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FWIW I'm on 28 acres, 20 of it wooded and I'm very happy with my 4701. Is a MX actually larger than a GL6060? That would surprise me to be honest. What do you think your current tractor wont be able to do?

The way I think about it, good tires are a great investment in our health and safety. Shorter stopping distance, better traction, better handling in emergency situations. Totally worth paying $1k/4 years or so.

Looks like you need to update your location!

Same for us here. Cukes (for pickling) and tomatillos have been great. Actually, all peppers have done really well this year, but we're drowning in jars of pickles in the fridge!

Should I ask how large the bride was if she needed a trailer pulled behind a tractor to get to the wedding?? 😂

We have a red fox that frequents our property. He usually goes to check out the chicken coop/run but so far hasn't been able to get in. Hoping "Fort Clucker" continues to live up to its name! I didn't realize that hollow logs were a thing for them. Do they live in them vs dens dug in the...

In my experience it's the sewer/wastewater fee that's the killer, not the water. Luckily I'm on a well/septic now so don't have to deal with that (hopefully ever again!)

I didn't expect getting into bees to make me pay closer attention to what's growing and blooming, but alas here we are :). At the end of our private drive/street I've discovered we have a number of large mimosa trees. They're invasive, but supposedly a good source of nectar so I'm hoping my...

I ran into the same issue when looking for a replacement shaft for my woodland mills grinder. Ended up biting the bullet and buying direct through them, was just under $300 if I recall correctly. Just looked it up and it's $335 shipped these days: Series 5 PTO Shaft with Slip Clutch (Trimmable)...

Do you sell off produce, or can? We're drowning in beans with just 16 or so plants, and just planted some more where we pulled up the potatoes.

Interesting. Thanks for the suggestion - we did just buy a pressure canner!

Harvested potatoes today. This was from 2/3 of a 3x8 bed. If only we had a root cellar...

We have bats around here, I assume living in some of our dead trees that I need to take down soon. Been meaning to build bat boxes and have a pile of cedar logs I intend to use as posts for them. I assume you've built some -- can you share where/how you've placed them, as I understand they...

I still feel like I get more clumping with the gator blades, but haven't sharpened the stock blades and put them back on to verify. Turns out I'm lazy. I just hit 50hrs on mine and was planning to do an oil+filter change, but the Kohler manual actually doesn't recommend that when using their...

And they take forever to heal! Seems like they take a month or so for me here.

This is also why I haven't sought a mentor. I suspect I would be 'fired' as a mentee pretty quickly as I'm not very good at being dogmatic.

Curious to see more detail. Any chance you can share a photo with the springs and link the ones you used?

We have box turtles all over the property but I've not seen any water-based turtles. There are several types of frogs and salamanders in there though. And hawks that eat the turtles. And a blue heron that comes by every so often... Honestly it's fun to observe it all.

Thanks for clarifying. My g/f took the photo and I just assumed the wings didn't get captured for some reasons... But...looks like the robber fly eats bees AND dragonflies?!?! I'm going to have to spend more time insect-watching at the garden this summer for sure.

Dragonflies eat wasps from what I read, so I'm not sure I want to get rid of them? Always hard to evaluate who's a net positive in the ecosystem! Just fathead minnows in the pond b/c it's small - about 1/10th acre or so. Could probably support a few bluegill or redear sunfish but I'm happy...

I need to figure out how to select for dragonfly-resistant bees as well while I'm at it. We have a bunch of them around our pond and garden, and a few that like to hang out by the hives. This is the first time we've observed a bee getting eaten.

Generally I'm aligned with your mindset, largely because I'm lazy and don't have a need for a lot of honey (we use maybe 2 store-bought jars a year). Not looking to start a business. I'm continuing to read and learn, but my current thinking is no swarm prevention and no feeding. Ideally no...

Yes, but then I'm potentially buying new bees every year :(. And presumably from different suppliers if I'm buying from someone local.

Thanks for sharing the article. Other than letting bees swarm vs trying to prevent I don't get the sense there's much a hobbyist with a few hives can do. It's not like I'm going to actively breed & mate queens or anything. The book I just finished suggested drone brood trapping as a way to...

I thought that slowly being crushed would be a horrible way to go, but man that makes it so much worse. And I can totally imagine being in the same situation, trying to describe to my girlfriend how to use a floor jack, or even a lever and a fulcrum to help.

