Rotating ride-on seedling planting machine - GIF

[Frank S]

that soil sure looks dry

[ranald]

that soil sure looks dry

Pumping them in, & so dry that it looks a bit like talc & even possibly hydrophobic: but they wouldn't be planting without experience in that soil with the costs of plants & labour of 6 plus overheads.

[Frank S]

Pumping them in, & so dry that it looks a bit like talc & even possibly hydrophobic: but they wouldn't be planting without experience in that soil with the costs of plants & labour of 6 plus overheads.

Yep, I know the feeling. last year the soil in my garden was so dry when it came time to plant that I poured water on it for 2 days before it began to wet up. this year is just the polar opposite we were a bit late in planting due to late morning freezes but some of my corn is nearly chest high. There is an old saying about corn being knee high by the 4th of July At the rate it is growing it should stalk and tassel out by then and begin to ear. But it has rained so much the cotton farmers still haven't been able to plant. Last year they had to take the insurance due to being so dry this year they may have to take the insurance due to being too wet to plant. Mean while I have already had to harvest off all of the radishes and I have fist sized onions just waiting to be eaten. my peppers are not turning out as hot as they should because of too much watering but can't have everything there are a lot of them though.

[ranald]

Yep, I know the feeling. last year the soil in my garden was so dry when it came time to plant that I poured water on it for 2 days before it began to wet up. this year is just the polar opposite we were a bit late in planting due to late morning freezes but some of my corn is nearly chest high. There is an old saying about corn being knee high by the 4th of July At the rate it is growing it should stalk and tassel out by then and begin to ear. But it has rained so much the cotton farmers still haven't been able to plant. Last year they had to take the insurance due to being so dry this year they may have to take the insurance due to being too wet to plant. Mean while I have already had to harvest off all of the radishes and I have fist sized onions just waiting to be eaten. my peppers are not turning out as hot as they should because of too much watering but can't have everything there are a lot of them though.

My dad always reminded me of tide waits for no man. Similarly MOTHER NATURE cares for no man or beast. We can just try to harness her but its interesting how many animals/birds know so long beforehand, except for fire.

[Frank S]

My dad always reminded me of tide waits for no man. Similarly MOTHER NATURE cares for no man or beast. We can just try to harness her but its interesting how many animals/birds know so long beforehand, except for fire.

My Grandpa always said it will only rain where and when nature needs it to rain. there is never any rain during a drought and all droughts end with a flood and sometimes a flood will be a signal that there is going to be a drought.

[ranald]

My Grandpa always said it will only rain where and when nature needs it to rain. there is never any rain during a drought and all droughts end with a flood and sometimes a flood will be a signal that there is going to be a drought.

The older generations knew so much more and tried to & did pass the knowledge on to some who understood/listened. That was before we started the chemical/drug thing to "fix" everything ( not saying that that isn't appropriate at times). I have seen Drought ravaged land with a very green patch/plot where someone has used better practices to manage their farm: example of part of the practice being trees along riparian areas as well as scattered clumps preventing erosion & salinity raising its ugly head.

I used lots of our native Lomandra when regenerating my little plot: these grass like plants hang on like billeo during floods, even when only a couple of months old, preventing erosion. "Water Watch" were amazed that my creek water was much cleaner than the stuff upstream from the road culvert (water only seeps around/under unless reasonable rain occurs which is fairly often here in the coastal hinterland. Also a couple of neighbours with contiguous land have done some regen + farm forrestry helping biodiversity: grazing is less than before & some stock is excluded from the small creek .



Pic shows a very narrow creek part with small one about 4 mths old in foreground.
To right is one about a year old.
The clumps reach about 2 metres high when mature & spread to over a metre dia.
I've seen freshly planted ones almost pulled out but hanging on by a couple of roots.

Most of us are aware of successful projects like Yellowstone, and I must say I get a grin when I think of the chap who monitors rare & endangered species in the Appalacian trail name is A. Weed. In Australia we have a coal company, Adani, which has breached laws a couple of times before even receiving the "official" go ahead to start mining. Secret hand shakes?
Unfortunately we have some terrible laws against whistle blowers of wrongful practices like that of our ATO.
Thankfully many worldwide governments & organisations & individuals are taking serouusly that we need to change to more positive practices.Some good heart warming there.

[gonzoacresiv]

If the soil is moist when you plant with one of these machines the machine sinks in and compacts the soil as well as the soil clumping and gumming up the soil contact mechanisms, so timing is of the essence to ensure that each row is planted promptly so that the tractor can move over to the next set of rows to be planted and the rows that are freshly planted can have the furrows where the tires of the tractor had driven can be flood irrigated and the mounded beds where transplants are will wick moisture upwards because the soil is so fluffy and loose