Hearbreaking Photos From A Rubber Farmer

[kwonitoy]

Friday July 29 evening it started raining quite nicely and I thought great, the recent heat has broken.

About 8:00PM the power went out which isn't unusual, about 8:30PM the wind started to blow very hard and by 9:00PM we were in crisis mode. It howled for about 1 1/2 hours with driving rain and then settled down to a very hard blow all night long.

I've been through hurricane Gus in Houston and the initial blast was comparabale to that type of wind. Houses were flatened in our village, huge trees down across house roofs and the roads.

In the morning jump on the quad and check the rubber trees. 1 year and 2 year old no problem. 4 year old that I just trimmed the previous week were bent slightly with one blown over. The mature trees of 7 years age got blasted all around our area. The first pictures are of my land. I was sitting in the rain on my quad with my heart down around my boots. Trees blown over and uprooted everywhere, and what wasn't knocked down was bent over. 5 km away from this section I have 20 rai of 6 year old trees and not a leaf out of place. Go figure and thank the guy in the sky for that.

We've been in damage control every since. What we thought was about 500 trees blown over turns out to be about 150. The damage looks much greater when they are laying on the ground.

We've been out with 10 workers and I've spent 25,000 baht on rope so far. Suprisingly the blown down trees are quite easy to upright again. Put three ropes around the fallen tree with plastic protectors, seven guys lift, three on the ropes and up she goes. Then place the ropes equally around the tree and pound in 2 foot long stakes and tighen up the ropes. Repack the dirt/mud around the roots and hope for the best. Time will tell.

The blow downs look good when stood up again, at least the tree is straight. Now I have to straighten out the bent ones. I've done about ten as a test and if I rope them up straight the next day the ropes are slack and the tree seems to righted inself. But there are a LOT more of those to fix. Day by Day

There is a large area from our village to Amphur Ban Muang with rubber trees on the ground.

Never underestimate Mother Nature

The second last picture is of trees that have been picked up and staked down. The next photo is of a neighbors trees, I'd say he has about 75% down.

Yesterday we stood up 50 trees and things are beginning to look a lot better and I'm feeling more confident that we can save them. This definatly falls into the 101 other things that Jim has mentioned. I know I didn't plan on it.

Ken

[RedBullHorn]

Photos ???

[Dag]

Forget something ?? or is it me ??

Also...would love to hear your ideas on rubber farming and what its worth in income and cost in expenses etc.

[kwonitoy]

Ok I'll try again with the photos, some of the files were to big to post.

Last photo is of trees put up again. I'll have to resize some photos latter to post them here, but right now it's lunch over and back out in the rain for some more damage control

[jamescollister]

Ok I'll try again with the photos, some of the files were to big to post.

Last photo is of trees put up again. I'll have to resize some photos latter to post them here, but right now it's lunch over and back out in the rain for some more damage control

Heart breaking I know. Think I wrote here somewhere that one year had nearly 1000 trees blow over, looked like a war zone. In the end only lost 3 trees, they were the ones that broke . All the rest just pulled them straight and roped them up. Rubber is not all that easy at times, just lucky you are there to get the work done or the trees would just lay there. Best of luck Jim

[kwonitoy]

Ok I'll try again with the photos, some of the files were to big to post.

Last photo is of trees put up again. I'll have to resize some photos latter to post them here, but right now it's lunch over and back out in the rain for some more damage control

Heart breaking I know. Think I wrote here somewhere that one year had nearly 1000 trees blow over, looked like a war zone. In the end only lost 3 trees, they were the ones that broke . All the rest just pulled them straight and roped them up. Rubber is not all that easy at times, just lucky you are there to get the work done or the trees would just lay there. Best of luck Jim

Thanks Jim,

today things are looking much better and by the end of the week I should have it looking much much better.

This was my first section for tapping so that was kind of discouraging. It actually is better that they blow over, if the roots are too strong the tree does snap off, but there are only about 5 like that and from what I've seen of others like that they will continue to grow again.

Funny thing is that all the locals with blown over trees are still in shock and doing nothing, and yes I'm glad I'm here to get things fixed up

[jamescollister]

Forget something ?? or is it me ??

Also...would love to hear your ideas on rubber farming and what its worth in income and cost in expenses etc.

Suggest you do a bit of reading, then come back with specific questions. Jim

[RedBullHorn]

Forget something ?? or is it me ??

Also...would love to hear your ideas on rubber farming and what its worth in income and cost in expenses etc.

