Pea picking time. The hard way. People really no longer want to pick their own peas. When they do, they will not maintain the discipline of staying in their row. They want to pick over the entire patch thinking they have to,to find peas. This is not the case. Some patience is required and discipline. I challenge anyone to a pick off. I'll stay in my row to the end and you pick over the patch. I will pick more peas. Picking over, you spend too much time moving and not enough time picking, compounding your frustration with the whole enterprise.
We do not do well using this method. This was made painfully obvious to us early on. As usual, when we hand pick, we left 80% of the crop in the field. With the Chisholm Ryder sidelined, we were not able to pick enough, fast enough, in enough quantity to take to the farmers market.
Enter the restoration plan. It was my intention to repair the Multi D. After evaluating my options and looking at the costs, it wasn't worth it. It is to be sold for scrap unless I get a better offer than $1000. Its replacement is a Pixall BH-100. Far easier to repair and to operate. Though smaller, it is a far better fit for our small acreage than the larger machine.
Along with our continuous sheller, our operation can run sixty to one hundred bushel per hour, pods to shelled peas. This is the sheller at work: http://youtu.be/UOkTbWkEjvk?list=UUooo9-r6Pq1-glUwemeZ0Mg
It is no longer for sale, by the way.
The new picker will arrive Saturday, August 16th and the old one is due to leave the same day. The blackeyed peas should be ready soon after.
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