good morning all. Seems strange to be this hour and have it so dark out. Can't do much until the sun comes up and dries out the morning dew or I get soaked immediately. Very heavy dew here, I can see the water run out of the rain gutters.
I haven't heard back from the Kubota folks about my burned up wiring on the UTV, so I need to stop down and see them tomorrow.
And boy am I getting tired of walking...but that scale showed a new low number this morning so I guess it isn't hurting me.
Today I plant the small shrubs I bought last week. Letting the fruit trees go until they get dormant and lose their leaves before planting them, but keeping them watered.
Yesterday was a good day and a bit of a disappointment. Utterly impossible to put the small PD10 Land Pride on my tractor. The dimensions are set for a subcompact. But the guy helping me, my neighbor, has a 2 series JD and boy it fit his tractor perfectly, and off we went to dig holes. We were both a bit tired from horsing around the phd trying to get it on, and off, and on... so we did only two fairly large crepe myrtles out by the end of the lane, where he can see them going out his lane too. We had a lot of fun together.
But today I do the hand dug stuff, slowly...and yes I will take time to smell the roses. My new roses from J&P are actually blooming from the 80 degree days we had. Kind of nice to see them showing their stuff before it's time to take the long winter sleep.
I put down Ortho Southern Weed and Feed yesterday using a broadcast spreader behind the JD mower. First I pushed the hand spreader to get near the walkways and go around things I did not want to spray chemicals on, and man by the time I had pushed that thing back to the barn, well, no wonder I'm on last belt notch. Which since I'm still overweight is all good. Came in and drank a bottle of water, rested and went back out. Such nice weather, hard to stay inside.
particularly when there is so much to do.
endless amount actually.
job security...:thumbsup:
tomorrow may be an expensive trip to the Kubota dealer. Need a six or seven foot finishing mower for the field, a larger phd and certainly some augers, will start with an 18". If I need smaller stuff done, my neighbor will be over in a jiffy to dig them for me. Works out nicely this way. Probably will get a PD25.
Land Pride has a lighter weight six foot mower that probably isn't all that much more expensive than the one at TSC.
Kinda like the seven foot I have now to fully cover the tire tracks. Plus I get done quicker so I won't mind doing it more often, since the orchard will be there and I want to keep it nice. But the seven foot mower is another series up and I bet is simply too expensive at this point. I can't keep using that brush cutter on the fields once I smack up the blades in the woods, which I intend to do this winter.
I also need a box blade and rear rake. Will wait on them until I need them. The local TSC does not have much inventory out in their yard, which conveniently one can drive around and see what's in there, say on a Sunday. Lot of four and five foot stuff.
And a nice looking tiller...
now that I think makes sense to get from TSC considering this soft soil. Will see how motivated I am to put in a vegetable garden next
Spring.
The instructions for the orchard say to plow the area under, then disc or till it, and plant a certain cover grass after fertilizing.
Then plant the trees. Not sure I'm going to go through all that. The alternative, for "smaller orchards" they say is just go out and dig the holes and plant them. After adding some bone meal to the hole. I do have the plow, but no disc, see no reason to buy that implement for one use. am going to use my subsoiler to lay a water line to the trees; that I have the pipe for and am ready to go.
I have a pull behind tiller for the Gravely but it's pretty lightweight. Probably out to try it out on this soil before I buy something heavier.
It might charge right through this soil, but first I have six plus inches of field grass to deal with. Think I'm going to lay the tree lines out with red flags and then mow that area as low as I can, then till it. But not for a while.
not forgetting to sniff the roses
well I knew if I typed long enough the sun would come up!
