Filed under: cold, Corn, Farm, Minnesota, planting, rain, snow, spring, weather, weather sayings, weather wisdom | Tags: barn swallows, cold, cold germ., Corn, corn seeds, farm, germination percentage, Minnesota, nature, Planting, plants, rain, snow, soil temperature, spring, trees, weather, weather sayings
The weather here in southwestern Minnesota has been cold and miserable for the most part. It is raining again today, but I feel much better now that I finally got started with the planting.
This has got to be the latest start to corn planting in all of my 60 years. Snow and cold have left the perennial plants slow to get growing, and new seeding just will not start when the thermometer stays so low. Yes, we have had some really nice days, but all too often they are followed by more cold. So despite all the signs to the contrary, I started planting corn yesterday, and today it rains.
There are certain signs I have been taught in my farming career, passed down from generation to generation. They were all perfectly good back in my grandfather’s day, but are they any good today. Maybe, maybe not.
- “Don’t start to plant corn until the barn swallows return.” The return of the barn swallows tells you something about average soil and air temperatures. The insect activity that is needed to support barn swallows is roughly equivalent to the ground and air temperature needed to get corn seeds germinating. Newer corn varieties have a better germination percentage in colder soils (Cold Germ.) and can take cooler temperatures up to a point. We still need warm air to keep the corn plant growing.
- “Oak leaves, or green ash leaves, should be as big as a squirrels ear.” The growth of tree leaves may say a bit more about air temperatures than insect activity does, it is also more cumulative. Either way you still need a certain amount of warm air and warm soil to get these later leafing trees going. I’ve never stopped a squirrel to see how big their ears are, and I have wondered if it makes a difference what type of squirrel you have. Still, a good set of leaves on latter leafing trees does signify warm weather is here.
- “To see if the soil is warm enough to plant you need to go out and set your bare butt in the dirt.” I’ve never tried this one so I don’t know if it will work. I’ve always suspected that this was said for the humor of it, not the facts derived of the statement.
Well this year I did not wait for any of these signs. The calendar was screaming we need to start planting, so I did. Since University data say the best average time to plant here in our area is between April 23 and May 10, I knew I had to get started. Now, because of the rain, I am waiting again. 
Michael
Filed under: blizzard, cold, Farm, Minnesota, snow, travel, weather, weather wisdom, wind, winter | Tags: clothing, cold, farm, Minnesota, nature, safety, travel, weather, wind, wind chills, winter, winter clothing
The winds are a howling in our grove and the little bit of snow they can find is making life difficult. With wind speeds of 30 to 40 mph and temperatures near zero, we now have wind chill ratings of 20 below with sunrise wind chills near 30 below. This is not a night to be stranded out in the open.
We live on U.S. highway 71, so usually we can count on some relatively easy driving conditions. The plows gets out and opens these main roads early. Tonight the highway patrol has closed 71 from Windom to Willmar. Local police have even stopped in at high school basketball games to tell folks about the danger of being out tonight. This is serious.
Unfortunately I am prone to thinking I am an exception. After all I’m a Minnesota farm boy, we’ve had to be out doing chores in stuff like this most of my life. Now I’ve seen people who will brave winter in shorts and a tee shirt, I’m here to tell you that I am not one of those people. I know how to dress for the weather. If the wind blows you need protection.
As I age the weather seems to affect me more and more. Oh yeah, a quick trip out to the mail box or the wood pile may see me with just shoes and a hooded coat but long pants are always part of the winter gear, when the winter wind blows you need layers! Insulated boots and heavy socks for the feet are mandatory, maybe even two pairs of socks. I have several pair of felt lined jeans that can go under insulated bib coveralls for the lower body. A cotton tee with a heavy flannel shirt goes under a heavy hooded coat to cover the upper body. I usually make do with a baseball cap, but when the wind really blows I have a head band I put over my ears to keep the cap on. If it’s really cold the cap is replaced by a stocking cap to keep the head warm, that’s all under that hood. Don’t forget the heavy gloves or mittens with a pair of cotton gloves underneath for the colder weather. If you want to survive a Minnesota blizzard even this may not be enough, but at least you will stay warm if you can find a place to get out of the wind once in a while.
