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Long time with no update and stressed out
Posted By MercenaryD on January 21, 2010
Wow I’ve let a long time go since the last time I posted something. Well, if you couldn’t figure it out, I’ve been busy. Busy trying to make up the money I spent on all that equipment. Which isn’t going to well. What money I have left as well as most of the money I’ve been making so far has gone into repairs. Well I knew that it would take a good bit of work to make all the equipment usable. But I had hoped two things, one that I would have had the equipment into at least a usable condition so as to be making some money with it, and two that I would have continued the growth in sales from my book site.
On top of all that I’ve had to redo the plumbing in my trailer. The furnace was on the fritz again and this time the watter pipes froze. Sigh…. Spending a week under cabinets changing out water lines in 0 degree weather is not my idea of fun. Nor working on a furnace in the same. I got all furnace fixed and all the pipe work changed, even put in turn-off valves for most of the fixtures only to find that the seals in the fixtures are bad and the water won’t stop running. At least when I do that I’ll be warm, and I won’t be kneeling in ankle deep frigid water. But for now baths are out of the question without a bit of preparation first.
Yesterday in a snow storm I worked on changing a radiator hose on the compact tractor, only to find that the original hose clamp is too small for the new hose, and the hose is almost too big. I want a heated garage to work in! Not that the heated garage would stop these problems, it would just make it so that I wasn’t so miserable when trying to solve the problem.
All in all its been a sucky winter so far for me. No money, extra expenses, a hell-of-a-lot of stress.
Its nothing that 5-7 grand won’t fix.
I’ve been told “If you would stop playing the games 2-3 hours a night and concentrate on work, you wouldn’t have these problems.” But you know… I need some sort of stress release. And society gets mad if I get that release by smashing things up or beating on the people that say things like the afore quote.
Enough ranting for the moment, I need to get to work. There are still things to be done, before I hve to go out and brave the cold for today.
New Old Equipment
Posted By MercenaryD on October 25, 2009
The past few weeks I’ve been picking up some equipment to help me in expanding my gardening into small farming. The difference? Gardening is for personal use and farming is for profit. Not to say that a garden isn’t profitable, but one can’t make a living on just a garden even if one can live off a garden…
So first off I came across a man who had a lawn tractor. It was given to me for free, with the words of “it needs a little TLC, just clean out the carburetor and put in a fresh battery and it should start right up. There was a mouse nest in the carburetor and when I saw it start to smoke I shut it right down.” Ok, no big deal. It had been sitting only since spring, so I load it up and bring it home to work on.
When I pulled the carburetor I found the nest, started cleaning it and found that the nest had been sucked into the overhead cam. That was some suction… No wonder it started to smoke. What wasn’t told to me was that after it had started to smoke it was driven the length of two football fields to where it was to be parked. Also I found out that “since spring” was spring 06. Amazing how time flies. After finding out that, I worked on the piston. Before I go any farther I’d better make sure the engine isn’t froze solid. I got it freed and as soon as I did, out the bottom shaft came oil. A shot each time the piston went around on the shaft.
Off to the small engine repair shop. I’ve got a blown seal in the PTO, some thing that is actually growing in microscopic groves in the over head cam, and possible scoring in the cylinder, worn barrings in the cam shaft, etc…. How much to get the engine rebuilt? Quote $1000!!! I don’t think so! How much for a new 17hp Briggs and Straton? $700…. Well that was a little better. What about a used one? None in stock, I needed to look around. I checked online, in junkyards, in scrap yards, asked friends and family. And had trouble finding anything bigger than a 5hp. And nothing that I could afford.
About a week later I found a working pull at another shop and bought it for $175 plus tax. The new one though was a much bigger engine. But the shaft was the right size and the mounting bolt holes lined up with the tractor, so all turned out good. Until, there is always a but in these cases, I tried hooking up the lines, gas, throttle, choke, safety wires etc. Everything was too darn short.
I had a gas line left over from another project that turned out to be perfect length, but I still needed to buy a throttle and choke cables. the throttle cable was easy $5 at the local small engine repair shop. Although I lost a screw to hold the throttle in place on the tractor and I need to cut the cable down. The choke cable I’m going to have to order as no one had one in stock. The safety wires I’m going to have to make if I want them, I’m not sure if the engine will start with out them though. The last thing I’m going to need is a muffler. Especially if I want to take the machine out to make money with. Twin exhaust versus the old single, I just can’t reuse the old muffler. Thats another $105.
