Plow Day 2009

I would say that the fall is the time of the year that most people get out the plow (the ground is usually much more dry), but since there were piggies living in the spot that I wanted to plow I had to wait until the spring (and a dry week). As you can see from the picture above, the stars aligned last Friday and I was able to get the two-bottom plow in the ground and turn over the dirt in the old pig pen.

Not only did I plow up our garden spot, but I also went and hit the neighbors garden spot with the plow. I was amazed at the difference in the ground between our two spots. Ours had some decent black dirt (and composting manure), while the neighbors was sod being turned over for the first time and it was almost completely clay. And, the two spots weren't much more than a quarter of a mile apart. Although, by the bricks we found after turning of the dirt at the neighbors I wouldn't be surprised if that spot had once had an old shed or if it was even the garbage pile at one time.

The next step is to hit it with a disc and then come back with the garden tiller if it still needs to be broken up a bit. In the future we won't have to do as much work, but since this is a first year garden and because it was hard-packed by the pigs it needs a little more tillage to break it up. After all that is done we get ready to plant sweet corn ... I can't wait!

The Annual Plow Day...

For the past few years my Uncle has hosted a plow day at his farm in central Iowa, and this year was no different. Everyone readily admits that they aren't plowing because they have to, but rather because they want to. While I realize the mold board plow isn't really the greatest tool to be using anymore it does have it's place, and doing these plow days are almost like doing an reenactment.

The fields where we plow are the fields that my Grandfather farmed (and plowed) and the tractors that my family uses at the plow day are Minneapolis Moline ... just like my Grandfather used and sold. So, it is really about slowing down and appreciating our history ... which is a very important thing to do. It is great to spend time with my family and the neighbors that have also farmed in the area for years. In fact the farming knowledge at these gatherings is almost intimidating.

We had a great day for plowing. It was cool, but there wasn't any snow like last year so the plowing was easier and the crowd was bigger. There were plenty of Minneapolis Moline tractors there (most owned by my Uncle), a few John Deere, a few Farmall, a Cockshutt, and various other colors. I enjoyed hearing the sound of the tractors working under load and the men standing around eating and enjoying the fellowship of farmers. Last year I spent a lot of time taking pictures and shooting video for a little movie I made for my Uncle, but this year I spent most of the time plowing and didn't take any pictures. Because of this I had to wait until my Uncle had a chance to send some pictures!

It was an enjoyable day and I encourage everyone to check out a local plow day around them. It is like experiencing a piece of history and celebrating the hard work of those that came before us. In case you are wondering I spent most of the day driving a Minneapolis Moline M5 with a three-bottom plow and a Minneapolis Moline M670 Super with a three-bottom flip over plow. The flip over plow is mounted on the three-point hitch and you just flip it over at the end of the pass and turn around so you don't leave dead furrows or have to go in a big pattern. It was pretty fun!