Alright as many of you know  I am currently employed part time during school  and full time in summer with the Weed Science Department at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center right here in Princeton.

How cool is it that my hometown is able to have something like this?

Wether you're a farmer, a Gardner, someone that literally wants that perfect yard, or hay field, or livestock pasture but can't get rid of a couple of weeds. 

You may know what they are or some of you may not and would like to know or some really may not care.

But here is my challenge:

• Post that photo of that annoying weed, that your curious about or cannot get rid of and the location. Comment on blog post or my facebook post

BLOG POST TOPICS COMING SOON​

1. Common weeds  found here in Western Ky in fields
2. Common weeds found here in Western Ky in yards and gardens

You're probably thinking what is girl talking about?

In a couple of blog post before, I talked about my undergraduate research with Murray State University. The project is called Mabel's Garden, and my research was growing different varieties of squash. Y'all have all heard of summer squash (yellow squash), Zuchinni, butternut, and many more.

 But, what about GEM SQUASH?

A little background
 
I may be a little bias but my family's background is interesting. 

My mom's side of the family is from Zimbabwe, Africa. Yes, I said Africa. In 1983, they moved to the United States. Crazy, right? (sneak peak of family history, big blog coming soon)

When trying to to think of something different to grow, I went to my granny. I knew she would have the best advice, and of course she did. Growing up my granny always cooked a veggie or two with each meal. ​The only vegetable I wouldn't eat is asparagus and brussel sprouts. Still to this day, will not  eat asparagus. This is random, but to get me to eat brussel sprouts she told me they were baby cabbages, and guess who ate them and liked them, this girl.

Lets get back to squash talk..
I told her I wanted something different, something many people cannot buy in store. Immediately granny said when they lived in Africa, they ate a lot of gem squash. So I began to google. (What would we do without google?) Granny said that my great grandmother once sent seeds over here, to them to grow. After googling I found seeds, bought, and shipped them over. (may have accidentally order like 95 seeds oops)

Literally have never been so excited! Got my seeds and planted, some at home and some at my plot in Murray. 

Update on gem squash, growing at home. (stay tuned for pictures of stages of growth and a recipe from granny) and stay tuned for pictures from Mabel's garden plot as well.

All local, I hope to have plenty of squash  if you want to try!

Lots of things going on around Lively H, starting with baling
 Note: We let this go a little too long, normally you cut just as it is starting to head. But things don't always go as planned, especially when farming.

Planted early fall- Triticale 
What is Triticale?  Is a hybrid between rye and wheat

Not only does it serve for a rotational cover crop or double crop,  also good eats for cattle.

Many benefits that include it's nutritional value, grows quickly, can be cut green with a high moisture content and used for silage or be cut when dry and baled and fed.

I think personally the reason papa planted this was to serve as a cover crop as well as a feed source for cattle. This year he is cutting the triticale wet or at a higher moisture content than what he normally would and is wrapping it with net wrap/plastic wrap. Benefits of this for a farmer, because as much as we all wish we could we cannot control the weather. Being able to bale with the new baler green for silage  saves a lot of time, because if it had just been cut for hay, raked and then it would've needed to dry out, and then baled. With all the rain we've had, it would be sitting out there for awhile, trying to dry out.

It takes about 6 weeks for fermentation in the bales, this helps the animals, in this case being fed will be cattle, digest easier, and still have the nutrient value they need.  This 6 weeks is more than enough time for the farmer, because hopefully their pasture is still green and a suitable feeding source for their livestock. These bales will be moved off the field and stacked, and will be ready for feeding time in the winter. With the wrap the bales are wrapped in, it provides protection from the weather as well. 

So enough with all the info let's see the new baler at work looks like we have a marshmallow will all those bales. Fast and efficient is an understatement, baling one while wrapping one.
 

Sometimes you have to invest in new equipment on the farm. To be honest, it can be very difficult to adapt to the change on the farm if you have been doing the same thing over and over again.

If anyone knows my Grandad, he defiantly uses the full life of his equipment, as long as it gets its job done. We may have to check him for a fever when he says he wants to buy something. (Joke) 
But in reality if you think about it the upcoming generations, have an advantage when it comes to technology compared to older generations. For example, if a monitor went out while planting, my grandad wouldn't mind just shutting it off and finishing the field because that is what he did before. Our newest generation would be trying to fix monitor before they began planting again. 

So this years investment for the farm was a baler. 

Just a few things to look for when buying a baler:

• ​Size of bales?
• Type of Wrap?
• Size of baler?
• Reviews?
• Used or New?
• How easy or hard it is to work on if broken down?
• Parts dealer close?
• Silage or Haylage or Hay?

You may not know the difference between haylage or silage, hay the main difference is the moisture content at the time you cut it and how the crop of legumes or grass species is stored or baled. Each product has a different level of nutrients because each is cut at a different time/stage of growth.

In the past, Lively H, has just cut hay, which is cut, raked, sun does most of the work in drying it out, and then bailed. During these days you just cross your fingers and hope it doesn't rain.

This year wanted to try something new, so new baler on the farm, A McHale Fusion 3 Plus
 Stay tuned for more information on next blog, looks like we have ONE BIG MARSHMALLOW FARM
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Finals week... stressed out but a trip to my Mabel's Garden plot made it all better.
Squash are up, just in time, rain on the way at the end of the week!