Crops
#1
Hello,

I am modelling a L shaped layout with a rural grain theme.  I picked the Walthers Scenemaster wheat which comes on 3 inch rows.
My questions is what do people suggest to 'plant' this wheat in? I have painted the insulation board a mid brown.

I liked the ploughed ridges that come with a crop field but as this part of a larger unseen wheat field is on a curve I wont have straight rows as the follow the bend in the track?

Any suggestions what to plant this crop in/on?
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#2
I'm no farmer, but is seems to me that a field planted in grain won't have the distinctive furrows of other types of crops, such as corn or potatoes, and even some fruits, like strawberries or raspberries.

When fields are plowed, it's usually done in a manner that enhances drainage, where necessary, but also takes into consideration the shape of the field....if there's a railroad track curving past the field, chances are the plowing will either follow that curve, or, if that's not practical, there'll be unplowed areas at the curve which will usually have wild plants and small trees growing there, not related at all to the crop in the rest of the field.

I'm not familiar with those Walthers Scenemaster items, but I wonder, depending on the time of year you're modelling, if you might have better luck using a fairly long type of static "grass", in a colour suitable to the growing season.

Some photos of the area in question might elicit more useful responses.

Wayne
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#3
(03-06-2021, 06:40 PM)doctorwayne Wrote: I'm no farmer, but is seems to me that a field planted in grain won't have the distinctive furrows of other types of crops, such as corn or potatoes, and even some fruits, like strawberries or raspberries.

When fields are plowed, it's usually done in a manner that enhances drainage, where necessary, but also takes into consideration the shape of the field....if there's a railroad track curving past the field, chances are the plowing will either follow that curve, or, if that's not practical, there'll be unplowed areas at the curve which will usually have wild plants and small trees growing there, not related at all to the crop in the rest of the field.

I'm not familiar with those Walthers Scenemaster items, but I wonder, depending on the time of year you're modelling, if you might have better luck using a fairly long type of static "grass", in a colour suitable to the growing season.

Some photos of the area in question might elicit more useful responses.

Wayne
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#4
Hi Wayne.

Its the slightly raised dirt I am trying imitate
The question really is what to plant the crops in? I like that slightly raised look with some ground 'dirt'

https://www.flickr.com/photos/187894500@...ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187894500@...ed-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187894500@...ed-public/

A little like this

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/5101...61b9_m.jpg

Sean
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#5
Sean, your first three links don't work, and while the fourth one does show, it's very small.  It looks to me that the crop shown is corn, but it is difficult to see clearly.
I've seen fields represented by corrugated cardboard, with the smooth side removed, but unless the corrugations are fairly small, they won't look proper for most grain (wheat/rye/oats/etc.).

What's the make-up of your current field area?  If it's fairly smooth you might be able to apply some type of plaster over it, then run a serrated-edge over it to create the furrows - a piece of not-too-thick sheet styrene, with the edge cut to match the furrow size you think is most appropriate, would likely do the job.  Once it sets, you could paint it as dirt, and then attempt to plant the crop.

Wayne
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#6
in the past I have used brown corduroy  and sparse static grass to look like fields drilled with some type of grain.
Jim
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#7
That's a good suggestion, Jim.  I was trying to think of something similar, but I kept coming up blank.

Wayne
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#8
Sorry about that the links should work now
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#9
If you are looking to simulate the dirt along the edges of the rows/mats, nothing looks more like dirt than dirt. Dig some up and sift it thru a piece of window screening to remove the out of scale stuff. DO NOT glue it down as that gives it an unrealistic dark color.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#10
Thanks Mike,

I got turned around last evening at the frontdoor by the President of the railroad as I came in with a bag of potting soil to experiment with real dirt. Apparently the brand I got had some issues. Real dirt from the yard will have to wait a few months.
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#11
if you are going to use real dirt a 30 min.. bake in the oven at 300 deg. is warranted (to kill any thing might be in it ) and a pass over with a powerful magnet to remove anything that might migrate to motor magnets .
Jim
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#12
The working links are a big help in understanding what you're trying to do, and it looks like your plan is to have the crop running towards the curve of the track, rather than alongside it.
Looking at the strips of crop material, I wonder if that base to which the crop is attached would be sufficient to represent the furrows.

If you're planning to use real dirt, the suggestions and cautions already mentioned are good advice.  Another choice to make your dirt more to-scale would be to at least run it through a sieve, so that the particles don't look like HO scale boulders.
I sieved some limestone screenings (available at garden centres and probably home improvement stores, too...I got mine at a nearby lumberyard for around five bucks for a 50lb. bag) to create ballast.  However, I couldn't get it to look like the same stuff given to me by a friend, as some of his finer stuff was a lot smaller than I could get with the several grades of sieves I had on-hand.
When I asked how he managed to get such fine particles, it turned out that the final sieving process was done through a spatter guard, normally used over a frying pan to prevent the stuff being fried from spattering it all over the stove-top.  I found a reasonably priced one at Canadian Tire, and running the already sieved stuff through it yielded limestone dust, probably the equivalent of HO scale 1/4" stone chips.  It would likely work equally well or even better for creating realistic-looking dirt for your field's planting soil.

Wayne
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#13
Thank you
As always I find the conversations and suggestions of others start the brain working and a solution presents itself.
I am using a mix of fine buff ballast and fine brown ballast from Woodland Scenic with a dash of fine grass thrown.
The base of the wheat does give that slight ridge effect.

I will lay out the rows of wheat then sprinkle the ballast and brush it into place.

Thank you all, so far.
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