Now I’d have had all this done by now except that while I was working on the lawn tractor, I had bought some small farm equipment. and I mean small.
Iseki TS1610: A cute little tractor that I found for $1400.00 and when I say little I mean little! It fits in the back of a full size Chevy 1/2ton truck. Its too small for what I really want to do but on the other hand it will be a very helpful and versital tractor. Especially I suspect at cultivating and harvest of vegetables. Not to mention that it is the perfect size to take onto someones lawn for landscaping. I just need to find a front end loader, and a tiller for the the 3pt hitch. It has a strong 2cyl diesel of 16hp and this time I did some testing of it before I purchased it. I didn’t want to end up with another like the lawn tractor.
Just a few days before I bought the tractor and the day after I bought the motor I purchased these. Looks like a pile of junk on a flatbed right. Well what if I spread them out for you because looks can be deceiving.
From left to right: a set of disk, a special plow (I believe it was for potatoes, or at least that is what I’m going to use it for.), a cultivator (about half there), a set of three drags, a single set of drags. because of the handles I can tell that everything is pre-1949 to 1958 and the drags I believe were horse drawn equipment. The newest piece is the plows. Unfortunately everything needs a little repair. But what should I expect for 60+ year old equipment at $250 for the whole load?
I am happy though because everything is in usable condition, even if its not in a good repair condition, and its all more or less minor repairs, it just takes some money…. the money I just spent to have the stuff in the first place.
So this is my new set of projects. To have this equipment ready for spring. Now I jsut need the land and seed!
This is the end of my rambling for today,
BTW: if anyone knows what the make and model of the pull behind equipment is, please let me know. I have some parts numbers if they will help in cross referencing amd a photo of a simble that is mostly rusted and worn off.. I thought at first that they could be old John Deere, except the for the cultivators. But then being green could also be Oliver or it could be that the stuff was repainted at one time. But I want to know so that I can get parts when it become necsary.
Wrap-up for the River Fest
Posted By MercenaryD on October 24, 2009
We got together last night for dinner and a drink to wrap up the ‘09 season of the River Fest at Z-Spice Cafe. While we waited for dinner to be served we went over the short survey that had been handed out, for those of you that were not at the last River Fest we’ll be mailing you one in the future, but the first round looked good. Every one wanted to see it happen again and I’m glad to see that response.
We discussed the future of the River Fest and what we would like to see it morph into. Best of all possable ideas, worst of all ideas, we through them all around.
We’d like to see a more carnival type atmosphere with small things like a dunk-booth, more hands-on games and of course more vendors to attract even more walk through traffic. We are thinking about changing the date set-up next year to run from July to September every Friday afternoon. More advertising, signs and fliers around not just Sidney but also around other local towns.We also discussed moving the location, some place bigger, some place smaller, and batted the pros and cons around.
These are just some of the ideas that we talked about. I welcome you all to post here your comments and ideas so that we may look them over and discuss them.
Thank you too all of you that helped make the first season of the River Fest a sucess.
Snow
Posted By MercenaryD on October 15, 2009
Dang… Its snowing!
And not some minor flurry, but enough to be sticking to the ground and cars.
Of course the kids will still have school in the morning, it will all be melted by the time the buses start their pick-up runs. But it will be the talk of the town for a day or so.
Fall colors – get them on film before they are gone
Posted By MercenaryD on October 11, 2009
The cold is apon us and so is the leaf peeper season!
Well, it would be if the leaves weren’t all falling to the ground so fast with all the storms we’ve been haveing. We are starting to see bare spots on the hill sides scattered throughout.
Now that I’m done with River Fest fot a while and can turn to other things on the week ends, instead of feeling so tired that all I did was sleep for a day. I’ve been trying to get out and see some of that color before it all turns to the drab brown then white.
I cought the photo above while I was out purchasing some small farm equipment. A nice view that takes in a few miles across the landscape 
Showing the colors of the Catskills.
Last Friday River Fest for the season Oct. 2
Posted By MercenaryD on October 9, 2009
It was the last of the open air market and festival for the seson. It was cold and damp, but the mood was chearful. We had line dancers as well as our normal live musicians and a baloon-animal maker for the kids, who always seemed to avoid the camera on me. Being chilly as it was, my hands were cold and shaking slightly so out of 60 photos these were the only ones that didn’t turn out blury.
Ouch!
Posted By MercenaryD on September 25, 2009
Ah… This sucks!
I hurt my finger… A nice deep gash, two actually right beside each other. From just below the last knuckle through the quick of the nail, almost an 1/8 of an inch deep. Now its bandaged with a nice throbbing sting to it. My arm is tired from keeping it up above my head to control the bleeding.