Suggest you do a bit of reading, then come back with specific questions. Jim

I was thinking...Isn't this a bad time to ask the OP ? After all that had happen...

Edited August 2, 2011 by RedBullHorn

[jubby]

Seem to have had a lot of these freak winds the last few years.

You seem to be giving mother nature the finger with this one though. Must be nice to see you've managed to recover from it so well.

[jaffajeffries]

It's a shame your rubber trees weren't actually rubber - then they wouldn't blow over!

Sorry to read about your troubles and l hope the young ones all grow stronger for you

[kwonitoy]

Just to update my post. It's been 8 days since the storm and we've recovered quite nicely. I've used up 18kms of 7mm rope, thousands of ecu posts and my 7 year old trees are all upright. A spider would be proud of what it looks like in there now.

First two photos are before and after from approx. the same angle. The third photo is of a corner that was 100% knocked down and looks great now.

I was thinking about going in with the tractor to help pull up trees but was leary of the damage I might do getting stuck. I found using the quad was actually the best. It can pull the tree up and is heavy enough to hold it in place while the support ropes are pounded into the ground. Made things very much easier

The last two photos are from my neighbor's place. He was planted on a east to west layout and the north wind hit his 7 year old trees brutally. He's using a wooden framwork to support the trees which is very strong but is slow going to put in place. He's also trimming his trees too much in my opinion but each to his own.

It's still a work in progress and by the end of this week we'll be done. There is still lots of straighening to do but we can go at a slower pace on that. At least all my trees are green side up now and hopefully will stay that way.

Ken

[69_68iou1]

Glad you have recovered, its always sad when you see trees down.

Your rope looks better than the wood in my option. The wood seems low and could cause the tree to snap in the next wind.

[jamescollister]

Looking good Ken, but looks like we are in for more nasty weather. It all may not matter if the world goes broke on Monday. You won't be able to give rubber away. Luckily may fish ponds are full and the ducks and chickens are fat. Jim

[Foreverford]

Just to update my post. It's been 8 days since the storm and we've recovered quite nicely. I've used up 18kms of 7mm rope, thousands of ecu posts and my 7 year old trees are all upright. A spider would be proud of what it looks like in there now.

First two photos are before and after from approx. the same angle. The third photo is of a corner that was 100% knocked down and looks great now.

I was thinking about going in with the tractor to help pull up trees but was leary of the damage I might do getting stuck. I found using the quad was actually the best. It can pull the tree up and is heavy enough to hold it in place while the support ropes are pounded into the ground. Made things very much easier

The last two photos are from my neighbor's place. He was planted on a east to west layout and the north wind hit his 7 year old trees brutally. He's using a wooden framwork to support the trees which is very strong but is slow going to put in place. He's also trimming his trees too much in my opinion but each to his own.

It's still a work in progress and by the end of this week we'll be done. There is still lots of straighening to do but we can go at a slower pace on that. At least all my trees are green side up now and hopefully will stay that way.

Ken

Hey Khun Toi kwoni

I'm curious what material you used to protect your trees trunks from your rope supports. I think I would favor the pruning back like your neighbor did in the regards that you will have less mass to catch the wind (rather unimportant when you have the superstucture he is creating for the trees) but also lesss stress on the tree trying to maintain all that mass when it has a compromised root system. I may be seeing Dr Treelove today hopefully and maybe I can see what he thinks. Choke Dee FFFFFordsFFFFForever

[kwonitoy]

Looking good Ken, but looks like we are in for more nasty weather. It all may not matter if the world goes broke on Monday. You won't be able to give rubber away. Luckily may fish ponds are full and the ducks and chickens are fat. Jim

Bring on the nasty weather, I'm bulletproof now.

I don't have to worry about giving away any rubber, the cups are all empty or scattered in the wind.

I've got a genset for the house ordered and am herding in the cows, bring on the collapse of western civilasation

Ken

[kwonitoy]

Just to update my post. It's been 8 days since the storm and we've recovered quite nicely. I've used up 18kms of 7mm rope, thousands of ecu posts and my 7 year old trees are all upright. A spider would be proud of what it looks like in there now.

First two photos are before and after from approx. the same angle. The third photo is of a corner that was 100% knocked down and looks great now.

I was thinking about going in with the tractor to help pull up trees but was leary of the damage I might do getting stuck. I found using the quad was actually the best. It can pull the tree up and is heavy enough to hold it in place while the support ropes are pounded into the ground. Made things very much easier

The last two photos are from my neighbor's place. He was planted on a east to west layout and the north wind hit his 7 year old trees brutally. He's using a wooden framwork to support the trees which is very strong but is slow going to put in place. He's also trimming his trees too much in my opinion but each to his own.

