Potato Planting

Here's a couple of pictures of a planter ...



Barb & I are out now checking the accuracy of the planters. Barb is the other agronomist at Growers Supply. First, we mark off 10' of row and then we rake the top of the hill off.


Then we get right down in the dirt and dig the little seed pieces up ...


Then we measure the distance between each drop and record and doubles, triples, or misses. From this we can determine the accuracy of the planter in both spacing and in percent drops. It will vary for each variety but usually they are targeting 12" +/- 3" so anywhere from 9-15" is acceptable.

Irrigation Pivots

Out here, if you want to grow potatoes, you have to irrigate. My numbers may be a little off, but we only get about 12" of rain a year, and you need about 20-30" to grow a crop of potatoes. Irrigation water is collected from rivers and runoff from the mountains. Most farmers use pivots to irrigate. They are anchored in the centre and pivot around the field putting on about a half inch of water on per cycle (one circle takes about a day). You can see by the comparison to my truck how massive these things are. As the season moves along I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures of these things in action.

Rain, rain, rain ... and snow

It's been two weeks since we posted and there really isn't much new. We went to Manitoba for Easter (1200km one way, all driven in one day!) and that was a lot of fun. Things were gearing up for potato planting here this week and then it started raining yesterday and isn't supposed to stop until tomorrow. There are reports of snow around here and we've seen some wet snow falling as well. So ... we won't be doing much until at least next week.

Happy!! Happy!! Joy!! Joy!!

Christian Radio is coming to Taber! It launches Tuesday morning at 7am and we'll be listening. All of you from Winnipeg may recognize the logo ... it is Golden West behind it so it is the same people who run CHVN (95.1) in Winnipeg.

Big Changes!

Well, my life is about to change a lot...no, we're not having a baby. :) I have a job! I'm starting tomorrow (Monday, April 2), as an Optometric Assistant at the Taber Vision Centre. I'll be the main person at reception, plus I'll stock office supplies and contact lenses. I'll also be doing pre-testing and contact lens fitting. It's very different than anything I've done before, but I'm looking forward to it!

Other changes - I've decided to start selling Epicure! I'd mentioned at one time that I was thinking about it, and I've taken the plunge. I'm also starting a 6-week diet plan through Curves tomorrow, so it could be a stressful time!

That's about it for me for now!