Burning Weeds

Springtime is all about getting ready for the new life to come. Whether it’s calving or planting, the more work you can get done before that new life starts, the better. Burning up last year's weeds ranks hight on the to do list. But once seeds are in the ground and the irrigation begins, spring work is a lost venture. So with a little time and a lot of team work, we burned up some weeds around the fence lines.   

If you're prepared and have enough experience, burning weeds is basically a science. Well, Dad had the experience and I was ready with the water whenever it was necessary. 

First step was to outfit Ranch Truck with our new old sprayer unit. Fit great. 

Then Mom and I pickup all the old sprinkler pipe laying against the fence. 

Every few years, the weeds just get away from us. Last year was such a year. There were also piles of corn stocks lying around that needed to be torched as well. 

We started with them just to get our confidence built up. 

Mom ran the Rhino with the propane tank as Dad walked behind and got fires started. 

Once those were smoldering down, we started on the fence line. Attention to wind is an important detail. Depending on the circumstance, it can be good to burn with the wind so that it gets a good burn on things. Dried grass burns real well. But old, stemmy kochia weeds are hard to burn by themselves. 

When we'd come to a power pole, I'd usually run ahead and douse it with water. 

Then burn all around it. 

And soak it down again. No problems to today. But Dad and I have had to call the fire department out in the past. Lessons learned. 

Great day for burning. Little breeze, but not enough for things to get out of hand. 

After we were pretty well burned up, I ran around and made sure the leading edges of the fire was good and out. 

Not bad.

I do derive a bit of joy watching weeds go up in smoke. It's a win win, the fence lines look better and the natural grasses rebound even greener. Hopefully, with our new spraying rig we can stay on top of the weeds throughout the summer. For now, it's on to planting and calving. Let's ranch.