Productivity Increase

Neta and I both agree that the new tractor has changed things considerably here on the farm, even in the first week.  Stuff that would have taken us hours of manual labor now takes just minutes and we're on to the next project.  Things are getting crossed off the list pretty quickly, though it is a LONG list and even with the tractor, we've got enough to keep us busy for years.

When we got the new tractor we were going to use the old one for trade-in, but since we needed a few implements we decided to use the value of the old tractor in trade for those instead.  We mentioned in the last post we were getting a tillovator (roto-tiller) and since the old tractor had a bit more value we added a post-hole digger to our list.  It was a good trade!

So long ol' buddy... You've served us well.

Welcome to the family.  You've got work to do!

I see lots of fence posts, birdhouses and tree plantings in our future.

After the equipment was delivered (Thursday) I wanted to test out the tillovator as we'd be putting it to work in short order.  Hooking it up was a bit of a bear.  The hitches on the tractor are brand new and quite stiff so it will take some extra work until things get broken in.  I ran it over a spot from last year's garden that was grown back over with grass and looked like fresh lawn.  As you can see below, the results are everything we'd hoped for.  Smooth!

My test run.  One pass over three widths of the tillovator and it looks ready to plant.

On Saturday, Neta and and I laid out several garden plots to till, along with plans to till up the original garden.  First I tilled up a 15'x15' plot behind the small barn where we'll erect some heavy wire panels and plant cucumbers to climb them.  We'll also plant peas in that plot as they are a good companion plant for cucumbers.

Next I tilled up most of the original garden.  We have a small tree nursery at one end and had a pile of brush and debris burning in another place, so I didn't get it all tilled up.  Then we laid out a larger area, twice the size of last year's garden.  Last year's garden was around 2712 square feet (0.06 acres).  This year with the two new plots of 225 and 5429+ square feet, we have a total of 8366 square feet (0.19 acres).  Doesn't sound like much when you read the acres, but we have more than tripled our garden space.  Big plans!

The new "wedge" of garden.

A panorama of our garden areas.

I'll leave it up to Neta to decide what goes where.  As long as I have some good tomatoes and hot peppers I'll be happy.  The list of what we want to plant is long.  We'll keep you posted as things get planted or seeds sprout.

Another project that we are working on is clearing out the back of the small barn.  I currently keep the tractor and our lawn mower back there.  The "floor" of the back of the barn is approximately 8"-10" higher than the surrounding ground.  This is the result of 25 or more years of accumulated (and now dried) goat, cow and horse manure.  It is well aged!  I started cleaning it out a couple days after getting the tractor.  As you can see below it will be years before we ever have to worry about fertilizing our gardens.  I've been adding it to our ever-growing compost pile in the edge of the woods.

The back of that barn is full of s**t!

You can still see how high it was on the right side.

Along with tilling up garden plots and scooping poop, we also cleared more downed trees.  Along our fence out next to the interstate, we had several trees come down in last year's hurricane.  We have a grass path along that fence, wide enough to drive a car, that eventually leads to both sides of our big pond.  Those trees were blocking the way.  Nothing a chainsaw and tractor couldn't handle.

It looks more like a bundle of overgrown vines.  A wild cherry tree covered in wild grapevine.

Partially cleared.

It was so convenient to cut up a fallen tree and then use the tractor to push all of that debris out of the way instead of having to carry it by hand or load it into a wagon or trailer and unload it elsewhere.

There were two other pine trees that I just cut at the trunk and used the tractor and a heavy cable to drag off into the woods.  The birds and other critters will love the clutter.

The only downside was on the last tree.  It was old and rotten.  After cutting it, I used the bucket on the tractor to push the remaining trunk back over the fence for the state to deal with (which they should have done as they cleaned up other trees that fell over the fence after last fall's hurricane).  I was maneuvering one side, then the other, as Neta was directing me.  I was on my last push and lifted the bucket to get it high enough to clear the fence when a stray (bent) branch popped free from under the bucket and punched a hole in the grill of my new tractor and dented the top of the hood.  It's no longer pristine (dirt and dust notwithstanding).  Oh well...it had to happen sometime I guess.

The next tractor project will be bush-hogging another of our large fields so we can till it up and spread seeds for a wildflower meadow.  More to come on that.  But for now, that's where this work day comes to an end.