New home/Lake Okeechobee/sugar cane/orange juice
We have arrived at our Orlando home. It is almost full we had the choice of maybe 10 spaces. When we left Fort Lauderdale it was 8ish, 78 degrees, and 97% humidity. Here at 3ish it was 60 degrees and 100% humidity. We do welcome the cooler temperatures. We do not hear a train or the highway noises.
So my story is what we saw from the road on our trip. Rog does try to take different ways when we travel so we do get to see different things. Here you are looking at sugar cane.
A sugarcane plant is capable of producing seed, but seeds are not used
for commercial planting. Sugarcane seeds are so small (1,000 seeds per
gram or almost 454,000 seeds per pound), they cannot be planted directly
in the field. Furthermore, sugarcane does not breed true. As a result,
seeds from a single plant will produce seedlings that are genetically
different from each other. Thus, seeds are not used for planting since
varietal uniformity is important for commercial sugarcane
production.Finally, only under strictly controlled temperature and
day-length conditions will sugarcane seed be viable. Under normal
conditions in Florida, sugarcane seed produced in the field will not
germinate. For these reasons, only stalks are used as planting material
for the vegetative propagation of sugarcane.
Growing Sugar Cane
Sugar cane grows exceptionally well in the deep muck soils of
Florida's Everglade Agricultural Area (EAA), south of Lake Okeechobee.
Ample rainfall and tropical temperatures during summer months create
ideal growing conditions, and the moderate winters are perfect for
harvesting.
Planting takes place from September through January. Cane seeds,
produced in white or reddish plumes at the tops of mature cane stalks
are too small to be planted directly in the field. Instead, stalks are
harvested from mature fields and cut into short 20-inch segments then
placed in furrows and covered with soil. Sprouts from the cane stalks
emerge two to three weeks later.
After 10-12 months, the sugar cane is ready for harvest. All of
Florida Crystals' fields are mechanically harvested, using combine-like
machines that slice the cane stalks just above root level. The cut cane
is then transferred to trailers and taken to the mill for processing.
Sugar cane is typically grown for three years, then the fields are
rotated with rice. Rotating sugar cane with rice restores the soils
fertility, kills unfriendly burrowing nematodes and provides a rich
habitat for many species of wading birds. Sugarcane is the world's largest crop. In 2010,it was
estimated it was cultivated on about 23.8 million hectares, in more
than 90 countries, with a worldwide harvest of 1.69 billion tons.
Brazil was the largest producer of sugar cane in the world. Cane accounts for 80% of sugar produced; most of the rest is made from sugar beets.
Trucks they haul sugar cane to the processing plant.
This is the processing mill for sugar cane. Not sure what goes on inside and not sure I would want to hang around and find out because the stench is unbelievably foul and strong.
Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake in Florida and the second
largest freshwater lake in the United States. Its name means "big
water" in the Seminole Indian language. Its waters and nearby
wetlands provide habitat for many animals, including the federally
endangered Snail kite and a variety of wading birds. Migratory birds
use the lake as a resting place.
The lake replenishes water storage areas, helps to irrigate
agricultural lands, provides backup water for urban areas, and plays
a major role in supplying water for the Everglades.
The 730 square-mile lake, with an average depth of ten feet, is
famous for its fishing and is often referred to as the "Bass Capital
of the World."
Lake Okeechobee sits in a shallow geological trough that also underlies the Kissimmee River Valley and the Everglades.
The trough is underlain by clay deposits that compacted more than the
limestone and sand deposits did along both coasts of peninsular Florida.
The name Okeechobee comes from the Hitchiti words oki (water) and chubi (big).
We could not see the lake because there is a big dike built around it because of the many hurricans that caused tremendous storm surges that caused much damage and killed many people
One of the locks for the canals on the lake.
The processing plant for orange juice. Rolled down the window to take this pic and what a wonderful smell of orange. My understanding from the news Florida orange growers are experiencing a devastating loss of crop because of a bacteria.
Tanker full of orange juice, maybe.
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