Building a Hobby Farm- from woods to eggs

[tony123]

David, the pile I had left for firewood was about that size.

Wish I had a buddy around with a splitter. I'm going to have to buy one soon I suppose.

 

[tony123]

Rox, good idea about the "concrete buster upper thing". If I buy anything, it will likely be a middle buster/subsoiler. That should do the trick for trenching, and serve purpose for other gardening duties. Thanks.

 

[3RRL]

Tony,
I've been following your progress as you know. I can certainly appreciate what Rox was trying to tell you, and yes, she would make an ideal neighbor like David said. However, there are just some things that you will want to do that may not be in favor with your neighbor. Your explanation is a good one. I might be tempted to visit my neighbor and explain like you did here, and at the very least, he would understand then. He may not like it, but he can appreciate your concern for him anyway.

Even on my 27 acres where I'm building my log home. It's pretty much in the middle of it (almost). I thought there would be no impact on the neighbors because of that. I have not had any complaints, and as a matter of fact my nearest neighbor likes it. But I can see it when driving into the road where there was nothing but a mountainside view before. One factor is that I'm one of the first to build up there, besides my good neighbor. But nevertheless, I wonder if somebody is going to complain about it in the future? I hope not...

Great job getting all your burn piles done too. I'm also getting a log splitter since I will have a wood stove. I think it would be a good investment for you.

 

[tony123]

Rob, thanks for your input. While you're hear, you probably saw my trenching comments. I noticed on your thread that you were able to get a nice deep "V" ditch with your boxblade angled. I tried the same technique with poor results. Do your hydrolics allow down force? Did you do the ditches when it was wet? any tips?

I re-read my post in response to Rox. That was me talking to you guys. I would always put a more positive spin on it towards him. In fact, I did already have the conversation that Rox suggested. It was done before any work started. I explained what I was doing and asked if he had any concerns or comments. He did ask that I take out a little more of the trees than I was initially so as to provide his mountain view. I did it for him when it was of no advantage to me. He also said (and I paraphrase), "you do as you wish, when I pay your taxes, I'll tell you what to do". I responded by telling him that I am concerned of my impact towards him and that I want a long friendly relationship. It was a warm and fuzzy conversation.

No matter how I may enjoy the livestock, I will never let the chickens grow to more than a dozen, and the goats to more than 3-4. Maybe one pig at a time for fall butcher. He doesn't have a right to dictate whether I do it or not, but I also want to present it all as cleanly and palatable as can be. This is the whole reason I was asking specifically of the noise from guineas.

 

[3RRL]

Tony,
I admire what you did ... graciously taking the time to include him in your plans. Even more so doing something on his behalf as it was of no value to yourself. You are a great neighbor and I'm sure he recognizes that too. Sounds like you have it all figured out and are way ahead of us.

About my gutter cutting technique...
First, most compact tractors like don't have any down pressure on the 3pt. But there is a limit as to how much it will raise up too. What I did was make my hydraulic side links long enough so that when they were fully extended down, the upper lift arms were all the way up. That means the 3pt can't go up anymore. So I didn't really create down pressure, but created a situation where they could not go up anymore without lifting the tractor up ... a sort of down pressure at that point, which forces the boxblade to cut in.

In your case, I'm not sure if you can do what I do or not? Most side links are shorter than what I replaced mine with. However, if you tilt your boxblade severely and then adjust the top link so that the corner AND cutting edge wants to grab, you should be able to cut a nice groove.

Added weight helps a lot. My box weighs about 1,000lbs with all the stuff I have on it. The gauge wheels when lifted up add another 300lbs. So mine cuts pretty good. It also cuts a lot better and deeper if the ground is soft. It helps to soak that area first. Also keep in mind that you don't need to cut a giant gutter like mine did. Even a 6" gutter will allow water to flow very fast and by doing so, it cuts that gutter deeper on its own.

So in your case the keys would be to add some weight to your box.
Tilt it aggressively to one side.
Set the top link so the leading cutting edge and side plate cuts into the dirt.
Soften up the area first if you can.

 

[easygo]

Tony,
It is nice to see that you are concerned about your neighbors, but it sounds as if they wouldn't have cared as much as if the things were reversed.
I'm lucky to have good and very helpful neighbors. One of them asked me if I wanted him to cut a few more trees on his property so we can have a better view. I respectfully declined the offer. The view would have been improved but I would hate to see the trees come down for that reason.

I thought I'd mention a method of making useful firewood out of 2-3" sticks. What I do is cut the smaller (2-4" thick) branches into about 3-4ft length. I made a very simple device that lets me cut them to stove length about 20-30 sticks at the time. I just take two stumps (that are shorter than your chainsaw bar) and nailed a branch to each of the flat sides. When you put the two next to each other and stack the small branches in there, you have a nice pile that you can cut to the length you desire. on the top of the pile I always put two or three 5-6" diameter pieces to hold the small pieces down. If you don't the saw chain might grab a small branch and will pull it toward you at a very high speed. I have to mention that the above described method (cutting multiple pieces at a time) is not recommended in a chainsaw safety manual!!!

I described this because each year I get extra wood out of the trees I cut down just by "harvesting" the stuff that often ends up on burn piles. I only use about 3 cords per year so it makes a difference.