Personally I'd at least put some kind of "cribbing" in place to save you if something fails. Some scrap 6x6s or something to at least keep the full weight off of you should something go wrong. Like putting the flat tire under the car after you take it off to put on the spare. Just in case...

My manual recommends engine oil on the pre-cleaner if I remember correctly. For exactly that reason - to better trap dust and debris

Had they perhaps already decided to swarm while in the nuc box? (was it really full?)

I thought the same thing when I first read it!

Random book recommendation to throw on this thread: "the backyard beekeeper" (I have the 4th edition). Only halfway through it at this point but I'm finding a lot of useful nuggets in it. Plus it's spiral-bound and has a lot of color photos in-line with the content which is nice. Seems to be...

Right now I'm just eating peas off the vine while I'm out there. We have gotten kale and lettuce but lettuce is bolting at this point. Got two decent harvests of strawberries too. Most excited about the peppers.

Eddie, what is she doing differently after the Master Garner class? Sounds like there's good knowledge to be shared!

that would make for some happy chickens around here!

This is why I've moved so slow thinning out our trees. Sad that two ~100 year old trees behind my shop building decided to throw in the towel. (Too much root damage when they ran the electrical conduit I guess). We had cleared out everything else around them so now will just have open space...

If you haven't, I'd check out these two threads on here about the ZTXS5: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/new-2024-cub-cadet-ultima-ztxs5-54.477018/ https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/bran-new-cub-cadet-ztx5-54-inch.575135/

Growing season is well underway. The "tomato tower" seems to be holding up well. I notice some sag on the long runs of the 1x2s so interested to see how those do over the seasons. The bees haven't visited much yet though they seem to like the tomatillo flowers.

Also (potentially) no gloves. That was my scenario.

Got stung for the first time on the finger yesterday. Man that hurts!

Must be what my dealer did as well as I only got one key. Will just buy a backup at some point

I have a ZTXS4 but will give my answers... 1. I believe Tractor Supply sells cub keys (they're all the same I believe -- https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/mtd-ignition-key) 2. You should do that, but I suspect you can find the manual online. Definitely get it though -- the maintenance...

I was thinking the same thing :)

Pillows. Not been sleeping well lately on my costco "down alternative" pillows. Figured it's worth investing some money in a good night's sleep. Have $400 in pillows coming the next couple of days to see what the fuss is about with the expensive ones. It's hard because I'm a side + stomach...

Ours is great at catching frogs and lizards. Fun watching her run away from the chickens with legs hanging out of her beak.

The other day I had rubbed picaradin lotion on my legs and forearms plus sprayed my socks and pant legs..STILL found a seed tick crawling up my shin to my knee. I've pulled maybe 15 off me so far this year. They're way worse than the previous few years. And now with bees I'm not sure there's...

Our mulchers ground bigger trees than that, but left larger debris. Mulcher on a skid steer I think does a better job grinding things small and does less damage to the trees being kept/worked around. We had two of these big guys work about three acres for us.

Report back how it goes!

If I were going to do that I'd just put down weed fabric and some gravel vs using chemicals. Honestly I had thought about that, but wanted to see how this location worked first with regard to sunshine/shade and any issues with parasites/hive beetles. Assuming it goes well I'll probably go back...

+1 on this. We were really conservative when having our land cleared (forestry mulched). Kept a lot of trees. It's been good as we've been able to see what survives all the stress and not feel too bad if one doesn't make it, but I've definitely been going back and taking down more and more trees.

From what I've read, folks tend to wear at least a veil when mowing around the hives. It's basically just one width of my mower behind the hives so I can just make a quick circle around them and hopefully be far enough away to not bother them, but we will see :) I was out there yesterday with...

Picked up our two nucs today. Excited to start the journey. Goal #1: get them to survive the first winter. Kind of sad watching them start dragging out their dead when I first opened the entrances. Hopefully not too many.

Hard to sort out the depth of field there. So do you just screw the langsroth frame into the layens frame? And it looks like cut the bottom off the langsroth frames?

And duct tape and twine??

Please do. I'd be very interested to see the details

Nice photo! Cool that you can actually see/make out the eggs

It's kind of fun to watch the certification tests for some of the products. Here are a few: I have to say, it's got to be fun working in these labs as a college student!

This is what we did, but with 6" poured walls. In our floorplan it can function as a closet for our downstairs master if we ever move down there, but for now it's just the "tornado room." It's nice to have a place that's comfortable and we don't mind going into when the weather radio goes off...