It's still a work in progress and by the end of this week we'll be done. There is still lots of straighening to do but we can go at a slower pace on that. At least all my trees are green side up now and hopefully will stay that way.

Ken

Hey Khun Toi kwoni

I'm curious what material you used to protect your trees trunks from your rope supports. I think I would favor the pruning back like your neighbor did in the regards that you will have less mass to catch the wind (rather unimportant when you have the superstucture he is creating for the trees) but also lesss stress on the tree trying to maintain all that mass when it has a compromised root system. I may be seeing Dr Treelove today hopefully and maybe I can see what he thinks. Choke Dee FFFFFordsFFFFForever

I put a piece of plastic/rubber water hose on the rope where it goes around the tree, and didn't tie it tight to the tree, kind of like a collar. I did do some pruning back when the tree was on the ground. The trees I've put up are very solid compared to ones with no rope on them and we also packed in a lot of dirt around the base of the tree. I'd be interested in what the Dr. has to say about my neighbors pruning. Personally I think he set his big trees back by cutting so much.

Signed Ken on his Kubota.

[jamescollister]

Looking good Ken, but looks like we are in for more nasty weather. It all may not matter if the world goes broke on Monday. You won't be able to give rubber away. Luckily may fish ponds are full and the ducks and chickens are fat. Jim

Bring on the nasty weather, I'm bulletproof now.

I don't have to worry about giving away any rubber, the cups are all empty or scattered in the wind.

I've got a genset for the house ordered and am herding in the cows, bring on the collapse of western civilasation

Ken

Spoken like a true survivor. no matter what comes we will get by. Jim

[babbo]

Nice work with the ropes Ken!

Where are you located?

[kwonitoy]

Nice work with the ropes Ken!

Where are you located?

[/quote

Look on a map of Northern Thailand,find Vientiene Laos. To the right there is a little bulge of Thailand that extends north into Laos. On the same latitude as Vientiene go to the center of that bulge and you'll see me.

Ken

[tothemark]

Look on a map of Northern Thailand,find Vientiene Laos. To the right there is a little bulge of Thailand that extends north into Laos. On the same latitude as Vientiene go to the center of that bulge and you'll see me.

Ken

Good to see your back up and running Ken, BTW we are just above you in that "bulge", many of my mil's family are from So Phisai which is about 30ks above you. Although we had the rains we didnt have those winds you had.

[kwonitoy]

Look on a map of Northern Thailand,find Vientiene Laos. To the right there is a little bulge of Thailand that extends north into Laos. On the same latitude as Vientiene go to the center of that bulge and you'll see me.

Ken

Good to see your back up and running Ken, BTW we are just above you in that "bulge", many of my mil's family are from So Phisai which is about 30ks above you. Although we had the rains we didnt have those winds you had.

The wind damage seemed to strech from our village, through Ban Muang and right over to Wanon Niwat. There's a big 440 rai plantation of 3 year trees that got hit hard over there.

We're back to normal now and I hope this was one of those once in 30 year winds

Do you live up here?

[AA1]

Kwonitoy.

I give you 10 out of 10 for the way you coped with the devastration caused by the wind.

I never realised such damage could be caused.

We have had small bent trees but NEVER any down.

The way you managed is an inspiration to many of us and now if we are hit we will be able to think of you and follow your example.

Thank you so much for going through it for us on your thread and hope that I may be able to meet you at Isaan Aussie's if you feel that its worth coming all that way to the 'Isaan, Farmers Idea Exchange'.

Anthony.

[kwonitoy]

Kwonitoy.

I give you 10 out of 10 for the way you coped with the devastration caused by the wind.

I never realised such damage could be caused.

We have had small bent trees but NEVER any down.

The way you managed is an inspiration to many of us and now if we are hit we will be able to think of you and follow your example.

Thank you so much for going through it for us on your thread and hope that I may be able to meet you at Isaan Aussie's if you feel that its worth coming all that way to the 'Isaan, Farmers Idea Exchange'.

Anthony.

Thanks Anthony:

I hope no one has to use any of the ideas I've had, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

I find the farming forum to be very usefull, It's all about sharing ideas and experiences for the common good.

I hope to make it to the Farmers Fair someday but I'll miss the first meeting if it's set for mid Sept.

