Night temps going back to -10c, -7c tonight. Indoor grow is very slow.
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Are you still growing your Garden?
- Thread starter Eutycus
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Eutycus
Cannon
I had 2 leftover bell pepper plants that I intended to give to my sister-in-law. She's was a farmer's daughter and likes getting her hands in the dirt.The wind has been really blowing down here lately and 1 of them may not make it. It got whipped and beat up pretty bad.Luckily the garden is behind the garage and didn't catch the "breeze".We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.
Eutycus
Cannon
I got a 5 gallon bucket of cow and donkey manure and fill it with water. Every other day I pour some of this "tea" around my plants. Not on the plants. Anyone else use manure tea?
I have in the past, works great.
I spread last year's compost on the garden and tilled it in yesterday. The garden was a little damp and clumped a bit, but I should be able to go over it again in a couple days. I use a 40 year old Troybilt Horse I bought new.
I need to find a 5 foot 3 point disk for the farm to work over the deer food plot. If anyone close to Missouri knows of one for sale cheap, please let me know.
I spread last year's compost on the garden and tilled it in yesterday. The garden was a little damp and clumped a bit, but I should be able to go over it again in a couple days. I use a 40 year old Troybilt Horse I bought new.
I need to find a 5 foot 3 point disk for the farm to work over the deer food plot. If anyone close to Missouri knows of one for sale cheap, please let me know.
Eutycus
Cannon
That Troy Bilt Horse (tiller) is about equivalent to the
rear tine Craftsman that I got. I don't know why I bought such a large tiller a couple of years ago. I should have seriously downsized, I'm getting too old to manhandle that big of a machine.
rear tine Craftsman that I got. I don't know why I bought such a large tiller a couple of years ago. I should have seriously downsized, I'm getting too old to manhandle that big of a machine.
We have one of those little Mantis tillers and it's fine for our existing garden. But if we ever want to expand and break new ground I'd hire a local guy with a tractor mounted tiller. Our soil is that rocky. My farming neighbor says stone is his most consistent crop!
* That's funny, I was just going to ask if anyone had used a Mantis tiller. Was going to buy one for my wife, a couple more years with the big Craftsman and I'll be buying one for myself! 
How do you like the Mantis, Solanco?
* On a lighter note, I read a story once about the farmers that left Maine during/after the summer of "eighteen hundred and froze to death". Many of them ended up in Ohio, but this one guy moved to Iowa (I think) and he sent I letter back home to Maine. All he could talk about was how there wasn't any rocks. He just couldn't get over how there was a place you could farm and not have to deal with rocks. I think it was before the Civil War, so most of them had probably never been more than a few miles from the farms they were born on.
How do you like the Mantis, Solanco?* On a lighter note, I read a story once about the farmers that left Maine during/after the summer of "eighteen hundred and froze to death". Many of them ended up in Ohio, but this one guy moved to Iowa (I think) and he sent I letter back home to Maine. All he could talk about was how there wasn't any rocks. He just couldn't get over how there was a place you could farm and not have to deal with rocks. I think it was before the Civil War, so most of them had probably never been more than a few miles from the farms they were born on.
It's a great little tiller for our purposes. I would not bother with the various attachments they sell. I bought them and, except for the edger, they are too small and finicky. Because of our stone our vegetables are in raised beds.* That's funny, I was just going to ask if anyone had used a Mantis tiller. Was going to buy one for my wife, a couple more years with the big Craftsman and I'll be buying one for myself!
* On a lighter note, I read a story once about the farmers that left Maine during/after the summer of "eighteen hundred and froze to death". Many of them ended up in Ohio, but this one guy moved to Iowa (I think) and he sent I letter back home to Maine. All he could talk about was how there wasn't any rocks. He just couldn't get over how there was a place you could farm and not have to deal with rocks. I think it was before the Civil War, so most of them had probably never been more than a few miles from the farms they were born on.