You never realise how much you use a hand until you can’t!
And I’m out of practice with one handed typing and using my right hand for more personal matters…
Sept. 18 River Fest Photos
Posted By MercenaryD on September 23, 2009
With a threat of rain I didn’t take all that many photos. The ones I did, concentrated on the music and the new vendors we had set up. Dispite a bit of rain early on we had a good turnout and the music was so good that we held over all through closing. So that it was 7pm before the band picked up.
Oct. 2, 2009 is the last River Fest for the season.
Sept. 4th River Fest Photos
Posted By MercenaryD on September 9, 2009
Working the garden for next year
Posted By MercenaryD on August 28, 2009
Yes, it sounds a bit early, isn’t this the time of harvest. Well yes it is or at least it is for some crops. Gardening isn’t a plant today, harvest tomorrow type of thing. I’ve been harvesting right along. Most of the vegtables I planted have been harvested. Summer Squash, Zuchini, Peas, Radishes, exc. But on top of harvesting what there was to eat there is also the harvesting of what you can grow.
This year I don’t have any seed potatoes or tomatoes because of the blite, I’ve been eating the potatoes because I don’t trust them for planting next year, and the tomatoes have been disposed of. But there are other items to harvest for their seed.
I’ve been drying and harvesting peas, radish, spinach seed. (Not shown is squash, early potato seed – from befor the blite took the plants, green bean, and a few others.) It takes ome time to do all the work if you don’t have the equipment to harvest, dry, and shell the seed. So I’ve been sun-drying and air-drying them and hand picking the seed.
I found over the past few years that 1 1/2 dozen egg cartens work great for seed storage. They are easy to store, the card helps pull out moisture (make sure that the carton stays dry), covered keeps them dark, the wholes on the side and in the centers keep the ari flow through the carton, and the tops are good areas to do the sorting.
When I started doing the seed saving I was mostly intrested in how much of what I grew was truly real food and haritage seed. Everything leaves me sceptical about food but atleast I know what I’m eating if I grow it. But I was also interested in how much can I save. When I go out to buy seed from the store I pay 0.89 for a half a gram or 1.29 to 2.89 for a gram of seed.
So just how much can I save and still have food to eat. Well lets start with the peas. I harvested enough peas off a 20 foot row to feed 4 people twice and enough to feed 2 people three times. Thats 14 servings of 1/2 a cup each approximately. I kept the largest for seed for next year, after I dried them it came to 1/2 a pound. Granted it wasn’t harvested all at once. 20 foot row of peas gave me 3+ pounds. I harvest young for eating, because they are sweeter.
But how much did I save?
Well the cost of the seed would have been $1.49 for a packet (prices and weight of a packet of seed may vary from company to company and region to region.) to plant about a 10 foot row, so there was about $3. Not a really huge savings there but its a start. Food — Podded sweet peas were bringing $3 a pound at the local farmers market, The pods weigh more than the seed so I would have had to buy close to 10 pounds to get the 3+ pounds of peas we ate. a savings of about $30 there. Again no super savings. But I also have that 1/2 a pound of seed for next year. So I saved about $33 for the year and I have about $10 worth of seed to start off next year with. Which will give me 4 time the yield for next year as well.
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Swiss-Chard
- Beets
- Carrots
- Green Beans
- Radish
- Yellow neck squash
- Zucchini
- Butternut squash
- Potatoes (Eastern) – harvested early
- Potatoes (Russet) – harvested early
- Scallions
- Sweet corn
Tomatoes as I mentioned earlier, I sent to the dump. Something ate my garlic and onoins, sluggs I suspect. These three crops were what I took a total loss on.
But the others grew, some better than others. A given seeing the weird weather that we have had in upstate New York this year. Too much rain, too cool days, way too cold at night, and I don’t know anyone who would admit it but we had a light frost here the other night.
So what did I save as a total, I can’t really say, because I didn’t keep a record of poundage of what I harvested to eat. But I can hazard a good guess based on what we ate and how much it would have cost in the store to buy it. I’d say that I harvested $230 worth of food with more to be harvested and of course there is the seed, an estimate of $50 worth once I’m done with it, maybe more.
Not too shabby seeing that some of my highest priced garden crops were also my worst growing ones this year.
But no matter if you count dollars or pounds, for profet or savings. What its really about is the knowing that I grew what I’m eating that really counts. Fresh from the garden, washed and cooked (or raw).