Tractor Garden Work

[Lloyd_E]

A little background:

Last fall I got my lay off notice after 21 years with the company - 9 more years until retirement with full pension. 3 days later I ended up in the hospital again with chest pain - blocked artery again. The first stent they put in Dec 07 blocked up. They said there was a 25% chance of blockage reoccurring. They pulled the old one out and put in a new one - drug emitting stent this time - 12% chance of blockage.

I lost over 45 lbs over the last year and a half. Changed my diet drastically. Started exercising and getting back into shape. Since last September while on short term sick leave I created some business plans... did a little research and decided to do the following - resurrect an old wood working business I started years ago, start a market (organic) garden and ramp up my own (20+ years) advertising and design firm.

Last Monday I got my 'official' notice and letter...

So, over the last few months I have been busy with design work, cutting alders for the fence project - garden, cleaning out my workshop of unnecessary things - I collect and hang on to too much stuff. Anything I didn't touch or use for the past 3-5 years got tossed!!! Bought some new power tools...

The tractor earned me some income; snow blowing, laying gravel on roads and generally helping neighbours - trade time and machinery/barter system.

The last couple of weeks I laid out the new garden area: 60'x30' roughly. I added 2 year old composted horse manure to the area. I drove posts 4' apart and started hauling up alders that I cut during the winter. Yesterday and today I started the wattle fence, laid out the beds and started to till. We have deer problems so I will add 8' 2"x4" to every 4th post and run 4 wires a foot apart to the top.

The pics show a bit of before and present state. This will continue...

I can't believe how busy I am. To think I did as much as I did over the last 21+ years, commuting 3 hours a day, is amazing. Just think I gain an extra 60 hour work week a month not commuting.

To those effective by the financial turmoil - think!!! Use the cliche do what you love to do and create a job. You will be amazed what freedom you gain...

And thanks TBN for lots of interesting reading and ideas over the past 2 years!

I will post more as this project progresses....

Thanks.

lloyd

 

[rcrcomputing]

Best wishes to you and yours.. Never saw a "wattle fence". Interesting.. Kinda neat.

 

[JDeerekid]

That is a very interesting fence. I have seen a couple done loke that before but still looks cool none the less. I will continue to look forward to your progress on your new journey.
I am in roughly the same boat as I just laid off from my job shortly after purchasing my new tractor.
I have been doing alot of side jobs with it to make some money. I am also plainting a large garden and a few acres of sweet corn.

 

[Egon]

The health issues are news. I'm very glad its going well for you now.

The wattle fence is interesting. I once made a sorta attempt at building one out at the lake but never seemed to get it finished. It finally went over the firehill place by the lake.

I'd also like to make a hedgerow type fence using hawthorn and lilacs.

But back to topic. You have been doing some admiral work there. The gardening project should prove interesting.

on the side: I did use some heavy duty baler twin on fence posts to protect some hazelnut seedlings. It did work for about five years or so.

 

[polo1665]

Nice looking start to your garden and a beautiful place you have there. I am also looking forward to deer problems here in Ohio and will watch your progress closely. Please post pics of the fence addition when you get it done.

Good luck with your newly found opportunities and stay healthy.

Mark

 

[Lloyd_E]

Thanks all.

Well today I added a layer of pulverized leaves to each bed plus two layers of composted manure. I tilled between each layer. Nothing like hard clay.

I pulverized the leaves using a metal trash can and my whipper snipper - my brother told me this trick. You fill the can up two thirds and use the whipper snipper like a hand blender. Go up and down about ten times and you end up with fine granular leaves - only about a quarter of the can is full! So I spent a couple hours do this early this morning.

My other half wanted some rock moved... of course the whole time doing it I kept saying to myself 'take pictures... take pictures.. and I didn't. I can show you the end results though. She hand a smile on her face (I guess she approves of the tractor now!) as the BH moved all the rock and using the thumb I didn't destroy her strawberries - too much!

Another productive day. Tomorrow will be scheduled with finishing the wattle fence and getting 2x4s for the uprights as well as starting seeds in the cold frames.

lloyd

 

[Egon]

Have you ever considered hauling in some seaweed to amend the garden plots?