A company called HabiFrame offered a wood storm shelter. I don't know if they're still in business, but we had wanted to go with them but couldn't get the needed materials (during COVID times)

If you haven't seen it before, check out FEMA P-361 and P-320 documents on tornado shelter construction. It's focused on above-ground designs if I remember correctly, but does discuss necessary ventilation and such.

The problem with that is what happens if/when you get fiber or move off Starlink for another reason? You've spent a lot on Starlink hardware that likely isn't the best choice without them as ISP.

Sorry for your loss jyoutz

Is there a point where you have too many colonies?

Wow! We have lettuce and spinach we can harvest for salads or for hamburgers the other night, but I'm impressed y'all already have onions and celery ready to go.

Way to come in and kill my excitement :). Yeah, it's probably just the flowers, but I'm going to believe it's grapes until proven otherwise!

Garden update... The beds are all filled with dirt at this point (boy that was a lot of work!). I believe all but one bed is planted. Brassicas are doing well. Potatoes seem really happy. The muscadine grape vine we planted in one of the outer beds is doing really well too - looks like a...

Those are Langsroth hives (stackable boxes) vs the Layens hives (single horizontal box) that CloverKnoll uses.

Unclear if this reflects positively on the gator blades or not, but got sent a text from the missus with this photo and the caption "mower carnage" :eek: Overall my impression is the stock cub cadet blades do a better job of mulching and distributing the clippings. They seem to be more...

Queen cells presumably because they're rearing to swarm?

Are the buyers of your hives generally new beekeepers, or more experience folks understanding the decision they are making (horizontal vs langsroth)?

The generac I just gave away to a friend(XG4000) was made in the good ol' USA. Don't really need a portable generator anymore though, so hopefully he can make use of it.

Nucs are supposed to be ready in early May, so getting things prepped. Built the stand and finalized (hopefully?) the placement for the hives back in the woods a bit but close to the garden. We'll see how it all goes. @CloverKnollFarms thanks for the recommedation in this thread for...

I have one of these as well to help with my flat-face connectors for my third function. I need it maybe 1/3 times I'm connecting the grapple.

Glad to hear you found a solution. Do you have a video or list of steps you can link to on how to disable it? I put on the gator blades the other day but haven't had a chance to mow with them yet (probably tomorrow). Man, I had to use a 3' breaker bar to get the spindle nuts loose, and on 2 of...

I've not shopped this size tractor, but would the B series be a better comparison?

Not actually true re: prime video. One of the main reasons I dropped Prime. They started showing ads unless you pay extra.

Someone needs to create a Tivo-like appliance for the internet

FWIW Lown Performance sells some skidplate-type protection for Kubotas. I'm sure there are others.

Can you expand any of the existing buildings/garages to have a lean-to/side shed that can cover the tractor? Could be a way to avoid a new building but get some higher clearance than a garage door offers?

Absolutely agree that heavier is safer and larger wheel sizes are better. I'm not arguing at all against the pros of the MX over the L. Not every forest is being managed for logging, and not everyone lives west of the Missippi where fire is such a large risk. I get more privacy having a bunch...

We've had this exchange before but I will re-hash it regardless :) "Mere inches" is in the eye of the user. 6 inches in width can be a huge deal if you're already pushing the limit. According to Kubota sales literature, MX is 69.7" wide, 125.9" long. 4802 is 62.4" wide, 119.5" long. So the...

I did my first mow a couple of days ago - just a quick one while we had a break in the rain. Seat sensor didn't trigger once! :) Ordered some Gator G5 blades to try as replacements -- should get here this week so curious to see how mowing this weekend goes with that.

And the 3560 can lift a bit more than the L4701 with the 805 loader

Yes, I know this is the truth of it! There is actually another project queued -- need to set up the drip irrigation system. Not that we need it these days - another big day of rain today.

Huh, makes sense. Part of why I wish I'd used a smaller bit when pre-drilling for a snugger fit. On the upside, I can always go back and wrap/lash the joints if things start getting wobbly.

It's free-standing so we can pull it out for the winter or move it to another bed if we want to rotate in a given year. It's a mix of screws and crown staples: The "frame" 1x2s (what you see assembled that I posted a few days ago) are screwed into the 2x2 legs with 2" screws. The "interior"...

