The scurs and the Weather Eye set their sights on another week’s forecast disappointed in the temperature, but dancing in the rain. Does September mean fall or does more August lie ahead? Starting Wednesday, sunny with a slight chance of evening rain. Highs in the low 90’s with lows in the upper 60’s. Thursday, mostly sunny with a good chance of thunderstorms in the overnight. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny Friday with a modest chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Saturday, sunny with highs in the mid-70’s and lows in the mid-50’s. Mostly sunny on Sunday with increasing rain chances into the evening hours. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Monday, partly sunny with a good chance of forenoon rain. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Cloudy for Tuesday with a modest chance of rain. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. Tuesday is September 1st and the 2nd ushers in the Full Moon for the month. The normal high for both days is 77 and the normal low is 56. The scurs have no plans for the week other than planning to make plans.
The Full Moon as mentioned occurs on September 2nd and this time around anyway goes by the Full Corn Moon. Typically, two out of three years anyway, the September Full Moon is the Full Harvest Moon. Due to its early date in September, the Full Moon in October is close to the autumnal equinox. This September’s Full Moon is the Full Corn Moon as this is the month the Native American tribes began harvesting their corn. The Ojibwe knew this as The Rice Moon for the wild rice they would harvest over the next month. The Sioux called it the Moon when Plums are Scarlet. At the ranch, it will go by the Full Apple Moon as the trees like the field crops have been pushed along in rapid fashion. Can pie, apple crisp and ice cream be far behind?
With the weather turning on the afterburners, we’re moving this crop along at warp speed. Corn has largely dented as of this week and most of the soybeans are now in the R6 stage. Some soybean aphid treatment was required on some replant fields, which was only logical. Soybean aphids are looking for protein and that’s the best place to find it presently. Some fields are starting to turn. Some of this is normal, depending on maturity. Along with that, SDS has reared its ugly head, although its appearance is later than some years. Soybean breeding programs have made steady progress against it and seed treatments have also helped. The advanced maturity of this crop will likely mean minimal damage from the disease in most fields. Also present has been the diaporthe/phomopsis disease complex, noticeable particularly in areas of fields that have been under some moisture stress or on compacted headlands. There have even been some scattered plants of white mold identified along with a midge that feeds on it. It looks very much like the soybean gall midge, but doesn’t cause the same issues, at least not all by itself.
Something that became very evident while I was on Crop Tour last week was how fortunate we’ve been so far in South Central MN when it comes to rainfall and avoiding wind of the magnitude they had in IA. Crops in IA, IL, IN and OH were all in need of rain to help them finish out the season on a positive note. As of this writing, rainfall has been spotty across IA and the eastern corn belt. Temps are also very warm. Many of the small pods we counted as potential on the soybeans will likely abort in those states. Corn will likely be tipping back, so the yields we measured will likely be reduced in many areas. Conversely, in this area of MN, we should be able to maintain what we saw and what we measured here was very impressive.
The rainfall has been good for lots of things. If you wished you could mow lawn more often, you got your wish. Our garden at the ranch is rolling right now. The cucumbers we’ve missed out on the past few years now give us about 10 a day, so we’re back into giving them away. Given the slow, rough start they had, I wouldn’t have bet on them being anywhere near that productive. The zucchini has developed powdery mildew, so at least there is that. The green beans are close to being done after several gallons worth of production. The full-sized tomatoes are coming online and they are vegetable exhibit quality so far. The plants have also been very healthy with some of them being around six feet tall.
The flowering plants have also been outstanding, responding to the bountiful rainfall and warm summer temps. The morning glories, scourge of farmers including former IL ice cream store magnate Bob Willerton, have reached a record height this year on the power pole. They show no sign of stopping soon either, much to the hummingbirds delight. Speaking of that, the hummers are extremely active right now, hitting petunias, cannas and the four o’clocks when they’re open. Betsy’s Dad and I concur: These four o’clocks don’t open until the sun is getting low. That or they’re on Hawaiian time. We’ve concluded they should probably be renamed eight o’clocks. The orioles I thought would be absent upon my return from Crop Tour reappeared shortly after filling the jelly feeders. There is still an assortment of both Baltimore and orchard orioles. There were four of them taking turns on the feeders Tuesday a.m. as I walked out the door and headed for Bugtussle.
As mentioned, the apple trees are just loaded and others are saying the same thing. Not sure if my getting up in the wee hours of the morning and spraying the trees with the garden hose to keep the blossoms from freezing back in May had anything to do with it; it apparently didn’t hurt. Some of the branches are so heavy they’re touching the ground. The trees are sloughing off a few apples, so there are some to pick up daily. While I sympathize with the Cheviots in their wool coats during this heat, they’re tickled about their endless supply of ground fall apples. Again, doing some investigative work it’s been determined their favorite is the Honeycrisp. That pile disappeared more rapidly than the other pile did. The pears that made their way over the fence are also on the Cheviots’ approved list. I think there are humans who would agree they have good taste.
See you next week…real good then.