Sowing the Seed

This is the way we sow the oats, sow the oats, sow the oats!

This is the way we sow the oats, early in the morning!

The ground is moist and the sun is warm, perfect for planting seeds.

Some of the paddocks on our farm are hilly.

We use a different machine to plant the seeds in these paddocks.

 

 This machine does not move very much dirt,

 

it makes a very small groove in the ground and the seed and fertiliser are dropped in..

 

This is where the oat seed and fertiliser are carried

 

All these seeds will make hundreds more at harvest time.

And in a couple of months this will be a paddock of green, green oats.

The ewes and lambs will love it!

One down and Three to go!

Christmas came and went....no horse delivered BUT a brand new bike!

The crops are ready to harvest and the rain has cleared. So it is time to get busy AGAIN!

Dad finished one paddock of oats on Christmas Eve. He was very pleased with it, last year it was a paddock of weeds, and now he has harvested lots of oat grains from it.



Stubble left behind....



and a picnic with Dad under the shade of a gum tree

 We went west for Christmas and saw my cousins....and do you know what the best part was....

they have horses.......YEEHAAA!

More crops to harvest when we get home, but we are getting a bigger harvester to come and help get it off a bit quicker. There are plenty of other jobs waiting to be done.

Ripe and Ready!

Finally some of PopPop's oats is ready to harvest.

Dad checks the truck that will carry the oat grains to the silos to be stored.

Plenty of air in the tyres.

The header is ready.......and off it goes.

PopPop loves to drive the header, I think it is one of his favourite jobs, until it gets really hot. There is no cabin on the header so there is no radio or air conditioner. The dust from the oat seeds can be really itchy. It doesn't sound like fun to me! Our header is old, BUT it gets the job done. The new headers we pass on the roads are much bigger and have cabins.

The header cuts the seed heads from the stalk of the plant, and takes it in and sorts it all out. There is a big box behind PopPop where all the oat seeds are collected.

The header throws all the stalks and rubbish out the back.

When the box is full of oats PopPop empties it into the truck.

Loaded up..... the truck will empty all the grain into the silo. We will use it to feed the lambs or the steers or plant the seeds next autumn to grow more feed.

Green around the Edges.

Summer has finally arrived, the oat crops are slowly, ever so slowly changing colour.

They have turned from green to brown.

BUT are still not ready to harvest, there are still green seeds.

This oat crop is right next to our house. When the wind blows you can hear the oat seeds shaking in their jackets. I think they are a little like maracas. SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE!

Dad and PopPop have been making sure the harvester is all ready to go.

 We just need some real summer weather to make the grain ripe.

Have you ever been bug hunting.....on Sunday Dad and I had an adventure.

We went to the big dam at the back of house hunting for bugs. The dam was full of amazing bugs: tadpoles, frogs, baby dragonflies and little bugs that have oars like boats. We bought home a few and set up a little aquarium, it was great. I even took them to preschool for show and tell.

Crop Inspection.

Sometimes we just like to drive around.....BUT there is always a hidden purpose to Dad's drives!

We had a phone call this morning to let us know that the neighbours cattle had been on our crops. So what better reason for a drive and an inspection of the crops. Most of the crops we have grown are on our new farm. They were once paddocks covered in weeds and NOW................

I couldn't believe my eyes....the crops have grown SO much. They look fantastic!

Oats in the White House Paddock......last year it was all weeds!

Triticale in Lucan Paddock....last year this was all Paterson's Curse!

CAN YOU SEE ME?

HERE I AM!

Triticale in flower....then it will fill with grain.

I wonder where we can put all this grain at harvest?

Dad has done a really good job with the crops.....all the weeds have nearly disappeared. He has had a little help from the fertiliser, sun and the rain. Hopefully they will make it to the finish line and fill all the silos with grain!

We secured the gate where the cows got through...hopefully that will keep them out!

On the way home we had a chance meeting with a shingle back lizard.