Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ever chopped cotton?

I spent most the summers in the 1990’s sand fighting, hoeing and spraying Johnson grass. Roundup ready cotton changed some of that, but a lot of the weeds have developed a resistance and they are back to hoeing again.

Farm was near McCaulley, "Ranch" about halfway between Rotan and Hamlin.

Still own a piece of the ranch, planning to build a cabin there soon.

I remember you telling me that in another thread, now.
Our Ranch is not too far north of Hamlin.
Old Glory area.

I haven't read the whole thread, so sorry if this has been covered. I have never really known what "chopping" cotton means. Help please.

I have a little. My dad made me do it and also pick a little cotton in Roswell New Mexico. He did it just to show me and my younger brother what it was like. What I did chop a lot off was a 10 acre irrigated patch of Chiles we had the last year (1974) we lived there.

Weeding the cotton with a hoe.

One of my Dad's favorite sayings is: "I was picking cotton with the rest of the Naggers"

Thanks.
Sounds a lot like "walking beans" up here - for us it was mostly pulling weeds, but sometimes we used hoes, hooks, or corn knives. (Still have the scar on my left index finger from careless use of the last.)

When I was a little bitty baby.

LOL

Weeding the cotton with a hoe.

No.....

Chopping cotton and hoeing cotton are two different things. Chopping cotton is done first.... that is when you thin the plants. Hoeing cotton is getting the weeds out. You only chop cotton once, but you usually had to hoe the cotton at least twice and sometimes 3 times. Picked cotton by hand, too.

If you want to see some true Civil Engineering work, drive up Hwy 70 from Sweetwater to Snyder right at cotton planting time and see how those farmers have cultivated the hills.

Dirt art.

Lots of kin out there. Rule to Rochester. I’ve played a lot of dances and parties at Sons of Hermann in Old Glory.

I walked beans—picked rocks—blocked beets and detasseled corn. Scraped my share of scalded hogs also.
When I came to Canada spent some time planting black Spruce—overhauling whitefish nets and filleting perch.
Skinned and processed 150 to 160 moose most years—with not a lot of help. My wife would wrap sometimes.

To restate what was said earlier: Chopping cotton is done the first time you are in the field. There was a continuous row of cotton and you needed only 2 to 3 plants every 6 inches or so. (about the width of a hoe). So, you would chop out the excess plants and any weeds that were there. Pull dirt up around the stems to make them stand tall. When you were not doing it for family, pay was 50 cents an hour. A days work would buy a nice shirt for school. Only way we had to pay for clothes when I grew up.

After chopping cotton, you might hoe it another 2 or 3 times before it was laid by (plowed with dirt thrown up around the bottom stems) until harvest. We would on average, wear out a hoe each per year. It would be sharpened before starting in the morning and again at lunch. Sharpening was my job too. Guess I got pretty good at it. Had a community garden in Atlanta in my 20's and the city folks would come just to watch me hoe. They could not do anything with a hoe and I never had to bend down to remove weeds, etc....

In the fall, school would close for a 6 week, "cotton picking vacation". Yeah, some vacation. Saw a LOT of cotton hand picked but 200 pounds per day was considered excellent. Most folks did 150 or so. Picked in either a 6 foot or 7 1/2 foot bag. 7 1/2 foot bag, packed full would weigh around 40 to 50 pounds. Took 800 or so pounds to make a bale. Pay was 2 to 3 cents per pound. I got paid a little extra for weighing everyone's cotton and then taking it to the gin. When the bolls got rotten (as stated in the song) it was very difficult to pick. BUT, you could pull the bolls, with the cotton still inside. Not preferred, as the farmer got paid less but allowed you to harvest it later in the season. Weights here would be higher but it was the devil on your hands, even with gloves.

So yeah. I have chopped cotton. Taught me the value of hard work. It also taught me that I never wanted to be a farmer.

I stand corrected, just shows you how much I did. We had to do the same thinning with chile peppers also. I remember trying to get the roots from Johnson grass was tough. The roots were like cancer.

Not much left of Old Glory and Sagerton. At least Rule has a Convenience Store. 🤠

I also irrigated cotton, alfalfa and chile peppers. The cotton and chile peppers required a bent metal pipe to siphon the water from the irrigation ditch to the row. The alfalfa you used a tarp or big metal stop like a giant fat cleaver to stop the water and dig a opening to allow the water to flood the field. you stared on the high side and worked you way lower increments.

Hoed cotton and picked backer early on.

Lesson learned!

Roy Clark went by Johnny?