Had a break in the series of stormy days (though man is it oppressively hot and humid!) so got a chance to finish the tomato trellis. Took $40 in cedar 1x3s to finish it out, the rest was scrap from previous projects. We'll see how the wood holds up over time but it seems strong and stable...

This has been our problem - we have a handful of cages but they're so lightly built they start falling over, and also a few of the welds have broken.

I need to buy more 1x2s tomorrow to finish it, but here's the wood 'matrix' idea I'm going with for our one tomato bed: It's a 3x8 bed and we'll do one plant every square foot. So I'll run two more 1x2s the length of each level to split it into three on the long end, then staple 1x1s running...

I agree rebar blends in well. I'm guessing these are welded together? Hrm, something I still have to learn how to do. I don't understand all the details with tomatoes, but I believe our desire it to avoid having to tie the plants to anything. We'll see how the whole-bed tomato cage thing...

@EddieWalker how do you support your tomatoes? I was not informed ahead of time that'd I'd have to build accessories for the garden. Had to figure out a way to support netting to protect broccoli and the like from cabbage worms(?) -- see attached rebar + 1/2" sched40 pvc -- and apparently I...

Only true if demand is static. If demand goes up due to lower prices, overall profit could go up

Edit: I read past your post that you bought one. Keeping my post here in case anyone else finds the link helpful. I have a metal one that has held up well with all of our trees around here. I do my best to trim lower limbs for clearance, but some larger trees have limbs higher up that hang...

Regarding the coops, are they on skids? I assume you'd have to drag them vs lift them outright given the dimensions

I suppose I'll be the first to say it....if you're looking at the L4802, give the MX a good look as well as it's close in price but definitely more capable -- larger frame/heavier, around 40% more lift, larger front tires, cat 2 3pt. I'm very happy with my L4701 and would recommend it without...

We went from starlink to 300/300 a few months ago. It's nice -- we don't really need the speed, but the decreased latency is definitely noticeable when navigating the web.

I didn't know such a thing existed. That's really cool! We're just using a gorilla cart which works fine. It's not the moving of the cart that's so much work, it's the shoveling from the dirt pile into the cart (screening as we go to get rid of rocks and large sticks), then shoveling back into...

Yeah, I'm not that smart :). (actually, I just don't want a gate that big on the garden). I did go out with the tractor today and loosen up all the soil with the grapple. Everything's nice and fluffly now and easy to shovel, so shoveling is faster.

Luckily we don't have to buy all the dirt. We do have some leftover from a local nursery we're mixing in, but for the most part we're using the broken down mulch from when our land was forestry mulched. It's been in a huge pile the past three years slowly doing it's thing, and much of it is in...

Some progress - finally got all the beds into the garden and got our cattle panel trellises up. Looks like the 'natural' arc of a 16' cattle panel requires the ends to be 6' apart. We're at 5' so they bow over the beds a bit, but it'll work. Used 2' rebar (12" into the ground) to hold them in...

New garden fence, raised beds, and greenhouse this year (documented in a thread here) Have peas and onions planted in the raised beds so far. Have to fill the rest of them up with dirt before more planting can happen. Luckily we have lettuce and arugula growing in the greenhouse. Will be...

Interesting thread! Regarding frogs & amphibians, we have a small pond on our property that is home to many frogs and salamanders. This is..year three I believe, but the first year I've noticed hawks hunting the frogs. They've decimated the population in just a few days with much carnage left...

Where'd ya get the bracing for that planter? Seems cool if it supports interior and exterior corners like that.

I went and got our cattle panels a few days ago. Felt pretty silly hauling two cattle panels on a 1500lb trailer but not sure how else to do it <shrug>.

Thanks for sharing the video - that's a HUGE garden! How wide are the aisles? We've planned 36" for ours, though I can already tell it'd be nice to have it be a bit wider for navigating the gorilla cart.

Huh. So if your bed is 8'x3', the panels will be 8' long? I'd be curious to see pictures if and when you get those in. Last year we just ran 2"x4" welded wire fence along the bed, attached to t-posts. Worked okay but not the best solution. This year it will be hoops like you describe...

I'll be getting some cattle panels for trellises this week, ironically enough! We're going to run them from one 3'x3' planter to another. We've started planting this week -- have some onions and peas in the beds already. Largely we're limited by the state of the beds. I need to get them all...

