Garden and Chickens 101

[RickN]

My dad used to have a lot of fruit trees and I know what you’re talking about with those early spring frost. Sometimes they take everything out. I miss all those apples and apricots. And the one gnarly pair tree

Speaking of pear trees. South of Wellston around the corner from one of my sisters is an old abandoned farm house with a single pear tree in the yard. When conditions are right that tree produces the biggest, justice, sweetest pears I have ever seen. I swear one year they were the size of large grapefruit. I would love to have a tree like that, and to be able to eat pears again.

 

[Seadog]

Speaking of pear trees. South of Wellston around the corner from one of my sisters is an old abandoned farm house with a single pear tree in the yard. When conditions are right that tree produces the biggest, justice, sweetest pears I have ever seen. I swear one year they were the size of large grapefruit. I would love to have a tree like that, and to be able to eat pears again.

Memories. My dad sold his house of 30 years last year. The fruit from those trees and the cobblers mom used to make are now just memories. Even if dad was to plant another tree I doubt it would get around a bearing fruit. He loved his ugly old pear tree. That thing was so busted up and ugly and just won’t die. Pear trees are very resilient compared to apples. Talking about these pears making me want some now. LOL

Diabetes an issue or something? How come you can’t eat pears?

 

[OHJEEZE]

Which one? There might actually be three of them up here. One has a 48 inch deck mower and turf tires, one has a 48 inch deck mower with turf fronts and ag rears, and the third has tri-rib fronts with ag rears and will be used for the garden.

Quick pic of two of them.

These are 102s, so 10hp
The 3rd with all turfs is a 122 so 12hp but basically looks the same.

View attachment 257855

Some nice lookin cadets there.

Someone spent some time taking care of them or restoring them.

I Think the three ribs on a garden tractor is cool!

Check out farmallcub.com there is a section for the cub cadets.

I dont know if you know this or not, but the three speed transmission in the cadets is the one first designed and made for the larger Farmall Cub offset tractors

 

[RickN]

Diabetes an issue or something? How come you can’t eat pears?

Yep. Pears are high in sugar and I have to avoid them as much as possible.


On another note, one of the groups on FB I am a member of is a small farm and garden group. One guy has just gotten chickens and was wondering how to keep them from kicking shaving into their water all the time. Another member says he uses old crock pot slow cookers for water dishes. Said they are high enough to keep the water mostly clean, and in the winter he can plug them in on Warm and keep the water from freezing.

 

[adamsredlines]

Some nice lookin cadets there.

Someone spent some time taking care of them or restoring them.

I Think the three ribs on a garden tractor is cool!

Check out farmallcub.com there is a section for the cub cadets.

I dont know if you know this or not, but the three speed transmission in the cadets is the one first designed and made for the larger Farmall Cub offset tractors

Oh yeah, my dad is big into these things. He has at least a dozen more Cub Cadets (no Hydro!) and I think 3 or 4 Cubs (3 for sure...2 restored and one to use, possibly more). I know he was active on Farmall Cub for quite some time and went to a bunch of the Cub Fests.

He recently sold off some "extra" Cadets and is in the process of restoring a few low serial number Originals.


The passion is mostly his but I get to reap the rewards since he had so much of the stuff. He is also in the right region of the country where they are quite abundant.

 

[adamsredlines]

His two restored Cubs, one standard and one LoBoy

 

[JEVapa]

Scratched up my dirt last weekend, need to add some cow crap and get it planted over the next few weeks. Anyone ever cover theirs with straw? I hear it helps with weeds and helps keeps the moisture in, you just have to add nitrogen??



View attachment 257831

We used to get straw/manure from the county stables growing up (SE AZ) and compost it. We'd lay it 2"-3" thick on everything and scrape it up around the plants. It had enough non-manure material that it would never burn. It was pretty much free. Cow manure was different, and we'd have to compost it in clippings and old hay or turn it in the soil.