 

[Lloyd_E]

Egon,

That's next on the list - we need a good easterly storm to load up the beach down the road.

lloyd

 

[ampsucker]

nice reserve of firewood you have there!

you seem to be approaching your garden beds like i did this year. so far so good. one thing i did was use the back hoe to break up the hardpan under the garden last fall. filled a bunch of organics into the hole and then graded everything even with the FEL. then this spring i did what you did - used the tiller to make raised beds with a small walking path in between each one.

if you want to go organic and save a lot of money, i recommend steve solomen's book "gardening when it counts". lots of great info in there on organic fertilizer, spacing for best use of water, simple hand tools, what to grow and how to grow it, etc....

amp

 

[slewisma]

Sounds like the chance of a lifetime to do what you love made all the better by you're having a plan (or three) to make the best of it. Best wishes for your health and success!

 

[Lloyd_E]

Thanks amp and slew...

I will look into the book. I realize now I should have started this last fall.

The firewood in the shed(8 cords) is mine and the pile(2.5 cords) to the right is my buddies.
We bought 10 cord of 8' lengths last year and actually totaled 12 cords when stacked and measured. We burnt about six cords this past winter between us. I filled my shed this winter from cleaning out my small wood lot.

lloyd

 

[dking]

lloyd, sorry to hear about your job loss and health problems but I believe things happen for a reason. Sounds like you're much happier now and you'll probably be healthier in your new line of work. Keep us posted on your projects. Best of luck.

 

[jinman]

Lloyd, good luck with your health. Everything else is secondary. I had a stent in Dec. 2005 and have had no problems. My stent is the emitting kind, and I've also been on Plavix since the implant. The worst part about it is every scratch seems to be a blood letting.

I have no clue about building a wattle fence or why you do it. It just seems like a fence with a built-in fencerow to me. Does it discourage deer and other wildlife? I like your garden, but it is hard to see what kind of soil you have. Are those hotbeds in one of the pictures?

Good luck with all your new enterprises. I resigned from my job last year just 1 year before I intended to retire. I've found I don't need to work because we have good income from other sources. I'm truly enjoying myself and just taking life as it comes. I think stress reduction is as important as weight reduction in keeping your good health.

 

[Lloyd_E]

dking / jinman - many thanks.

We have very thick clay soil. So I am adding everything from composted manure to leaf mulch to sea weed to add some texture to the soil. Yes they are 'hot beds' but up here we call them cold frames... idea is the same - expands the shoulder seasons of gardening. The wattle fence is essentially a woven hedgerow. It is European in nature but was heavily used in American colonial times. Essentially you make a barricade out of what you have... and I have about 3-4 acres of alders to get ride of.

Jinman - I am really glad to hear that you have almost 4 years behind you, this is wonderfully encouraging. I am on plavix as well - don't bleed much though - but bruise like crazy. Unfortunately this is hereditary. For the last 5+ years I kept saying to myself I got to slow down get back in shape and look out for myself. But as usual - my nature - I put every one including my employer ahead of myself. Lesson learned. And yes - stress creates many problems.

dking - I agree totally. We are small players in a big universe - somebody is looking out for me. Just as I was starting to develop my plans. A former client called me out of the blue with a huge project/contract. This will consume about a month and a half of my time and pay according. A week later two new clients came on board... it feast or famine in terms of time - free or other wise. Time for the time management skills to kick in.
I am glad we have an additional 5-6 hours of daylight now.

Prior to checking in here I just arrived home with a trailer load of 2x and posts to start the new implement shed. I will start a new thread...


Cheers for now.

Lloyd

 

[Lloyd_E]

Progress has been slow. Most of the garden is planted with a lot of seed in the cold frames/hot beds. I still need to bring up more alders but the route to the woods is extremely wet.

I almost got my tractor stuck last week. Bucket couldn't push me back and the hoe could not pull either. I managed to go forward a bit to remove mud from treads and put it in 1st low and crawled out in reverse. I couldn't drive out forward because there was a low swampy/wet area ahead of me. This area I am digging out with the hoe to redirect water from pasture to a little low spot - possible pond area.

So a quick shot of the deer fence support going up. They are 2x3 with plastic insulators held in place with 5" deck screws.

lloyd

 

[Lloyd_E]

A picture update...

Everything is growing. Had to replant some stuff. Planted too early.
I still have to make gates but I haven't had any problems with deer as yet.