Hopefully this is the last thing built for the garden for a while. Using up the last of the scrap cedar I have laying around, made a potting bench (that's three benches/tables made now for the garden out of cedar - one in greenhouse, one will be out amongst the planter beds, and now this) for...

Finally finished building the last of the planters after taking a break to paint the garden fence (you can see it far in the background), and recovering from a wrist injury. Now I just need to wait for help to get them moved to their final resting place - ground's too wet at the moment to move...

Sadly I don't have any re-inforced trusses in my shop I'd feel comfortable using to lift anything heavy. @5030 what are safe spots you've found on your wife's CC to lift the front? It's hard to know what's solid under there with the steering linkage. Home Depot has a lift on clearance for...

@Runner what mower lift do you have/use with the ZTXS? Looking to get one and curious how it works with the ZTR.

Thanks. That sounds far more efficient!

I suspect this has already been asked+answered, but what do you shape those with? Router? Scroll saw?

Officially taking the plunge. Have two nucs on order and got hives + basic tools a few days ago. Looking forward to the experience!

I was going to say, you're too good for just being raised up on a pallet?! :)

Finished cutting up the cedar today. Continuing the theme of underestimating the amount of effort involved - man that was a lot of cuts with the chop saw! Assembly starts tomorrow hopefully. The weather is great here right now -- warmed up with highs in the 60s this week. Time to execute on...

Our lives are eerily similar in this regard :). Every week I hear about seed sales/more seeds bought.

That's a serious garden bed if you're using cinder blocks as the edging! Instead of filling them with concrete, my SO says you can fill with dirt and then put companion plants (like chives and marigolds) in those squares. And at least your plants were free :). We instead buy plants at their...

Sure, much cheaper but not as nice to look out at, and doesn't meet the WAF threshold. Hopefully you realize the fence is already built at this point :)

That pretty much describes our division of labor as well 🤠 I used to garden before she and I met, but she went and took the Master Gardener class so I let her manage that now. And she's the better cook, so I mostly just do the grilling.

What do you mean by using cinder blocks? We had considered using those cement corners that hold lumber in place to make it easier to swap out a rotted board (like these...

Went and got cedar for the raised beds before the snow hit us yesterday evening. Rought-cut cedar is so dang pretty (and smells nice :). Almost hate to put it outside and allow it weather.

Great. I will keep investigating this path, reading and learning. Unfortunately the dog doesn't seem to approve - last night she chewed up the 'beekeeping for dummies' book I left on the couch. Never done anything like that before so it must mean something :)

Thanks, that's helpful to confirm. As much as I've read, I've not come across anything straight-forward on what the minimal setup/"commitment" is. So, worst case they swarm and I lose part of my colony/have lower production, but so long as they don't cause a problem for my neighbors and I'm...

Glad search turned up this thread. Been considering trying out beekeeping and have a question for the folks here... (yes I know get a mentor, take a class, etc. I've been reading up on beesource, got "Beekeeping for Dummies", etc) Is it possible to have a hive and worry about...

Thanks, I think? :). Let's just hope it both keeps critters out and stays up for a while! We definitely have deer (six were a few feet from our front door the other morning), a red fox, armadillos, possums (at least two) and three rabbits in close proximity to the house. Oh, and the turkeys...

Any recipes you'd be willing to share? We hadn't gotten to that point yet, but I suspect spaghetti sauce and salsa are likely this year.

LOL. No, I just like putting more time, effort, and money into things than they're worth :ROFLMAO:. Gives me projects to keep me busy and I'm still "new" enough to this that I have the energy to put in extra effort just for looks.

Isn't this true of most things you can grow in the garden? At backyard garden scale I don't think much is actually cheaper to grow. It sure is nice being to walk out and grab fresh veggies or herbs when needed though.

I don't do the planting, but the better half planted some spinach, arugula and lettuce maybe a month ago or so. Only thing in the ground is the garlic which is overwintering outdoors. However we've had a handful of warm streaks that has caused it to shoot up.

The 70+ deg days we had here last week make you think spring is right around the corner, so time for some more garden projects. We had a pile of cedar lumber leftover from the build of our back porch I finally got around to putting to use. Built a bench for inside the greenhouse and a table...

I also have a tp-link mesh network (deco) and having wired connections between the nodes makes a huge difference in my house as far as performance. I just have them connected via an unmanaged switch. We don't do anything that really requires crazy speed/throughput but I do see huge differences...

