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How about the "Wabash River bottoms" on the east side? Also, there is a lot of "timbersoil" {aka white clay} that is hard to farm too {the voice of experience}. Southern Illinois starts at the I-70 line. I haven't used an early '60's planter {I do remember running alongside while Dad planted with one back in the 60's and early '70's} but I have messed up a few IH400 Cyclo planters {circa early-mid '70's}. We used dry starter fertilizer on corn, and one year the fertilizer supplier tried the "cheap" route and bought a load of off-brand starter fertilizer. It wasn't pelletized and was very powdered clay. The cross-auger that meters the fertilizer to the drop tubes caked up and eventually the cheap fertilizer built up in the cross tubes, to the point that it stopped the cross auger from turning.... thus, busting the cast iron drive sprocket. No way the dealer had one! I then had to resort to making my own. I used a chisel, hammer, and specially made long gouge to chip, chop and dig the caked up fertilizer out of the tube... all the time cussing the fertilizer dealer under my breath. Note: for the bookwriter... planting too deep in wet conditions will not push up mud and cause the damage {breakage} that was described in the original post {IMHO}. I have planted too deep in wet conditions and what hurts the farmer is that it takes a while for the soil to warm up, thus slowing the germination of the seed. One year, because of the rain and damp soil it took nearly three and a half weeks for the corn to start poking through the ground. A few descriptions of planting in wet ground....
*The ground just cut into ribbons as the disc sliced through the wet soil.
*The soil just formed a wet ball of mud in the palm of the farmer's hand as he squeezed the damp soil.
*There was a musty smell as the farmer dug a chunk of soil with the tip of his pocketknife {every farmer carried a Barlow pocketknife back then}. The ground had been damp for so long that it had started to grow moss on top, and the soil had taken on a greenish-blue color. The coloring and the strong smell reminded him of the slimmy mud found in the bottom of a pond. {the voice of experience here}. Bookwriter... do you need pictures of flooded southern Illinois fields? I have plenty on my picture website. Email me if you want to view them. Chris {southeastern Illinois} ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ====
Here are a few pic links... Link Link Link http://photos.imageevent.com/jclb/waterwatereverywhere/May13_17.jpg
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