How are you all doing with your gardens so far?

Lloyd

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Lloyd,

First of all I'm sorry to hear about your job & the health problems you had, but I hope your felling better and I will Pray that you won't have no more problems and that your health will only get much better!

Nice job on the fence!... I have never tried to build one but i may have to, because the deer are jumping the chain-link fence at night and eating everything up, and last fall i left some turnips growing and they was in the garden until this spring.... So i think that's why the deer started jumping the fence...the deer love turnips.

I may need to plant some turnips on the outside of the fence so the deer can eat them


Your garden is looking good! and keep us posted if the fence keeps the deer out.... Nice stack of firewood you have.

Thanks for sharing your work and keep us posted!

Wishing you the best!

 

[ampsucker]

yep, your garden looks good! i wish i had so few weeds! the first garden seems to be the most satisfying as you are growing food where previously only weeds and forest stood.

down here farther south, i just started a batch of late corn (first ones didn't come up) and melons and winter squash went in last week.

tomatoes are producing, okra growing, summer squash producing small fruits, beans being eaten by bugs. potato vines are about done and we are digging as we need them. peppers are makin' peppers. cukes seem to be succumbing to beetles. have started a second sowing so we'll have something to pickle!

first year fruit trees all doing great except losing a montmorency cherry and a few berries. overall, orchard coming along well.

sorry, no pics at the moment.....

happy gardening!

amp

 

[jinman]

Well, I've probably bored people with my garden thread in Rural Living, but I'll post a few pictures here just to keep the reputation of Texas braggers.

My garden is doing really well except for some virus problems with my squash. It's still making lots of squash, but the yellow squash is mottled with green on its skin. I've found that is caused by a virus which will eventually cause the stems to become woody and the squash plant wilt and die. In the meantime, there is nothing wrong with the fruit and it is completely edible. It just has a few green stripes on it. The virus cannot be reversed, so I'll just keep the squash well watered and producing as long as I can. For now, its feeding us and several of our neighbors.

My cucumbers are going great with no bugs or problems. I have a wild beehive in a tree near my garden, and the cucumbers and cantaloupes are just buzzing with bees. I counted 45 large cantaloupes on 5 hills and we are picking two gallons of cucumbers every other day from 8 plants. We have four regular cucumbers and four "burpless" kind with slick skins.

My okra has been making 1/2 gallon every other day, but is now going into high gear with production. I treated the plants with Sevin to kill aphids. It wias like setting the plants to turbo mode. They are sprouting, blooming, and shooting up okra pods everywhere. When I pick today, I'll probably get a gallon from my four 20' rows.

My tomatoes have finally kicked into high gear. The Early Girl tomatoes are producing 2 or 3 ripe fruit on each plant every other day. The cherry tomatoes and Better Boys are also producing fruit, but the Early Girls win the production prize.

My Basil, thyme, parsley, and sage plants are all doing well. My cilantro is starting to go to seed and will soon become coriander as the plants make seed. I need to pick fresh leaves off the plants and make up a few jars of pico de gallo right away. Cilantro/coriander is a short-lived herb that matures very quickly and dies. I have normal leaf basil and globe basil as shown in the pictures below. Just brushing by it in the garden sends out a cloud of fresh basil fragrance. We are picking, drying, and storing it for later use, but the fresh leaves are delicious to chop and sprinkle over sauces and fresh vegetables.

Oh yes, I have banana, chili, and bell peppers going into high gear production. The banana peppers are covered with 4" to 6" peppers.

We had a shower of rain (0.8") yesterday morning. I was not able to get into the garden to pick anything. Today I'll have a big harvest for sure.

My pictures are below. So far, no real damage from deer or raccoons. . . knock on wood.

Lloyd, your garden looks great, but I'm not sure what the plants are in the foreground. You may have said, but I don't remember. I envy you the fence. I have no protection if something hungry comes along in the middle of the night.

 

[Lloyd_E]

jinman,

The foreground plants are potatoes. Three different types.
Looks like you have a great production run of veggies happening.
I wish I could say the same.

ampsucker,

I fight the weeds. I am using seaweed from the shore and placing it between the rows. Next year I will till the whole area and not do raised beds. Also, I won't plant so early.

Lloyd