Another thing: I have quit mixing my own fuel for the 2 stroke garden equipment. I buy Stihl brand premix in 4 quart cases. The size and simplicity makes it easy for the wife. And it does not go stale-Good for a year from the time you open the can. It is pricey, but for me the benefits outweigh that. And, frankly, most of us just don't use a whole lot of 2 stroke fuel. Bought a case in March and likely won't need another til next March.
I live near the Susquehana where the river has cut a deep channel through high hills. If you stand in it and look up it's solid rock to the top with a skinny layer of soil on top.
* I don't remember where I was, but I got off the Turnpike once and drove to the Susquehana. It was beautiful country. My grand father was from NH, but lived in ME from the time he was a young child. He loved Maine. I asked him once, if he chose to live some place else, where that would be. He said PA. After getting off the Turnpike and checking out the country around the Susquehana for a few miles of it's flow, I understood why.
* The soil in Central and Southern Maine is like yours, essentally 'leaf mold', thousands of years of decayed leaf litter - which tends to be quite acidic, in a thin layer on top of granite bedrock. The river bottoms and bogs have some good loom, which is why it has always been worth a premium. Aroostook is a completely different animal. The soil / sub-soil layer runs 36" to 60"+. Aroostook sits on a plateau, and the bedrock is much more porous so the water table moves. I had hay fields down state that some years would still be too wet to cut hay from in June, and that's on old sod. I've seen some years up here in Aroostook that we could be on the ground doing tillage work by April 20th. The flip side is that it can get too dry in late July if the rains don't come every 3-5 days.
Eutycus
Cannon
Some years ago (5) a brother-in-law gave me one of those little Mantis tillers. I have yet to use it. Why? I have a big Craftsman. I bought a can of that pre mixed fuel for it and it's still out in the shed somewhere.Think it still has any octane to it?? What is the shelf life of that "canned gas"?
The Stihl dealer told me indefinite unopened. A year once opened.
bore_butter
36 Cal.
if you're worried about the octane get a can of Berrymans B-12 and put 2 little capfulls in it and viola you got good fuel. there are only two things in life i live by, peanut butter and Berrymans.
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Never heard of Berrymans. You’ve peaked my curiosity
Brokennock
Cannon
Octane matters.
A local municipality did a study on maintenance of the equipment of their Parks and Recreation division. The financial savings on maintenance of the equipment when using high octane gas, both mixed and straight, far outweighed the increased cost of the fuel. Not only were they not fixing equipment as much, everything was more reliable. They were getting less complaints from users, especially younger seasonal workers who maybe don't have as much experience and technique starting and running grounds maintenance machines.
A local municipality did a study on maintenance of the equipment of their Parks and Recreation division. The financial savings on maintenance of the equipment when using high octane gas, both mixed and straight, far outweighed the increased cost of the fuel. Not only were they not fixing equipment as much, everything was more reliable. They were getting less complaints from users, especially younger seasonal workers who maybe don't have as much experience and technique starting and running grounds maintenance machines.
user 49399
54 Cal.
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Was it only high octane or was it also ethanol free?
Brokennock
Cannon
I honestly don't know. I think it was mainly a comparison of the lowest octane and highest octane available at your average gas station. I can try to find out.
We switched from standard 87 octane to 92 (I think) from our closest gas station in our snowblower, lawn mowers, weed whacked, and such, and have had a big difference in reliability and ease of starting.
Ethanol is no good for engines in general and for little ones in particular. Have already had several 2 stroke carb rebuilds on ethanol
Seems to destroy non metallic parts. Gaskets , o rings.
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I don’t have a problem with using gas with ethanol in newer motor vehicles that are driven regularly. It is bad news it it sits for a long time in the vehicle and is bad news in small engines. I keep a 5 gallon can of ethanol free gas for mowers and other small engines or to blend for 2 cycle engines. I also add Stabil to that can in case I forget to use it up.