 

[tony123]

If I felt like typing so much about it, I'm sure we'd find that we are all on the same page with the neighbor thing. Thanks Rox for pointing it out, as it is an important ingredient in building the "farm". You guys do know that when I put "farm" in quotes I'm intending to make light of my use of the word. It is one to me, but I realize for most around here it doesn't qualify.

Rob, thanks so much for the explanation. I don't think I'm going to have the same ability of "locking" the upward motion. Not without spending more money. But, I'm sure you've hit the nail on the head about the weight issue. My box is around 400 pounds. I don't have anything around that will work as a weight. Maybe my wife will sit on it. Just kidding.......she's light as a rail. Would have been a good one though if she was a big woman.

easygo, that sounds like a neat technique for the small stuff. Its a little late for this particular pile, but I'm sure there will be more. I wanted to take advantage of all the wood, but at the same time, was more interested in getting the place cleaned up fast. As David mentioned, I could have spent a year or more on "harvesting" from that large brush pile.

Good news from the Angus farmer across the street. I asked if he would allow me to go through his fields collecting manure and he said have at it! So, I hope to have some manure spread over the garden area in the next few weeks. For this first year with the garden, I'm going to keep it to one row of about 4'wide x about 60' long. Should be plenty to learn with. Also, I won't have a tiller for the first year, and don't feel like hand working any more than that.

My parents show up tonight to spend a week with us for Christmas. I'm excited to show them what we've accomplished. Growing up, we lived on 2 acres out in the country, but Mom and Dad never had an interest in gardening or livestock. Well, Mom had chickens and ducks once or twice, but they never lasted long being free range. Hahaha, that reminds me of why I'm not considering ducks. That slimey poop was everywhere when she had ducks. To the point that you couldn't hardly use the lawn for anything. I'm sure they'll put on a smile, but secretely think I'm crazy.

 

[easygo]

Tony,

I suggest you save some money and look into getting a walk behind tiller. Unless you will have a very large garden or you want to use a tractor mounted tiller for other applications, such as the TBN member who used it to loosen the ground while digging a pond. I have a 7hp Sears 19" rear tine tiller, that I bought used for $300 or so. It makes quick work of loosening the dirt twice a year in my two ever expanding gardens. When I expand the garden I till up the unbroken ground in 4-5 stages and pick out clumps of grass and rocks after each round, tilling a little deeper each time. After the ground has been properly broken up it is very easy to till it at the start and the end of the gardening season. The two gardens together are about 15' wide and 60' long (subject to nearly double). I also use it to till up the flower beds where my wife plants annuals. It is very easy to get it into small spaces. The only problem I have is that I use the tiller so little that there is always some old fuel in it. I think you will be one very tired hobby farmer after you dig up a 4'x60' garden by hand.

 

[rox]

Rob, thanks for your input. While you're hear, you probably saw my trenching comments. I noticed on your thread that you were able to get a nice deep "V" ditch with your boxblade angled. I tried the same technique with poor results. Do your hydrolics allow down force? Did you do the ditches when it was wet? any tips?

I re-read my post in response to Rox. That was me talking to you guys. I would always put a more positive spin on it towards him. In fact, I did already have the conversation that Rox suggested. It was done before any work started. I explained what I was doing and asked if he had any concerns or comments. He did ask that I take out a little more of the trees than I was initially so as to provide his mountain view. I did it for him when it was of no advantage to me. He also said (and I paraphrase), "you do as you wish, when I pay your taxes, I'll tell you what to do". I responded by telling him that I am concerned of my impact towards him and that I want a long friendly relationship. It was a warm and fuzzy conversation.

No matter how I may enjoy the livestock, I will never let the chickens grow to more than a dozen, and the goats to more than 3-4. Maybe one pig at a time for fall butcher. He doesn't have a right to dictate whether I do it or not, but I also want to present it all as cleanly and palatable as can be. This is the whole reason I was asking specifically of the noise from guineas.

Tony thanks for sharing the creation of your "farm" with us. From what you wrote I also have to agree with everyone else that you have done your neighborly duty. I do understand better now that you described your land and how others have built around you.

I have to agree 100% with you, it is not up to you to provide 100% the buffer between you and your neighbors. Especially the neighbor who has 3 acres and choose to build smack against the back lot line. Sure it looks good when nobody else has built, but he took his chances. Plus he probably had the same opportunity as you to purchase the adjoining land and did not do so. That real nice neighbor we had, he built 15 feet from our side lot line. He took his chances also. He did ask us to put our garage on the other side of our home but we nicely declined and he didn't push. If your property is constrained and you have made an effort to speak with your neighbors about your plans, then I would say you are a very considerte person.

 

[scgargoyle]

Tony, since we're in the same 'neighborhood', I'll add my $.02. One of the reasons for buying rural acreage is so that we can play farmer (or be a real farmer, if we so desire). The risk of buying in an unrestricted area is that you simply have to put up with what your neighbors do, as long as it's legal. You've definitely gone the extra mile in communicating with your neighbors about your plans. When we build at our place, I fully expect to hear roosters and smell goats- it comes with the territory. We should always be considerate of our neighbors, so long as they understand that they are in a rural area, and manure happens! If folks can't accept that, they should move to a deed restricted, gated, community- that's what they're there for. Of course, a dozen fresh, free-range eggs once in a while would probably make your neighbor happy!