The crop report for May 27th- updated

the green field at the  far right in the background
 is one of Garry's cornfields- the green field close is onions

Corn

Here we go with the crop report for the week, as you can imagine, the cool rainy weather in the last week has made the corn much happier, no curling leaves now. Two fields are looking good, almost waist high at least thigh high. The largest (third) field is still a little shorter and not as green as it tries to get past the weeds. Two applications of herbicide did not kill off the grass and ragweed well. Garry is wishing he had cultivated or scuffled the field, but it should get growing over the weeds now.  The hot weather when it was sprayed stressed the crop some too.

Other crops

We aren't growing the next crops, but I took some photos this week of spring grain, wheat, and winter canola or rapeseed (the Russian is closer to the latter.) The internet was really slow the last couple days, so I just put the rest of the photos I planned to put in Sunday or Monday night today.

a little light and weedy, spring grain

The village herd out grazing Sunday afternoon

the winter wheat fields are starting to change color

Winter canola field, the pods are all set now

Hay Days

Monday Garry mowed down the little garden alfalfa field, second cut will be under way soon.  Meanwhile, it looks like the new alfalfa fields planted this spring may become good stands, Garry was worried he might have to plow up that little field again this year.

There is alfalfa growing there!

Across the road, looks like it will be ready to cut
 for the first time in a couple weeks

See the difference between our first cut bale and one they did for the neighbors?
Yes the green one with the leaves on top is ours!

With the rain, all the hayfields should be growing, it will be good for the second cut alfalfa field (not pictured this week) too. It looks like there could be some rain in this week's forecast now...











Garry has been asked to bale for some of the people in the village, Maxim did some last week for people, and since he is away Serosia did some more today.

In the Ukrainian calendar, this month is based on the word for grass or weeds travla and there are many people out cutting grass on the roadsides and bringing it home to dry for hay. Some people were cutting grass out by the ponds on Sunday.

You see cars getting filled with grass along the highway

Serosia out with a mower to cut some grass for his own hay

We see many more people out cutting grass to make hay with gas-powered weedwhackers than three years ago, but there is still a lot of hay made by hand. These guys were out by one of  the ponds

This guy was cutting with a scythe,  hot work!
they were filling bags to take home 

These little piles in the field will become part of
 a bigger haystack by their shed, these people milk 5 or 6 cows

not everyone was working Sunday afternoon!

I think these people stopped in today to ask about baling hay
 it involved Garry, Andrei and Maxim via cell phone to talk ...