Thread: Japanese House

Sorry to hear about the farming probs mate ,, incredible really when the world is facing such a huge food shortage , you would think farming / growing anything would be the way to go .

Old Monkey,

What you are going through is nothing new.


I take it that you and your wife are on the same level.

Unfortunately your wife will have to set the LAWS.

Look brother! You can work this. Somewhere down the line you will have to draw one.

Carra

@Carrabow, Thank you!
At first, what you said did not ring a bell, but it matured in my head, and, as things kept getting worse in Thailand, I started seeing myself as a loser... well, not very long! It hit me a few days ago and I decided to draw the line.
During my long life, I never was a looser, I'm not about to let myself become one.
So, analysing the situation, I decided that I was the boss, and as long as I pay, I am. People I pay will do as I say. I will listen to opinions, but I will decide.
First, I will chase my wife away from the farm, so that I will not need to convince her before translating. She agreed readily, she hates it, there are other things she wants to do, study and work.
This year started very wrong and it kept going worse with time passing.
I'm not used to this, usually, I'm at the right place at the right time, and it has been the opposite for my wife. In my country, actually, my timing is just right, i'm putting my company on the tracks, things fall in place and my luck is shining...
So her and her family, no more!
This does not mean the end of our marriage, in fact it's the opposite, she cannot take the pressure and this makes her sick.
From October on, what will be done will be mine alone, and I will live with it!
This means that a lot of things will be at neutral and I will need time before things start going right again... but it will be for me alone to live with.

^ Putting the wife out of the loop with her cooperation makes things immensely easier for both her and you. She can now truly respond to family questions and pressure with "Don't know, not my business".
But you said she hates the farm, is it the farm or the current process she hates?
If the former, is it worthwhile continuing?

Hey Bro!



Fix it,


If she gets pissed, tell her she has nothing without you.

If she gets mad, she know's she's Fooked.


In the mean time let us find a cover

OM,
I just caught up with your latest updates, I know I'm a little behind but it gave you time to work through your issues. I congratulate you on your decision about the farm. You built a nice self-sustaining homestead with potential to have a nice return on investment. Do I remember correctly that you also have a place in Chaing Mai? I may be wrapped around the axle on that but sure seems correct at least in my old fuzzy way.
Good place for the missus to study etc. The country place is beautiful and once the day to day bother is out of the way maybe the pleasure will return to life.
Keep up the great experiment, we love watching it mature. Another Jim Thompson story in the making.

Shiloh Jim

Thank you, guys. I find your answers positive and helpful. I keep making plans for my return mid-October and the massive changes to install. I'm happy to realise that my wife agrees and will be happy to forget about the constant stress, she's not very good at handling stress, she's a tiger and worry-angry tic-tac makes her sick. I will have to live with what has NOT been done, but it will give me time to prepare the land, the seeds and the workers.
One question to youall, as my US southerners friends say, since this thread approaches the 80 000 mark for hits, making this a book? or something else?

Almost has the ingredients for a Lakorn.

Wish you the best Old Monkey and still waiting for a tour.

Originally Posted by Old Monkey

Thank you, guys. I find your answers positive and helpful. I keep making plans for my return mid-October and the massive changes to install. I'm happy to realise that my wife agrees and will be happy to forget about the constant stress, she's not very good at handling stress, she's a tiger and worry-angry tic-tac makes her sick. I will have to live with what has NOT been done, but it will give me time to prepare the land, the seeds and the workers.
One question to youall, as my US southerners friends say, since this thread approaches the 80 000 mark for hits, making this a book? or something else?

Monkey,

My wife and I have been together for 10 years. Both of us look like a pair of worn shoes But our children and our company will keep us alive,



If I wanted to get rich, I would rob banks

any more pics of the house?

failing that, my best regards to all involved

Originally Posted by DrAndy

any more pics of the house?

failing that, my best regards to all involved

One month from now, exactly, I'll have more pictures.

Great to see you are proud of your adopted son, you have given him an education and direction in life.
Maybe some should take note and realise, if Thais are given a good education, they to can be as smart and in many cases, smarter than those in the west.
Good onya mate, you are a good man.

All the best OM. I hope it all works out for you and your family.

Originally Posted by Old Monkey

Thank you, guys. I find your answers positive and helpful. I keep making plans for my return mid-October and the massive changes to install. I'm happy to realise that my wife agrees and will be happy to forget about the constant stress, she's not very good at handling stress, she's a tiger and worry-angry tic-tac makes her sick. I will have to live with what has NOT been done, but it will give me time to prepare the land, the seeds and the workers.
One question to youall, as my US southerners friends say, since this thread approaches the 80 000 mark for hits, making this a book? or something else?

OM it has all the makings of a book, play, Lakorn that even Shakespeare would envy!

