONE GUESS where they'll swarm.....
 

 

 
I can't use chemical pesticides, and these guys emerge too late for row covers (would need to remove those for pollinators before now), so this will be a pretty serious prob next year.
 

 

[fcaruana]

Are there any natural predators you can use for some insect control? At the farm I work at they have these tags they put on the plants that contain the eggs of bugs that eat aphids thrips, whiteflies, etc. and they also release predacious bugs to wage war on the bad guys. They’re not a certified organic farm but it definitely seems to work and I can’t imagine using insects as an “insecticide” isn’t organic. No aphids on their tomatoes, and the tomatoes are unbelievable!


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[Chilidude]

I do hope you will get some money out of those plants, as right now it is like watching a horror show.

 

[TrentL]

There's really nothing you can do for those Japanese beetles. I have Azera insecticide approved for use on the farm, but it is restricted use. 
 
https://www.valent.com/agriculture/products/azera/index.cfm
 
Per OMRI:
 
"May be used as a pest lure, repellent, or as part of a trap, or as a disease control. May be used for other pesticidal purposes if the requirements of 205.206(e) are met, which requires the use of preventative, mechanical, physical, and other pest, weed, and disease management practices. "
 
If you read 205.206(e) there are four pre-qualifiers to using restricted pesticides (a through d)
 
§ 205.206 Crop pest, weed, and disease management practice standard.
(a) The producer must use management practices to prevent crop pests, weeds, and diseases including but not limited to:
 
(1) Crop rotation and soil and crop nutrient management practices, as provided for in §§ 205.203 and 205.205;
 
(2) Sanitation measures to remove disease vectors, weed seeds, and habitat for pest organisms; and
 
(3) Cultural practices that enhance crop health, including selection of plant species and varieties with regard to suitability to site-specific conditions and resistance to prevalent pests, weeds, and diseases.
 
(b) Pest problems may be controlled through mechanical or physical methods including but not limited to:
 
(1) Augmentation or introduction of predators or parasites of the pest species;
 
(2) Development of habitat for natural enemies of pests;
 
(3) Nonsynthetic controls such as lures, traps, and repellents.
 
(c) Weed problems may be controlled through:
 
(1) Mulching with fully biodegradable materials;
 
(2) Mowing;
 
(3) Livestock grazing;
 
(4) Hand weeding and mechanical cultivation;
 
(5) Flame, heat, or electrical means; or
 
(6) Plastic or other synthetic mulches: Provided, That, they are removed from the field at the end of the growing or harvest season.
 
(d) Disease problems may be controlled through:
 
(1) Management practices which suppress the spread of disease organisms; or
 
(2) Application of nonsynthetic biological, botanical, or mineral inputs.
 
(e) When the practices provided for in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section are insufficient to prevent or control crop pests, weeds, and diseases, a biological or botanical substance or a substance included on the National List of synthetic substances allowed for use in organic crop production may be applied to prevent, suppress, or control pests, weeds, or diseases: Provided, That, the conditions for using the substance are documented in the organic system plan.
 
 

 

[nmlarson]

Trent,
 
Just curiosity on my part.....what variety(ies) of cucumber(s) are attracting the attention of the beetles away from your melons?

 

[TrentL]

Trent,
 
Just curiosity on my part.....what variety(ies) of cucumber(s) are attracting the attention of the beetles away from your melons?

 
The Edens Gem melons are mostly untouched. They went after the divergent cantaloupe first, northern pickling cucumbers got hit hard as well. The Eden's Gem muskmelons were in between those and they largely ignored them. But they were all over the watermelon and slicing cucumbers too. 
 
We have a few *million* Japanese beetles milling around today. They were thick in the air. So far they've been leaving my veggies alone, and going after the soybeans, which I'm OK with. Got some Azera pesticide on the way just in case they change their minds...