A Nearly Perfect Irrigation...

...followed by nearly perfect weather.

   As I have mentioned before, timing the first irrigation of the cotton is critical. Too early or too cool and it will bolt and create vegetative growth. The problem is I have to make decisions before I know what the weather will be like. Sure, it's June that means hot weather in our neighborhood. But, over the years I have seen the weather on June 1st vary as much as 25 degrees. That's a big difference to my little cotton plants.
   This year, things look pretty good. Without drip irrigation we are still putting on between three and four inches of water which is pretty darn good. That would be hard to beat with sprinklers or drip. Ruben and the guys are doing a great job! The weather is helping. Instead of getting cooler, things are warming up nicely. It's a little hot this weekend, but cooling off during the week. Cotton likes the temps between 65 and 95F. We are just about on target.

    Of course, it's hard to irrigate without a shovel.

Shovels

By Paul H. Betancourt

Copyright May 2013

               I bet you didn’t know how many different kinds of shovels there are. To most people a shovel is a shovel. We do our best to avoid them because they look like work. But, on the farm each of us has our favorite shovel. It makes a difference what kind of tip it has. Does it have those little ears on the back to hold the dirt on? What is the handle like?
            A broken shovel can be a tragedy because and old shovel is an old friend. It takes time to get one just the way we like it. I have seen guys get a new shovel and the first thing they do is start grinding and shaping the tip.

            We all have our favorite tools. My wife thought I was being fussy about my favorite pen, until she started taking a drawing class and found she liked some pencils more than others. We all go nuts when we have to set up a new computer or cell phone don’t we? What a pain. But, phones and computers are complex pieces of modern technology. You’ll have to take my word, shovels may seem simple and non-descript, but they can be just as personal as the wall paper on your computer or the ring tones on your phone.

I hope you all have a a great week!