My ZTX4 with the Kohler engine doesn't seem to leak any oil, for whatever that data point is worth. It does apparently have a common issue with the throttle cable being loose such that it doesn't always fire up when cold. Tightened the cable and all good now.

Picked up a 72" LandPride disc harrow today to turn over and level parts of our pasture. Looking forward to the tractor time once it warms up!

Congrats! I think it will work very well for you.

I've had pretty good luck just mowing over the leaves a bunch of times to mulch them enough that they'll break down relatively quickly. And this is with so many leaves (my back yard has a large # of trees in it) that I end up pushing a big pile in front of the tractor as I go. Would the...

Not sure on that specifically, but make sure you check out the equine discount. It's not as good as it used to be, but looks like it's $1k off in 2024 (just need to join NCHA, which is free for the first year)

I believe the Kubota MX6000 is available in HST. Also the Grand L6060

The dealer we got our 4010 from installed one by default. Have been happy with it (other than it gets in the way of opening the 'hood' on the rare occasions I need to check the coolant level)

FWIW I occasionally wonder if I should have gotten the 4060 instead of the 4701. But I'm very happy with the size and capability of the 4701 on my 28 acres. I'm curious to hear what they quote -- I suspect price-wise it will come in very similar to the 4802.

If specifically looking at Kubota and purchasing new, the L3560LE might be cheaper than the 4802 but with more weight and a stouter frame than the standard Ls plus better lift with the 805 loader. Obviously you're giving up horsepower -- not sure how that'd impact things like discing. Not...

Price being a factor, if you're looking at the Kubota MX also consider the L4802. Haven't priced 'em lately but should be a couple thousand dollar difference. Slightly smaller tractor, smaller front axle, less lift up front but still a very capable tractor.

Yeah, I never said these projects were cost effective :)

I actually got a shelving unit in the garage to hold all those "things" (pots, garden tools, etc). It was a huge win. I will run a water line out to a yard hydrant next to the greenhouse in the spring. We have a line run to one by the chicken coop with hoses running to the garden now...so just...

Some more (slow) progress -- finally got all the needed parts and some good, dry weather. Hoping I can finish it up tomorrow. Still need to install the ceiling panels, caulk everything, then do the door and shelving inside. Did manage to crack one of the roof beams right at a joint.. Hard to...

Yeah, it's the Yardistry kit from costco: 8 x 9.7 Greenhouse - Yardistry

Brief update...been delayed due to warped and damaged parts to the greenhouse and now weather since I missed the dry weather window due to the delays. Given the price maybe it's worth the trade-off, but so far my experience has me not recommending the Yardistry products... Hoping to get...

Not mental, but might need physical therapy for my back! I'm not good at taking days off (or so my SO tells me) so started on the greenhouse foundation today. Scraped off the topsoil and tried to level it out a bit -- I suck at using the loader/bucket to smooth out ground -- then put down some...

Thank you! Finished the project today. Lots of learnings. Ended up costing $2750 in materials, plus or minus $50 in screws. I won't try to value my labor, but mostly with me working on it solo (with a little help with the missus when I needed an extra pair of hands), looks like it took a...

All very true! The greenhouse is actually next. Supposed to rain on Thursday so hoping I can tomorrow on scraping off the topsoil and getting gravel down for the foundation while everything's still dry. Yes on walkways...we still have 1/2 pallet of flagstone leftover to be used for various...

Regarding side-hilling, check out the Cub Cadet ZTXS mowers. The front wheels have traction and controlled steering

Unexpected rain today so time for another update...Not quite done yet, but got the door mounted this morning. Discovered another lucky aspect of the door ending up 36" wide -- I made a threshold of pavers which fit perfectly in that width. And I'm halfway through putting up the 1x1" wire on...

Shaved her back???

I don't think any complex/ambitious project would ever be started if one didn't underestimate the effort involved.

Yeah, that was the hardest part! :LOL:

More progress - Finished the 'trellis rail' all around the top and have half of the livestock panels in. Man I severely underestimated the amount of effort invovled in this thing. Good that I'm retired, but I'm ready to be done with this and move on to the next project, to be sure.

Whatcha buildin?

Status update...at this point I have the top and bottom rails in for the livestock panels and am starting the 'trellis' at the top. Been focused on getting the bracing in place for the posts to ward off any bowing/cupping/warping. I had orginally intended for an 18" gap between the top rail...