So when the wind blows like today, I’d advise you not to be out in Minnesota. Some of us have to work here, and we’ll dress for the weather, but even we will not be far from shelter for long.
Michael
Filed under: Farm, Minnesota, rain, weather, weather wisdom | Tags: climate, farm, Minnesota, nature, New Years, onion forecast, onions, rain, rain forecast, weather
Our local weather onions have spoken and southwestern Minnesota could be in for another dry year.
Four local folks placed their six halved and hollowed out onions in the basement New Years Eve to forecast the next years rainfall. After a teaspoon of salt is placed in each half, the onions are placed in two rows in either a cooler or in the basement. You need to have them in a cool place. The amount of water in each tells how much water each month will have. Although this is not an exact science, it has proven to be a good long-term look at our rainfall events.
So what is the forecast for 2013? Each onion half is labeled as having no water, a small amount, a medium amount, a lot of water, or running over.
January, small
February, small
March, small
April, very small to dry
May, small
June, small
July, small
August, very small
September, very small
October, small to dry
November, very small
December, small
Onions may forecast a different amount of water where you live, but for these four folks in my area, if looks as if we will be on the short side of the years rain showers. It’s not exact, but it is an idea.
Michael
Filed under: cold, Corn, Farm, Minnesota, planting, spring, weather, weather sayings, weather wisdom | Tags: cold, cold tolerance, Corn, farm, machines, Minnesota, Planting, seed corn, spring, weather
April 11, the day crop insurance will cover some of your expense if your crop is damaged by the weather in our area. Should I start planting corn.
It was a chilly 16 degrees as the sun came up this morning. I’ve had wood in the boiler for the last several days to help keep the house warm. There was ice on the pond this morning. Some farmers in Southwestern Minnesota will start planting corn today, but I will not be one of them.
I have my seed in the shed and the planter is ready to go, but I just cannot bring myself to start planting this early. Despite the warm days we have had lately the signs are just not right. Not having several thousand acres to plant may be part of it, but I know I can get the corn planted in 7 days if I need to, so I’m not in a rush yet.
Even with the cold tolerance of the modern day varieties as compared to the old varieties, I cannot see putting the seed at risk. I know you should store seed in a cool dry place, and our soil is cool and dry now, but putting it out for the rodents and insects to feast on just does not seem right.
I’m still a bit old school. My farming grandfathers told me a number of ways to tell if the ground was warm enough. We have no barn swallows here, which means the insects that hatch as the soil warms are not out. The oak and ash tree do not even have a hint of leaf on them, much less the squirrels ear sized leaves they should have to indicate proper soil temperature. Last but not least, I have not dropped my pants to see how comfortable the soil is on a bare bottom, never tried it, but have talked about it. Things just do not feel right to me yet.
I did see a planting crew heading to the field about 8:30 this morning so I know there will be corn going in the ground today. I have been hearing rumors of corn planted and already up just across the border in Iowa. It will be interesting to see how many do get the planters going.
Some of my neighbors have not been careful enough lately when they travel the roads with seed corn on trucks and trailers. I have seen evidence of bags of seed that fell off and split open on the road. At about $300 per bag, this is a real tragedy. Just a little care could prevent such a loss. This is not a time for hurry, but a time to make sure everything is done right the first time.
So don’t look for me planting corn today, and with the forecast for rain showers for the next few days, I don’t expect to start this week. If I get going by the 23rd and done by the 30th I’ll be happy. We’ll see.
Michael
Filed under: history, Minnesota, weather, weather wisdom | Tags: history, Minnesota, moon, weather, weather forecast, weather wisdom
Some of you have heard the discussion of the moon being closer than it has been for 18 years and what this may mean for us. My dad and I were discussing my previous post and the forecast for the summer. He mentioned that 18 years ago we had a cool wet summer, and that it had also been cold and wet 38 years ago when the moon was at its closest. Does the moon affect our weather?
We know that the tides of the ocean respond to the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. Higher tides are found as the moon gets closer, or when it lines up with the sun. Is it too much of a stretch to think that the water vapor in our air may also respond to the moon?
Our weather across the world is affected by the movement of our oceans waters. The well documented El Nino and La Nina changes in the Pacific show this to be true. How much are these affected by the moon?
