57 pages 1 hour read

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Farmer Boy

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1933

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 11-15

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 11 Summary: “Springtime”

Almanzo and his family work their fields of crops in the spring. After plowing the fields with manure in the fall, the farm fields must be harrowed (using a tool with metal teeth or tines dragged over plowed land to break up clods, remove weeds, and cover seeds). Almanzo uses the old mares Bess and Beauty to harrow, since he’s not allowed to lead the other horses, and they push through the dirt with Almanzo behind using the reins. He harrows one way and then the other for long hours. They break for lunch, then harrow more. Working so hard makes Almanzo feel like a “soldier,” and after plowing, planting potatoes, digging with hoes, and packing seeds down in the soil, he sleeps soundly all night.

Father sows fields for potatoes, grain, rye, oats, and peas. The crops will feed the family and their horses and cows. Some crops will be sold. The whole family goes down the rows Father made, planting the correct seeds and covering them with soil. Later, they plant corn too. Almanzo tries to keep pace with Royal and Father, who plant corn much faster, but he knows someday his legs will be longer and he’ll be as fast as them.

Related Titles

By Laura Ingalls Wilder

Study Guide

logo

By the Shores of Silver Lake

Laura Ingalls Wilder

By the Shores of Silver Lake

Laura Ingalls Wilder

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls Wilder

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Little House on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Plot Summary

logo

Little Town on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little Town on the Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Study Guide

logo

On the Banks of Plum Creek

Laura Ingalls Wilder

On the Banks of Plum Creek

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Study Guide

logo

The Long Winter

Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Long Winter

Laura Ingalls Wilder