• Home
  • Furrow Archives (2009-2010)
  • Farmbedded Archives (2008)
  • Photos
THE FURROW: The online newsletter of Howell Living History Farm

Fall Plowing

10/17/2013

0 Comments

 
Soil conditions on the farm are just about ideal for plowing -- not too wet, not too dry. The weather is also cooperating -- not too hot, not too cold, and not a breath of wind to speak of.

And yet, as Farmer Jeremy explained this morning, his rounds in the upper crop field have still been challenging. Blame it on a tractor.

In the spring, when there was more farm work to complete than Howell Farm's small team of farmers had the manpower to tackle, a tractor helped save some labor by discing the upper crop field. And though the labor saved was significant, it comes at a price. A big tractor weighs many times more than a team of draft horses, and the soil is compacted under the tractor's weight with each pass.

This compaction makes for much harder plowing six months later. Rather than being light and fluffy, the soil is dense and requires more effort to turn over. So some of that saved labor is given back in the end.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    About

    The Furrow is the online newsletter of The Friends of Howell Living History Farm. We will be updating this site about once a week with crop reports and other insights into life on a horse-drawn living history farm.

    Howell Farm is owned by Mercer County and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission.

    Funding for the Howell Living History Farm Furrow is made possible in part by an operating grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. 

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    January 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.