Gav836 Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Took some pictures of the flowering hemp plants for you guys today, I know some of you were asking about it earlier in the year. It isn't too far away from being cut now I believe and once you get in from the edges of the crop it is standing at about roof height on the 8770 I'm discing with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Is it the first time you've grown it Gav?? A friend of mine grew some last year, never again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav836 Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 It's the first time I've been involved with it but they've grown it for a few years now, I know my younger boss would be happier without it because it's a complete sod to bale, it wraps around everything and has a healthy appetite for bearings given the chance. It's also difficult to get to feed into the round baler needing the firs few metres of a swath to run on to break the woody stems so I've been told........no doubt I will find out soon enough \ :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Apart from having the field invaded by dim types thinking it was something else, spending a few hours in a police cell until he could produce the contract to grow the crop and prove it wasn't what the dim types thought it was, having a police guard on the field for a few weeks afterwards and making the local news, he had no end of trouble cutting the crop due to blockages in the combine and when it came to baling it he threw in the towel and chopped up the straw and ploughed it in! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav836 Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 It's not meant to be combined, it would be like trying to put willow through one, we use an old mower with the canopy removed to cut it, nothing for it to hang onto then. Someone told me that the police are notified of where it is grown about here to save any hassles :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMurF Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Apart from having the field invaded by dim types thinking it was something else, spending a few hours in a police cell until he could produce the contract to grow the crop and prove it wasn't what the dim types thought it was, having a police guard on the field for a few weeks afterwards and making the local news, he had no end of trouble cutting the crop due to blockages in the combine and when it came to baling it he threw in the towel and chopped up the straw and ploughed it in! :D Whats it supposed not to be then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 It's not meant to be combined, it would be like trying to put willow through one, we use an old mower with the canopy removed to cut it, nothing for it to hang onto then. Someone told me that the police are notified of where it is grown about here to save any hassles :D Ah, he was harvesting for the seed and not the straw I believe, I imagine it would have been a real ball ache as the seed is moist/sticky isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav836 Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 Ah, he was harvesting for the seed and not the straw I believe, I imagine it would have been a real ball ache as the seed is moist/sticky isn't it? I know nothing of the seed as all ours is grown for straw/fibre production. Dread to think what it done to the combine as its like rope inside the stems when they crack open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I know nothing of the seed as all ours is grown for straw/fibre production. Dread to think what it done to the combine as its like rope inside the stems when they crack open This is all starting to make sense now, he's not the brightest bulb on the street, bless him! :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Off subjuct......as most do, but you got any pics of that beast in your Avatar Gavvers?? Whilst we are off subject, just found out Stings real name is Gordon.....nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPN Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Hemp is an amazing crop! As F-P has mentioned, it can be grown for the seed, or for the straw/fibre. The way it is harvested differs totally for each end use (although I have an idea for a harvester that will do both ). I often buy hemp oil as a replacement for butter. High in Omega 3 and Omega 6, low in bad cholesterols. Has a slightly nutty flavour. Makes a great oil for a salad dressing. Rather than go into all the details of the crop, I recommend people have a Google about Hemp (or Cannabis Sativa as it is known in Latin!). Here is one site that will give a lot of the background to the crop and its Industrial uses (as opposed to its recreational uses ): [url=http://www.industrialhemp.net/index.html]Industrial Hemp .Net The crop is a bugger to work with because the fibres are so tough. I've seen pictures of combines with their undersides destroyed by the stubble - it tears away the metal. It will wrap around any moving shaft, and it will wreck any bearing it gets near. On the other hand, it completely out-competes any weeds, making weed control of a following crop much easier, and its roots go very deep, drawing up minerals and nutrients from the subsoil - making following crops yield very well if the straw/stubble is ploughed back in (although the straw will eat mouldboards like they are pig iron). There are some good pics of the Hemp harvest at [url=http://www.coolhemp.com/en_home_harvest.htm]the CoolHemp website. Here are two. The second one shows the rubber mat put under the combine to prevent damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmermarshall Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 wow i've been working part time build a house with this stuff it orginally was brought in from France Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav836 Posted September 6, 2007 Author Share Posted September 6, 2007 Off subjuct......as most do, but you got any pics of that beast in your Avatar Gavvers?? Whilst we are off subject, just found out Stings real name is Gordon.....nice! Theres some here Bazza and there's a few more earlier in the same topic http://www.farmtoysforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=13603.345 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nashmach Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 I know in Ireland to sow this you have to get special permisson from the Gardai and then there is lots of regulation governing it such as a tall crop must be grown around it to camoflague it such as maize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Light Land Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 The input of The other green would help shead light on this thread as hemp crops were a buzz word around his area in canada a year or two back. While in canada I worked for a guy that could be called "hard core" when it came to growing hemp.He was right into the crop even though he made almost nothing out of it. I burned off a paddock of hemp stubble for him,it was the hottest stubble burn i've light much more heat came off it than you get off a wheat straw fire. The seed was straight combined with a case ih 1680 combine with a "maize rotor" and like others have said it wrapped around any thing given the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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