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Yesterday, we reached the milestone of removing the last of the chicken wire from along the fence and loading it into the debris box. For good measure, I began lowering the walls of The Pit next to the adobe shed in order to make a more level courtyard and threw all the chicken roost boxes away. In a burst of enthusiasm, I loaded all the old milk and egg crates and dropped them off behind Smith's. They may not belong there, but they will have a better idea than I of what to do with them.
Day Three of Debris Box Three and I am looking for things to throw away. Today, I shall go into the adobe shed on the right hand side and remove the shelving. It is useful but ill placed, and even though we have been heretofore unable to find a better use for the adobe sheds than outhouse or utility sink / brush washing place, I see great potential in there. Once the skunk smell goes away.
It is a bad habit that I seldom respond to comments. But here is the deal with the tractor and its relationship to the tiller and the fruit trees. First, renting a tiller is impractical for us because we do not have a pickup truck. We plan on acquiring one at some point, but we have not found the right one yet. It could be rightly argued that a pickup truck would be less expensive than the tractor we are considering. Also, renting a tiller means that we will be less inclined to actually use it regularly. As far as I understand you want to tiller up twice a year and "cultivate" between the rows more often to mulch in weeds. If we cultivate a ¼ acre as planned, we would need a tiller a minimum of four to six days per year. At 50 dollars per day to rent, we could have owned one for as much in a few years.
Second, the present need for the tractor-tiller-chipper is the chipper. Try renting one of these at Home Depot for 50 dollars a day! I estimate that chipping will be a more or less constant need here at the ranchito. Fruit trees need annual pruning, and we have more than a dozen of them plus the cottonwoods, elms, and a fast-growing pecan tree. We would be renting at least once a year plus we would be living with large brush piles in the meantime. We researched the chipper scene to learn that the primary weakness is the belts that connect the motor to the chipping device. When a too-large branch is consumed, the belts slip and wear quickly. I like that the BCS tractors can attach a PTO (power take-off) chipper. With the PTO, one gets the full benefit of the rated horsepower of the engine (8HP in the case of the 722 model we are considering) instead of HP minus belt-slippage.
Added together, the tractor combo would cost about the same as a chipper plus a tiller, and require less storage and maintenance.
On the wisdom of using a chainsaw for pruning, I think the difference of opinion expressed below comes down to scale. If you are going to prune an orchard with a pole saw, it will take you much much longer than it will with a chainsaw. For what it is worth, we own already a pole saw / pruner, bow saw, and fruit picking device on a long extension. A chainsaw would come in handy for larger projects like dealing with the low-hanging branches of the large cottonwood above the orchard, lopping off dead sections of fruit trees, and lowering the stumps to a point where a stump-grinder could take care of them (we will definitely rent one of these, since we have dozens of stumps around which we have to plant / mow). It may be that I am trying to talk myself into this purchase, but as the brush pile shows no sign of making itself disappear, I am leaning ever more gradually toward some way of dealing with it.
Finally, on the mulch question. Mulch is good not only to protect against freezing during dormant times of year, but also to help retain water during the dry seasons. Keeping the soil most encourages deeper root growth, so the trees do not go all surfacy as they do at 8302 Westmont Terrace. But we should certainly have sufficient woodchips to include them in the compost. Alkaline soil notoriously consumes organic matter, so woodchips and old fallen fruit are what we may have to feed it.
Posted by Underblog at October 7, 2005 8:15 AM
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Thanks for the chainsaw/pruining tip.... you don't know what a difference it will make in my weekend...
Posted by: GB at October 7, 2005 1:56 PM
Sounds pretty well thought out to me. You can't do a good job without the right tools. You're definitely right on with the chipper idea. That PTO will make a BIG difference in your maximum chipability. Besides, Sherman will look so cute driving that tractor with her straw farmer's hat on.
Posted by: RT at October 7, 2005 2:30 PM
My reincarnate russian potato farmer soul is exuberant..Bravi.
Posted by: heather at October 8, 2005 5:29 AM