No, it's definitely my fault...somehow. Not sure where my measurements went wrong, but with a 12" auger for 4x4s I should have had plenty of leeway. Anyway, on to the next phase!

Got the last of the posts set today. Whoever was responsible for marking and digging the holes needs to be fired -- positioning went wrong in a number of places and had to modify holes to get the posts spaced properly. On the upside, the gate is now 36" instead of 32", which will make the...

That's 2.3 gallons per hour, not per day.

For the big rocks I pulled out, the auger wouldn't be able to surface them -- they're just too tall (seriously 8" or more). The spacing of the spiral on the auger wasn't big enough to just be able to move them.

Yeah, I think downforce would be helpful. A skidsteer with hydraulic auger would have been a smart way to go in retrospect. Though, whenever the PTO auger wouldn't bite, it seems that larger rocks were the issue, or were about to be an issue. Perhaps the auger and cutting teeth are heavier...

I've found the soil to be moist enough -- once out of the hole you can see it dry out in the sun. And the first ~10 holes went fine....I think it's an issue of the cutting edges getting dull, and big rocks getting in the way. I was able to finish digging the holes today (3 days work in total)...

Welp, spent today trying to finish out digging the post holes. Sadly, it seems that the rocks on my property live about 2 1/2 feet down in the clay soil and I'm digging 3 foot holes. So lots of time spent digging out rocks with a pry bar. I'm going to be so ripped after this :) Still 7 holes...

I thought about setting the posts just in gravel, but with our clay soil I figured that would result in a hole filled with water around the post, being very slow to drain. Instead decided to set in concrete to help anchor and fill most of the hole with clay soil to avoid a bunch of water...

Welp, I've got all my posts, 2500lb of concrete and the livestock panels so time to start digging holes. Borrowing my neighbor's PTO post hole digger, though did go buy a 12" auger to use since biggest he had was 10". Got a long way to go, but happy to finally get things moving. We have great...

I too have had lumber stick out the back of my truck bed, but just 8' boards out the back of a 6.5' bed. Don't think I'd feel comfortable with 12' board sticking out. I think the nose would be in the air a bit and handling would be...squirrely.

Yeah, I tried really hard to find a way to not spend the money. I'm also a TSC credit card holder and their trailer rentals, while free, are too small for 12' lumber. UHaul rents 12' trailers, but best I can tell you can't take off the tailgate so if they're a bit over 12' you'll have an...

That's something I like about the far less fancy Mule 4010 -- no doors and a bench seat so you can just slide in/out on either side with ease. But far more utilitarian and less fun than the FX!

16' utility trailer. Been planning to get one for years and finally have projects lined up where I need to haul 12' lumber and 16' livestock panels. Feel bad imposing on the neighbor asking for his help/using his trailer. Now I just need to clear out a place to park it :/

No....can't possibly be that! ;). Okay, maybe I'm a over-builder...a bit

I just did the math. 1280 screws!!! And that's using on 3 screws per 5' run of 'trim' against the livestock paneling.

Well, as far as a project update (I'll keep this thread updated during the build) I spent yesterday and today grinding down stumps that are either inside the proposed fenced bounds, or nearby. So hey, this is actually tractor-related! :) We had the area forestry-mulched when we first bought...

That is a seriously large garden! Like you, we have raised beds with walkways. Don't think we'll ever need something that large though -- there's only two of us. But if needed, we'll likely clear a separate plot that's not connected, vs taking down trees that define a nice perimeter around...

I think I have convinced myself to use screws instead of nails. The strongest argument being I can use a Kreg pocket screw jig for the rails to not have to worry about the angle or having any nail heads sticking out and getting in the way. And I don't have to worry about my compressor keeping...

This is a good point! In our case, we have raised beds (will need to build more), and/or use a walk-behind rototiller for anything sown directly into the soil since it's not that large an area.

Runner, please do share if you try out those Gator blades. If I beat you to it, I will do the same. I keep meaning to make time to run to the mower shop that sells but Cub and Oregon to see if they have experience with it, or can just grab a set of blades to measure side by side. So far it...

Interesting. The Kohler manual says TO oil the foam filter.

The Kohler engines have an outer filter (foam sleeve) which is washable. Do the Kawasakis?

Yeah I learned about the shrinkage with my chicken run build. Curious to get your input -- I had thought it'd be better to get the rails and the trellis attached to the posts as soon as possible to help minimize any warping/twisting of the posts or of the rails themselves. While the boards may...