Ken

[slapout]

I had a fruit orchard (about 5 to 6 year old) hit like kwonity described. Wet weather followed by a strong straight wind. I did what he did pulled the trees upright, with a small tractor. Roped and tied trees from 4 points. From then on, I did a drastic prune job in late fall, thus not so much wind surface when the winds hit in spring time. Once they got the tap roots down and the root system more wide spread (8 to 9 year), they seemed to weather the winds better.

I think the cultivation and watering close around trees may contribute to a smaller less developed root system, thus the wind blow over we experience. Other members may give additional insight to this theory.

[Foreverford]

Just to update my post. It's been 8 days since the storm and we've recovered quite nicely. I've used up 18kms of 7mm rope, thousands of ecu posts and my 7 year old trees are all upright. A spider would be proud of what it looks like in there now.

First two photos are before and after from approx. the same angle. The third photo is of a corner that was 100% knocked down and looks great now.

I was thinking about going in with the tractor to help pull up trees but was leary of the damage I might do getting stuck. I found using the quad was actually the best. It can pull the tree up and is heavy enough to hold it in place while the support ropes are pounded into the ground. Made things very much easier

The last two photos are from my neighbor's place. He was planted on a east to west layout and the north wind hit his 7 year old trees brutally. He's using a wooden framwork to support the trees which is very strong but is slow going to put in place. He's also trimming his trees too much in my opinion but each to his own.

It's still a work in progress and by the end of this week we'll be done. There is still lots of straighening to do but we can go at a slower pace on that. At least all my trees are green side up now and hopefully will stay that way.

Ken

Hey Khun Toi kwoni

I'm curious what material you used to protect your trees trunks from your rope supports. I think I would favor the pruning back like your neighbor did in the regards that you will have less mass to catch the wind (rather unimportant when you have the superstucture he is creating for the trees) but also lesss stress on the tree trying to maintain all that mass when it has a compromised root system. I may be seeing Dr Treelove today hopefully and maybe I can see what he thinks. Choke Dee FFFFFordsFFFFForever

I put a piece of plastic/rubber water hose on the rope where it goes around the tree, and didn't tie it tight to the tree, kind of like a collar. I did do some pruning back when the tree was on the ground. The trees I've put up are very solid compared to ones with no rope on them and we also packed in a lot of dirt around the base of the tree. I'd be interested in what the Dr. has to say about my neighbors pruning. Personally I think he set his big trees back by cutting so much.

Signed Ken on his Kubota.

Hey toy guy how ya doin'. I saw the Doc the other day and told him your situation and he says you did it right. Old school said to get rid of the green to let the roots establish and now they say leave the green to photosynthesize to help the roots. So he said just cut out the minimal amount that would help in regards to not catching too much wind but better to leave as much as possible. So thar she blows matey. Fo'c'stles Fords Forever

[kwonitoy]

FF:

Thanks for checking with the Doc.

It's been a month since the blowdown and I can see firsthand that the aproach I took was right. The neighbor that used the heavy wooden tree supports has trees that are alive but don't really look that good. I'd say they'll take a year or possibly two to get back to normal.

A cousin of the wife's left his 10 year old trees on the ground untill things dried out and now has 400 dead trees.

On my 7 year olds that were on the ground, after righting them we applied a root growth additive. I've dug down a bit to inspect and found the small roots growing like crazy.

They are back to being tapped and producing more latex than before. But that might be because they had a 4 week layoff due to the rain.

KK

[AA1]

FF:

Thanks for checking with the Doc.

It's been a month since the blowdown and I can see firsthand that the aproach I took was right. The neighbor that used the heavy wooden tree supports has trees that are alive but don't really look that good. I'd say they'll take a year or possibly two to get back to normal.

A cousin of the wife's left his 10 year old trees on the ground untill things dried out and now has 400 dead trees.

On my 7 year olds that were on the ground, after righting them we applied a root growth additive. I've dug down a bit to inspect and found the small roots growing like crazy.

They are back to being tapped and producing more latex than before. But that might be because they had a 4 week layoff due to the rain.

KK

KK.

So pleased to hear that after all your drama, things are looking up again and hope that the latex increase carries on.

Sorry will not be seeing you on the 17th. at IA's but you DO have a very good excuse! Hope all goes very smoothly for that. We will be thinking of you both and hope that you may be able to come to mine for the next meeting in December when you and JC will be able to give my wife and I advise on our rubber! No firm date yet. I expect we will finalise at IA's and then let everyone know.

Anthony