Planting ahead of a hurricane....

Brian

Active Member
The timing on getting plots in is always a balancing act for me. I generally have to wait until Oct. 1 to plant because of army worms and then have to watch the forecast closely because it basically doesn’t rain in October. Well, it generally doesn’t rain UNLESS there’s a tropical system in the Gulf.... and Hurricane Delta is headed our way.

We’re expecting 9-12” of rain at home (Baton Rouge) but “only” 6” at my farm in SW Mississippi - do I skip work tomorrow and get my plots in or wait and plant on the backside of the storm? My plots are all on level ground so runoff isn’t normally a problem. I’ve already sprayed but don’t have much thatch. My normal routine is to broadcast seed and fertilizer, mow then lightly disc - but with 6” inches of rain I’m thinking that seed to soil contact won’t be a problem If I plant before the storm and that discing will just make a mess of things.

Bottom line, I’m looking for some help thinking through whether I should plant tomorrow or wait until after the storm passes?
 
I'm watching this storm close because I live just south of you in Gonzales and plan(ned) to head to Kentucky for youth season. Don't want to leave the house unattended though if it's going to hit us at a CAT 3.

But, if you got a good kill and don't have much thatch, aren't worried about runoff, I would be tempted to just broadcast now ahead of this storm. I wouldn't disc after. I've planted down here up until the 1st of November though.

This hurricane season has been rough though. It's been the craziest I've seen in a while.
 
I would wait until after the hurricane passes. Big rain events soon after planting can be catastrophic.
 
Plant. It may not rain again for a month. If you wait til after you just allow the soul to dry out.
 
We finished up our planting today.Glad to be ahead of THE THIRD HURRICANE this season because it is possible we could receive so much rain we cant get into fields for several weeks or more. Fortunately my soil along with no till is in good enough condition to take a lot of rain as while we aren't sure what to expect it could be between 4-14" or who knows.

On a side note I think most of America has no clue how much destruction was dumped on La. from Laura from the coast well up into the state. It is mind boggling. And now before most of the previous damage has been attended too here comes another one. Challenging times!
 
We finished up our planting today.Glad to be ahead of THE THIRD HURRICANE this season because it is possible we could receive so much rain we cant get into fields for several weeks or more. Fortunately my soil along with no till is in good enough condition to take a lot of rain as while we aren't sure what to expect it could be between 4-14" or who knows.

On a side note I think most of America has no clue how much destruction was dumped on La. from Laura from the coast well up into the state. It is mind boggling. And now before most of the previous damage has been attended too here comes another one. Challenging times!
Hang in there Baker! Phil Robertson was talking about the amount of damage on a recent podcast, his words mirrored your earlier posts.
 
I was able to get my plots in. The storm track has shifted west since I posted, and now it’s looking like 4” of rain at my place.

I was thinking about Rusty Baker last night - I’m not exactly sure where his place is, but current track has Delta going through central Louisiana, right on the heels of Hurricane Laura. And he’s absolutely right about the level of hurricane damage in Louisiana. Challenging times indeed!
 
We finished up our planting today.Glad to be ahead of THE THIRD HURRICANE this season because it is possible we could receive so much rain we cant get into fields for several weeks or more. Fortunately my soil along with no till is in good enough condition to take a lot of rain as while we aren't sure what to expect it could be between 4-14" or who knows.

On a side note I think most of America has no clue how much destruction was dumped on La. from Laura from the coast well up into the state. It is mind boggling. And now before most of the previous damage has been attended too here comes another one. Challenging times!

Good luck, Rusty, and all the other Gulf Coast members here. Rough few months for y’all.
 
Thanks all. Here we go...round three. Rain has arrived. Next 36 hours will be interesting. Predicting the eye will pass directly over my home 11-12 ish Friday night
 
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The blue you see in this picture is blue tarps on peoples roofs in Lake Charles La. where there roof was blown off from Laura. Thefolks there had just remediated the water damage and were waiting for repairs. This hurricane will blow all those tarps off dumping huge rainfall into the homes. I suspect they will all be ruined. This is what much of that area of south La. looks like.
 
The blue you see in this picture is blue tarps on peoples roofs in Lake Charles La. where there roof was blown off from Laura. Thefolks there had just remediated the water damage and were waiting for repairs. This hurricane will blow all those tarps off dumping huge rainfall into the homes. I suspect they will all be ruined. This is what much of that area of south La. looks like.

Damn


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The blue you see in this picture is blue tarps on peoples roofs in Lake Charles La. where there roof was blown off from Laura. Thefolks there had just remediated the water damage and were waiting for repairs. This hurricane will blow all those tarps off dumping huge rainfall into the homes. I suspect they will all be ruined. This is what much of that area of south La. looks like.
Wow...
 
8"+ with eye passing in about 4 hours. Winds starting to howl with 70 mph predicted . Hope they are all wrong but sounds like a roar outside. Drinking wine having a hurricane party. What do you do?
 
How did you fare last night Rusty? We ended up with 14” of rain in Baton Rouge but not enough wind to be a problem - although 40mph gusts will get your attention. My farm 50 miles north (Centreville, MS) had 6” of rain Thursday and Friday.
 
Far better than after Laura. Not sure rain total as all gauges overflowed at 12" . Wind not nearly a problem as before . Reports of flooding around but thats to be expected and not uncommon for here. About to tour farm to assess.
 
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