I appreciate you challenging the approach from this perspective. You are right that this is mostly to keep deer (and rabbits, etc) out. No need to impress or look good for neighbors, just our own enjoyment. I also agree that we'll likely want more space in the future, but I don't think we could...

Totally random comment to make on this project -- it's been a hassle tracking down 5' tall livestock panels. The local co-op and tractor supply only stock 4' tall panels. I reached out to Oklahoma Steel/OK Panels directly and they've been awesome and a HUGE help. I never would expect their...

I agree there are simpler ways to build this (and stronger, namely face-nailing/screwing everything). In this case it's aesthetics -- having the metal panel centered front to back in the posts and having the texture of the trim pieces around it. Obviously we could build something like we did...

Thanks for the feedback all. General comments: Screws vs nails: Generally I agree and build things with screws/value being able to take it apart or adjust. In this case, I don't think I want to drive that many screws (25 posts, 4 rail connection points to each post, 2 screws per connection =...

As we close in on the end of the growing season, it's time to build a permanent garden solution vs the t-posts and chicken wire we used this year while evaluating the site location. Looking for any feedback from folks on ways to improve or mistakes I may be making... Looking to build a fence...

Not exactly the same situation, but we had an issue with our corner boards when building -- builder and roofer/siding company (same folks, like you) decided 4" corner boards were appropriate without ever asking us. Never having built a house before, we didn't think about it/make sure to specify...

Sorry I haven't updated my post -- I can't get a good photo without taking the seat off the mower and just am not motivated to do that :) The bottom of my seat is a hard material though, not fabric. And the sensor is clipped into it from above (vs riveted). Don't think that really changes...

For the most part I'm leaving it alone. Just trying to get any weight/pressure off other trees if I can. It took down 3-4 good sized trees with it so trying to minimize the damage in that area if possible since it's right at the edge of where our woods start. Not worth getting crushed over...

Dewalt planer package, currently on special at Home Depot (735X + table if anyone's looking for one: DEWALT 15 Amp 13 in. Corded Heavy-Duty Thickness Planer, (3) Knives, In/Out Feed Tables, and Mobile Thickness Planer Stand DW735XW7350 - The Home Depot) Done a few projects recently where I'm...

Thought I'd come back and update this post. A few months ago we had some good storms that got the tree mostly on the ground (a few of the trees supporting it snapped...one a 12" dbh oak...). Finally had cooler weather today so started the process of limbing it so I can burn the branches. The...

The The bypass for these switches is to stick toothpicks in a few of the pins, if I remember correctly (not as easy as some of the others). The bottom of your seat looks different than mine though. I don't have that fabric, but it is a similar setup where the safety switch is installed from...

Thanks. Looks about how mine ended up, aside from the bubble cover (I hate those things!)

Look at it this way - would you pay $1000 to guarantee you never lose power again? (well, you kinda did...or whatever it cost you for the xfer switch :)

Not sure I fully follow your description here. Would the LB be inside, to handle the 90 degree turn necessary to run from indoor -> outdoor? And then thread into the back of the weatherpoof box? I think I can see how that would work, but would be a change from the current wiring in the...

Thanks for all the input all. I went ahead and did the install today going this route: * Drilled 1" hole through girt and siding * Installed a junction box inside to connect to existing MC inside the shop. * Ran 1/2" flexible conduit in the 1" hole, caulked into place and sticking out past the...

Good point. Rather than put a 90deg bend in the MC to feed it through the girt to the outside (let me know if there's a cleaner way to do it I'm not thinking of), I think I'll drill a 1" hole and use some leftover flexible conduit I have to protect the wire run. Will caulk it sticking just...

This is my current thinking. I'll run armored cable to a junction box mounted to the inside of the girt (that's what I ran for all the interior outlets), drill a small hole through the girt and the siding, and mount an outdoor rated junction box to the girt from the outside with a weatherproof...

Definitely a cleaner look than having an exterior junction box. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the info. Did you just screw the box to the sheet metal siding then? Or somehow secure it to a girt?

This won't work as like Citydude I have a concrete floor. So I'm at least drilling a hole big enough to run romex or armored cable through.

Adding another option I can think of: using an interior junction box mounted to the post but then using a bell box extender (like seen here: Commercial Electric 1-Gang Metallic Weatherproof Extension Ring with (4) 1/2 in. Holes, Gray WSE450G - The Home Depot) on the exterior to better seal...