Thrall Tiger Pride Farm is moving along by Kory “Red” Kiernan
Since the high school is now able to come out here a lot more often we’ve been putting a lot of effort into getting the farm project up and running. Every dirst half of the day we’re putting in irrigation and planting transplants/ direct seeding vegetables.
Our current transplants are golden acre cabbage with blooms fake spinach in the ground already. After we get the garden completed we can start work on the other aspects of the farm.
The garden is up and running good. Every day we’re adding more and more irrigation and transplants still. We now have 5 rows of spinach planted and a couple of rows of golden acre cabbage and early jersey cabbage transplants in the ground. We think the spinach was too hot when we planted it so we will probably re plant it in the coming week. Broccoli transplants should be coming up this week as well so we can plant them.
We’ve also begun work on clearing out part of the fish house to make a chicken coop and making metal stands for the aquaponics system. Lots of people from town have been really helpful with the project as well. A local sign maker even offered to make us a sign for the produce shop when it comes time to harvest.
Tiger Pride Farm at Stiles Farm Foundation
Blog 3 Kory “Red” Kiernan Fall Farm Intern
Blog 3.
This past week I’ve been working on fixing fences to move cattle in the coming week or so. Dove hunting season is in full swing and we have several public hunters using the farm to hunt. I’ve placed several buckets around the hunting sites to gather up shotgun shells to prevent littering an its worked very well. We have clearance for the high schoolers to begin coming out to the farm in the next week so that’s exciting. We also got the old dodge running again so we have a spare farm truck to work with now. Last week I also got some experience disking some of the fields to plant cover crops for the winter at a later period. Cotton is still in the ground here and will continue to be until we can get a solid chunk of dry weather. Things are going well otherwise and I’m ready to begin work with the students.
Kory “Red” Kiernan – Fall Farm Intern
2020 Harvest Aid Management & Trial Benjamin McKnight, PHD, Assistant Professor State Extension Cotton Specialist
2020 Cotton Plant Mapping Benjamin Mcknight, PHD, Assistant Professor State Extension Cotton Specialist
Kory “Red” Kiernan Fall Farm Intern Blog 2
Blog 2
Over the past week I cleared out the old fish house in preparation for the high schoolers to come out for their farm project but due to corona the start date has been pushed back. Regardless that is one project finished and ready to start. In the past week three cows have given birth so there’s a few new calves running around that are nice to see. Spraying of cotton continues in preparation for harvest and the strip till is now up and running so were finishing the fine tuning of it. This weekend is opening weekend of dove season so the farm should soon fill up with dove hunters and birdshot. Ready for things to start cooling down but I’m sure that’s another month or two away
Kory “Red” Kiernan
Fall Farm Intern
Farm Intern Kory “Red” Kiernan – Blog 1
Blog 1
My first week at Stiles has been great. I was lucky enough to overlap my starting time here while Kyra was still interning on the farm, so she was able to show me some of the ropes before she left. Undoubtedly it will still take some time to fully learn the farm, but it was a great help. Starting the week Kyra and I refilled molasses for the two herds, and she showed me the layout of the farm as well as general herd information. On most afternoons during the week Ryan and I worked on putting together the large one trip tiller in preparation for next weeks use. After a day of practice, I was able to operate the hay tractor on the farm and on Friday fed 2 bales to the north and south herds. Next week we should be going to Thrall high school to discuss starting a mini farm project with the high schoolers where they would come out to the farm 2-3 days a week and work. The plan now is to grow a small garden for them to grow vegetables of their choice as well as getting some pigs and chickens to raise for harvest. I believe we may be turning the old fish house into the workshop for them so starting Monday I may begin to clean it out in preparation for that unless more pressing things come up. I am very excited to start this project I believe it has the potential to turn out very well.
Kory “Red” Kiernan
Welcome Farm Intern Kory “Red” Kiernan
Dani Miller Wildlife Biologist
These past two weeks, I have been building the walking trail for the Partners project, a Blackland Prairie nature education site currently in development on the farm. I rented a track skid steer and have been operating it to excavate the trail, entrance clearing, and prairie pothole features. Following excavation, I laid down a geotextile fabric to prevent vegetation from growing up through the trail aggregate and to reduce erosion and loss of aggregate over time. While I was excavating, the aggregate was delivered via trucks to designated intervals along the trail route, for 12 loads totaling approximately 295 tons of 3/8” crushed limestone, including fines. It was very interesting to see how those trucks operated in terms of unloading their cargo (see photo). Once I had the aggregate, I began to ferry bucketfuls from the aggregate piles to the trail and then began spreading the aggregate out using the bucket float feature on the trackskid. I have really enjoyed operating the trackskid; it’s a neat piece of equipment, both versatile and maneuverable, and the tracks are more stable on the uneven ground than the four wheels of a regular skid steer. Ear protection is a must though, as the thing is a rattle trap.
My next steps involve saturating the trail with water, shaping it further with the trackskid to create a shallow crown in the middle of the trail to divert precipitation, and then using a double-drum vibratory roller to compact the trail so that it is ready for traversing by the feet of many. I also have some additional dirt work to do along and around the trail, such as building small berms and excavating shallow channels, as a way to hopefully further mitigate impacts from erosion caused by future precipitation and runoff.
In other news, our LIP (Landowner Incentive Program) project area received an herbicide application last week, following the clearing of mesquite, in preparation for planting native grasses and forbs early next year. It is wonderful to see that project moving forward as well. We’ve planted approximately 50 acres of natives this past year between our two PUB (Pastures for Upland Birds) project areas, and between Partners and LIP, we should have another 100 acres planted in the next year or two. Even after my time here comes to a close, I plan to return to see the natives established in these project areas, as it will be a beautiful sight.
While excavating in Partners, I came across a new reptile to add to the farm’s species roster: a Dekay’s brownsnake (Storeria dekayi)! This juvenile was crossing the cleared ground and so was visible to me, but it was definitely the tiniest individual snake I have ever come across. The Dekay’s brownsnake is a small native non-venomous snake that primarily feeds on snails, slugs, and earthworms. Adults give birth to live young in late summer, and I expect this little one was very new to the world. It is heartening to find another reptile species in the Partners project area, and I am hopeful the upcoming native grassland restoration efforts will provide improved habitat for brownsnakes and other native wildlife to flourish.
As another interesting find, I observed a spider wasp (Family Pompilidae) dragging a paralyzed rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida) across the trail. I was able to watch the drama unfold as a smaller spider wasp of a different species, likely Ceropales elegans elegans, approached and investigated the larger wasp’s prize. Ceropales species are known to be kleptoparasitic, meaning their foraging strategies usually involve stealing prey from other wasps. Additionally, Ceropales spp. will often intercept other female solitary wasps as they drag their spider prey back to their nests and the Ceropales female will scare off the other female and insert an egg into the paralyzed spider before departing. That appears to be what this individual did. The other spider wasp will often return to continue dragging its prey back as a source of food for offspring, unaware that the meal is already host to the Ceropales egg. As soon as the Ceropales larvae hatches, it will seek out the egg of the other wasp and consume it before preying on the spider host. Fittingly, the common name of this genus in some countries is the ‘cuckoo spider wasp.’ Unfortunately for the spider, it will be the ultimate loser in this battle of wills.
I should have photos of the completed trail installation, save a few bridges, for my next post.
Until then,
Dani Miller
Wildlife Biologist
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Stiles Farm Foundation