cleaning bottom paddock garden

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

made 1/2 a day seat time finally as i wanted to make a start on the big garden digging it up and getting rid of all the clump grass and a few weeds . I want to try to keep it semi prepped for spring should make it a tad easier come spring,
these are the 4 tools i used to do the job , 1st used the single tine to bust it up and tear the grass out one on the right , the next was the 4 tine cultivators at the rear of the photo .
<then used the rigid harrows to pull all the debris and larger stones out into a pile for later mulching to put back in the ground , finally i used the moldboard just to cut the bottom edge to tidy the edge up
i did get a touch over 1/2 done so far , the nest photo is some more stones i picked up after i was finished
the right hand pile is all the grass i remover for mulching later on , the left side is some left over from last summer .

here is the two tractors i used

 

[Propane1]

Looks good Shane. What kind of tractors are those ?

Noel

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Noel , last photo ,the one on the left is my home made tractor 8HP briggs copied the chassis size from the P D F files Power-r-pup measurements , right side is a Rancher Rover 2 ,1970's original 8 HP briggs now got 11.5 briggs, i always called it a garden tractor but now realising it's only a lawn tractor harshly modified by me , bolens st120 diff hydro and other bits , like re modding the 3 point to make it compatible to the home made for the attachments

Shane

 

[Toomanytoys84]

Looks like mad max fleet of lawn tractors! Pretty cool machines that get the job done!

I still want one of those little rovers

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Aaron i have now got 8 of them 2 of them run and the rest are awaiting my serious attention a few of them will be donors , there is 1 i want to restore to original look as it's got the original 8HP engine in it

Shane

 

[Sawdust]

Looking good Shane. I too admire your tractors & the way you make do with what you have. Its rewarding doing things this way. Your soil looks really rich. That heep of grass would make some good compost for next season.

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Looking good Shane. I too admire your tractors & the way you make do with what you have. Its rewarding doing things this way. Your soil looks really rich. That heep of grass would make some good compost for next season.

last summer was the 1st time ever breaking the sod there , it's always been cattle grazed grass , many yrs ago that side of the hill and flat was al heavy bush timbered and lantana too ,the grass i'll feed through the 5 HP petrol mulcher so it breaks down into compost quicker

thanks for the compliments on the machines ect , i recently had a idea to buy a proper garden tractor until i saw the prices , an Australian , English made, Howard ,G T size 1000 or 2000 late 1950's selling for $4,500 with a rotary hoe and kubota G T's $2,500 up , i have to save a lot of dimes to get one in average condition so that's on pause for a bit ,but i do enjoy the tractors i got to use

Shane

 

[Toomanytoys84]

When I was researching my John Deere X570 I found a forum where a fellow from Australia was ordering one and having it shipped. He was paying double what we pay in the states for the same tractor (after figuring the AUD to USD conversion). He was super happy with his tractor, but I wouldn't of paid 14,000 for one! 14,000 would get you a sub-compact with a loader and a 60" deck.

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

lol $14,000 is way over the top far as i can see and won't happen with me , i would love a few sorts you people have over there but thats out of my league , but nevertheless i will eventually find something in a practical price range , this will give me time to get back on my feet and save some money for one

Shane

 

[Propane1]

You don’t need the expensive and brand new to do the job, Shane.
Just good old tractors are fine with me. Used my 1951 Ferguson today. And my son used the 1971 MF 7 today to do chores.

Noel

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

exactly Noel i love the old stuff i got , would not trade them for anything but our opportunities are less as we don't have the same variety as you people do over there,in saying that i did pick up a engine cover with the built in fan ( belt driven sort ) and tatty fuel tank branded Gravely .

have seen Kobota diesel 2 cylinder for $2.200 thats the cheapest i have found so far , but still only browsing yet

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

up date on the Garden patch
now got the dividing fence removed between 1st and 2nd section , makes it a nice size garden now the little gate post with the pile of stones are was the dividing fence line
i have so far removed 5.5 x J.D.15 trailers of stones so far since i first started the garden in total and guessing about nearly 2 more trailer loads to go yet , atm still got 3 piles of stones to move
left photo is the stones now covered with old dead grass contour bank to stop heavy rain washing the soil away on the top side 1st section

this is the stones i picked and shifted for the contour bank 2nd section

so now just got to work the ground a time or two more to remove any missed stones then just keep the weeds out

that's how it looked before i started the garden last year , 2 to 4 ft grass 5 yrs worth

Shane

 

[Toomanytoys84]

lol $14,000 is way over the top far as i can see and won't happen with me , i would love a few sorts you people have over there but thats out of my league , but nevertheless i will eventually find something in a practical price range , this will give me time to get back on my feet and save some money for one

Shane

I would never pay that either. I was just amazed at what must of been the cash conversion, taxes, import fees, and whatever money our governments try to pry out of us. Pretty crazy.

 

[KennyP]

Looking good!

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Little update on the garden patch clean-up
some of the stones piles , was 9 piles of stones and got 4 piles to move yet ,i harrowed it then picked stones the moldboarded then picked then cultivated then picked stones again ended up getting another J D 15 trailer of stones so i used them to fill in a bad drive area for the tractors in a gateway > as the little trailers would lean and rub on the water tank when they were loaded
<the stump and rocks around it is going to have marigolds planted in it to help ward off some bugs,

now some random photos

the old watering trough i am thinking of filling it with soil and making a raised herb garden bed covered with cloth
Shane

 

[KennyP]

Quite the harvest (of rocks). LOL Glad you have a use for them. Looking good!

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Kenny it had better mate because it's doing my head in ,all these stones lol but nearly finished just going to pick up any loose covered one's now , otherwise just finish cleaning up the patch and mow to make it look tidy-ish and finish putting some mech around it because of animals

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Garden Update, doing it in 2 posts . last updates for preparing the garden patch
some random photos of the garden nearing the final finish and finish
< bits of leftover clump grass. all the stones are gone too.

> standing in the corner to show the full garden <



i have weed wacked since and tidied the corner where the blue water drum is in the corner , was some waste grass and a heavy steel air ducting out of a factory

Shane

 

[holdenboy1960 (Shane )]

Update , Last of the stones an rocks

2 photos to show the length of the darden and All the bleep bleep Stones and rocks , the gap in the middle is for the gateway walk path up the hill

2nd row of stones 10 to 12" high and 12 to 18" wide . about 10 ft short of the full length of garden 7-1/2 loads in a toro rider trailer later and the garden is clean and i'm 1/2 dead lol + i done 3 loads of grass and dirt mulch shown in the 2nd photo on the bottom contour bank

when all the grass rots down it will make a good bed for garlic next Feb-March , planting time .

Two fruit trees the limes are setting new fruit on now and the purple grapefruit is near ready yo flower < limes it's all about the water

Shane

 

[KennyP]

Looking good, Shane!