Ancient people who did not have all of our science claimed the effect of the sun and moon on many things. One of the things that they may have been right on could be the weather. I’ve seen the wisdom of older people to be true too often to discount it. Either way, it makes for an interesting discussion.
Filed under: Fall, Minnesota, seasons, spring, summer, weather, weather wisdom, wind, winter | Tags: fall, farm, Minnesota, spring, summer, weather, weather forecast, winter
Leo, our local weather forecaster has called in his prediction for the years weather, and it’s going to be interesting. He’s usually pretty accurate, so I always listen. He’s vague enough to be able to hedge his bets, but always better than the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Leo has two methods he uses to predict the weather.
The onions.
On New Years Eve Leo cuts onions in half, hollows them out, adds a teaspoon of salt to each and puts them near a basement window. On New Years Day he reads the rainfall prediction by the amount of water in each onion. For this year he is projecting average rainfall for all months except May, August and December. These months will have below average rainfall.
Ember Days.
Ember days start on the first full day of spring. Leo keeps track of the weather for the first four full days of spring and uses those days to predict the areas weather. He claims the system has been used since before the Europeans came here. Here’s the forecast:
- Spring will have below normal temperatures. Leo expects a cool damp spring.
- Summer will also have below normal temperatures with early summer storms. It’s going to be windy so a few storms could mix in. This was the day that Iowa had lots of tornados and areas north of us were buried in snow, so we could get a little of crazy weather around us. Leo expects this to be a year that you should have crop insurance.
- Fall will be cold with some early snow. Later in the fall we could see some rain, but expect some wind, not a lot, all season long.
- Winter should be the best of all the seasons. Leo expects little snow and not much wind. We could have a decent winter ahead.
These forecasts are very place specific. If your area weather was different from ours, you can expect to have different weather. If he is right or not, it’s still fun to listen. My past experience is that it’s alway worth listening to Leo’s weather forecast for the year.
Filed under: Corn, Farm, frost, Minnesota, organic, rain, weather, weather wisdom | Tags: Corn, farm, frost, hot, Minnesota, organic, rain, weather
My dad says that corn is safe from frost 45 days after tasseling . With almost every field of corn in full tassel now we should be able to avoid frost damage to this years crop. This year has seen crop development ahead of normal. That is good for our corn fields on all counts.
My neighbors organic corn is still a ways from tasseling. I’m not really sure why, it got planted about the same time as all of the others around here. It’s either a varietal difference or a fertility problem. I’ll be watching to see how that corn does.
We’ve had an abundance of rainfall this year. That has made too much moisture a limiting factor in some places. Some of our low areas held water for a long time and there will be no crop harvested there. Conversely our high sandy ground looks really good. It is possible we could get a good crop from those areas that are prone to drying out this year.
It almost seems that we need to get a bit of adverse weather some time in the year just to push corn to do its best. Heat especially is needed. We’ve had several days now of hot humid weather and the corn is really growing. Tassels and ears seem to appear overnight.
Wet weather is really good for pollination. We’ve had some small showers and heavy dews that should help get the pollen to stick. Starting tonight we are supposed to get a few days of rainy weather. Rain now should really make for well filled ears. Then we will need about an inch of rain a week to make optimum kernel size. With wet soil, we could get by with a bit less. The fields are looking good.
Michael
Filed under: Farm, Minnesota, rain, weather, weather wisdom | Tags: farm, rain, weather, Weed control, wind
After nearly half a century of farming you would think I had done everything possible on this place, but not so. Yesterday I did something new, I got stuck in the mud while spraying, twice.
Getting stuck is not something you want to do. It’s hard on equipment and it’s hard on the crop. Usually I’m quite cautious, waiting until conditions are “right” until I venture into the field. With all of the rain and wind we have had this month, I took the first chance and went out to spray, it was not pretty. I did manage to get most of the fields that “Have to be sprayed yesterday” done, but there is more that should be done soon.
Todays forecast is windy with a chance of rain. If we can avoid any large showers the fields should actually dry out. Tomorrow may actually work out if things go right. So, I’ll wait. I will get the job done, years of experience tell me that is so.
Michael