Go for it and get rich on the proceeds

All the best CC

OM,


You did a house in the city. You did a house in the Country. Show us the prize!!

Prize? Besides satisfaction?
See the thread "Restauration of an Old House..." for the one in Chiang Mai.
If I can get the same worker, there will be a school holiday for the next weeks, the kids will be away, we could finish what we started even if I'm a bit weary of the results in my absence.

9 or 10 live pink Milk baby piglets, for sale, 1500B, one month+ old, Call Amee 084 80 72 777. 100% organic, never had any food besides milk.

do a pic thread in the farming zone

Originally Posted by Old Monkey

The rest of the land is planted with squash, in the paddies, I want to use the SRI method, but they are very hard and very long to convince, It took me 5-6 years to convince my ex-manager. Now that he is gone, I have to start over with the workers.
I got the spacing I wanted, but the plants were too old. Will see...

One plant at one foot interval, straight, so that we'll be able to weed every 10 dry days, because the water is not left standing like the traditional way.
The last two years, we doubled the amount.

Post keeps disappearing, must be a glitch, can someone look into this please ?

Anyway, nice rice fields...how does the dry grow method work ?

Check the SRI method.
It differs from the traditional way.
This way, you seed in a 4" of water. At 5-6 weeks old, you take them out and replant them, 3-5 at the time, under the water. Then it will grow under water until the last month, then the water is removed.
There are lots of roots dying at replanting, under water, where the oxygen is 3%, then the plants are so close together that they lack light and air. The result is average, and the average is low, even if rice is a very generous plant at 200 to one, while wheat is 30:1.

The SRI method, you plant the seeds in small trays, transplant at 8-12 days, in mud, one seedling at one foot spacing (30cmX30 cm) in straight lines, to ease the weeding. The water is removed and it is irrigated after the soil has cracked. The roots are forced to grow deeper. This way, at weeding, there is 22% oxygen at root level, lots of air and light all around the plant, straws start growing and will fill the space. I doubled the amount of rice produced with this method, it needs 1/5-1/10 the amount of seeds, of water.
Weeding is necessary, this is what workers do not like, but I found a cono-weeder in India which eases the weeding.

Originally Posted by Old Monkey

Check the SRI method.
It differs from the traditional way.
This way, you seed in a 4" of water. At 5-6 weeks old, you take them out and replant them, 3-5 at the time, under the water. Then it will grow under water until the last month, then the water is removed.
There are lots of roots dying at replanting, under water, where the oxygen is 3%, then the plants are so close together that they lack light and air. The result is average, and the average is low, even if rice is a very generous plant at 200 to one, while wheat is 30:1.

The SRI method, you plant the seeds in small trays, transplant at 8-12 days, in mud, one seedling at one foot spacing (30cmX30 cm) in straight lines, to ease the weeding. The water is removed and it is irrigated after the soil has cracked. The roots are forced to grow deeper. This way, at weeding, there is 22% oxygen at root level, lots of air and light all around the plant, straws start growing and will fill the space. I doubled the amount of rice produced with this method, it needs 1/5-1/10 the amount of seeds, of water.
Weeding is necessary, this is what workers do not like, but I found a cono-weeder in India which eases the weeding.

Thanks.

How about the cost factor of the labour for the extra weeding ? Like how many times do you have to weed from plant to harvest ?

So you are saying that if you got 8 bags of rice for 1 rai, then this method could get you around 15/16 is that right ?

And can this be used with any variety of rice, brown rice for example ?

I love rice.

RumpyPumpy wrote "Thanks.

How about the cost factor of the labour for the extra weeding ? Like how many times do you have to weed from plant to harvest ?

So you are saying that if you got 8 bags of rice for 1 rai, then this method could get you around 15/16 is that right ?

And can this be used with any variety of rice, brown rice for example ?

I love rice."


I have'nt done the cost factor, but the number of weeding depends on the weather, and the speed of straw growth, how long it takes before there is not enough room between the plants to permit weeding, generally 2 times in my case. Not all rice are adapted to this, you need to find the variety that tends to multiply up to 30 and even 50 staws. I read that each weeding adds 1 ton per hectare...
We used to have 350 baskets for 11 rais when we grew the traditionnal way 11 years ago, last year we harvested 680 (too much rain), and 700 the year before, 3 baskets to one bag. So 21 bags per rai.
The best I found was a red medium length variety that a wwoofer gave me one pound of, this came from Africa. My "family" complained that it was too hard, they prefered white long rice. My sister and her husband said that this was the best rice they had ever tasted, I like it too.
This year, I lost control completly with my wife as manager. The rice is white and did very few straws, was transplanted at close to one month old, 2-3 plants at a time. I doubt the the harvest will be very good! There was also a bit of sticky rice planted.
Next season, I will take over, we'll see...

Thanks for the info.