For those of you who have worked with a BCS walk-behind tractor, you have learned that the heavier your implement is, the harder it is to turn the machine around at the end of a bed. The Power Harrow, for example, is an extremely heavy implement. In order to turn the tractor at the end of the bed, the operator will typically disengage the PTO for safety, lower the handles for leverage, and then...
In the market gardening world, permanent raised beds generally refer to beds that are raised 4-6” above the pathways, creating a mound. The mound is then leveled off to create a nice “tabletop” surface for planting crops, typically 30” wide. Pathways are often 18” wide. The 18” width is not only for the convenience of allowing a comfortable space for harvest totes and wheelbarrows, but it also...
We lost power in a thunderstorm last Wednesday and didn’t get it back until thisMonday. Much of my original motivation for getting into homesteading was disasterpreparedness. So it was particularly frustrating that we weren’t ready for this event.In my defense (it’s human nature, unfortunately, to always defend ourselves!), I haddone some things to be ready for such an event. Just a few days...
The farm I worked on in Alabama owned a very nice John Deere zero-turn mower. It was incredibly easy to use and could turn on a dime. You could maneuver into whatever space you wanted easily, but it also went about 10 miles per hour. I taught my daughter how to use it and she picked it up quickly. Lawn mowing is one of those things that, on the one hand, I enjoy doing. It’s fun to smell the fresh...
The first time I heard about such a thing as a walking tractor was when Phil Whalen got one. Phil was in his early sixties and wanted one to make hay on his five-acre homestead just outside of Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife had a huge vegetable garden, raised chickens, and fattened a few head of cattle for themselves and friends. The Whalens were actually the first people I ever knew who...
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