Gardening

[greenwillowherefords]

Broke ground on part of the garden this evening. It took a while to get the old Troy-Bilt started. I had already tightened all the screws on the carburator, and poured some Marvel Mystery Oil down the throat. It has been kind of hard starting after sitting all winter the last couple of years since the starter rope broke, and I replaced it with one shorter than the original. But today I realized the spark plug and wire were rusted to the point that the connection was less than ideal. After taking care of this detail, it started and fogged the yard up with smoke from the MMO. The Marvel cleans the entire system. Can't complain about the Troy. It is about 11 years old, and I couldn't tell you how many gardens I have tilled for hire besides my own. In my opinion the most rugged and best tiller made. I have the 5 horse Pony, Briggs & Stratton motor.

What do you gardeners use?

My favorite garden plant is sweet corn, Kandy Korn in particular. I also love growing patty pan squash, pumpkins, radishes, and tomatos.

 

[cowgirl580]

i'm not much on gardening myself. about the only thing i can't kill is cactus, but my parents used to use a troy built. it worked for yrs and yrs. now its just the old hoe and shovel. can't find anyone to work on the old troy. my mom plants corn, pumpkin, indian corn, tomatoes, zucchini. i think that's it. its a smaller garden at this house. in her old garden my mom planted the other stuff along with onions, spinach, carrots, potatoes, strawberries. the rest of us got recruited of course to help. who needs a tiller when you have kids?

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

We have a Troybilt 7HP Horse model. Bought it in 1989. Had one tune up on it. In past did a number of acres (over several years) of tilling landscaping jobs to plant grass seed for customers.

These are TOUGH and RELIABLE machines! Even after sitting all winter with out starting it (drain gas out at end of season) it always starts with only 3 (sometimes one) pull of the rope! Best $1500 or so I ever spent for piece of equipment back in 1989.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Ultimate vegetable to feed millions:

You guessed it! ZUCHINNI!

One time someone asked me how many zuchinni seeds to plant in their garden...

I said, "One-half of a seed"! LOL.

 

[Bez]

Grrrrr .... we still have almost 6 feet of frost in the ground and a foot of snow on top.



Bez

 

[Jake]

grandma had 3 zuchini plants last year.... I had zuchini everyday all summer for at least 2 meals a day... talk a bout runnin the extent that I liked them out... spose a winter off may give me enough time to prepare for that much zuchini again.

 

[fit2btied]

What do you gardeners use?

I own a lot of Craftsman equipment and have been very satisfied with most of it. I've been using a 6.5 HP Craftsman gear-driven rear tine tiller for the last 4 years. The transmission is a single, sealed unit, and they don't fix them. They replace them - $450 transmission on a $600 tiller. I purchased it with a 3-year home service warranty. They have already put two new ones on mine - under warranty. When they called to let me know my warranty was about to lapse and offered me another 3 years at a much lower cost than a new transmission, I jumped on it. They picked it up last week to put the third tranny in it! As long as I can get them replaced under warranty, I'll keep using it, but I'll never buy another one! Why do they always break down when the weather is nice, the garden is dry enough to work, and you actually have some time? I guess it's sort of like water lines - they never freeze up when it's warm enough to work on them!

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

What do you gardeners use?

I own a lot of Craftsman equipment and have been very satisfied with most of it. I've been using a 6.5 HP Craftsman gear-driven rear tine tiller for the last 4 years. The transmission is a single, sealed unit, and they don't fix them. They replace them - $450 transmission on a $600 tiller. I purchased it with a 3-year home service warranty. They have already put two new ones on mine - under warranty. When they called to let me know my warranty was about to lapse and offered me another 3 years at a much lower cost than a new transmission, I jumped on it. They picked it up last week to put the third tranny in it! As long as I can get them replaced under warranty, I'll keep using it, but I'll never buy another one! Why do they always break down when the weather is nice, the garden is dry enough to work, and you actually have some time? I guess it's sort of like water lines - they never freeze up when it's warm enough to work on them!

The only thing I have bought by "Craftsmen" add-on label are hand tools and a riding mower...both have been ok.

On other hand, neither Sears nor Money Wards are manufacturers and all of their "private label" merchandise is made by someone else. Wonder who makes Sears' tiller???

Hope your extended warranty on sears tiller isn't as expensive as the tranny! Next time go with a Troy Bilt... ;-)

 

[Workinonit Farm]

I use a BCS, and it works great. Lots of power. Here at home I grow sweet corn (we too are very fond of Kandy Corn),tomatoes(canning varieties cherry and "regular"), potatoes(usually Kennebec) bush beans, wax beans, sweet peppers, hot peppers(mainly for me, hubby hates hot peppers), yellow crooknecks, zuccini(of course)and brussels sprouts(hubby loves them more than I). I can't wait to get started...nother month or so.

Katherine

 

[greenwillowherefords]

What do you gardeners use?

I own a lot of Craftsman equipment and have been very satisfied with most of it. I've been using a 6.5 HP Craftsman gear-driven rear tine tiller for the last 4 years. The transmission is a single, sealed unit, and they don't fix them. They replace them - $450 transmission on a $600 tiller. I purchased it with a 3-year home service warranty. They have already put two new ones on mine - under warranty. When they called to let me know my warranty was about to lapse and offered me another 3 years at a much lower cost than a new transmission, I jumped on it. They picked it up last week to put the third tranny in it! As long as I can get them replaced under warranty, I'll keep using it, but I'll never buy another one! Why do they always break down when the weather is nice, the garden is dry enough to work, and you actually have some time? I guess it's sort of like water lines - they never freeze up when it's warm enough to work on them!

The only thing I have bought by "Craftsmen" add-on label are hand tools and a riding mower...both have been ok.

On other hand, neither Sears nor Money Wards are manufacturers and all of their "private label" merchandise is made by someone else. Wonder who makes Sears' tiller???

Hope your extended warranty on sears tiller isn't as expensive as the tranny! Next time go with a Troy Bilt... ;-)

Absolutely. The Troy is built like a little tractor. Most major thing I have done is replace a belt on mine, and they last for years and years.

Big Zac and Abe Lincoln are my favorite tomatoes.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I can't believe anyone's talking about gardening - I'm with Bez - still winter here & will be for couple more months.
I do have to admit, we have had a fabulous week. Been 0 or under at night & 35 + during day. Got to 45 yesterday!!! Getting lots of surface mud around the feeders right now. Still couple feet of snow most everywhere the cattle or tractor haven't been.

 

[Jake]

us grand kids take the 3-wheeler and w/e piece of old broken harrow we can find and chain them together and use that for a tiller down at our fort... plant wheat and beans... always fun to do. Works great and makes the ground look pretty also... dang range magots keep breaking down our fences and eating everything so far... so we'll see how our winter wheat does this year...

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK Jake, I'll bite, what are range magots

dang range magots keep breaking down our fences and eating everything so far.

and they're big enough to break down fences??? :shock:

 

[dun]

OK Jake, I'll bite, what are range magots

dang range magots keep breaking down our fences and eating everything so far.

and they're big enough to break down fences??? :shock:

nasty old sheep

dun

 

[D.R. Cattle]

I use a 52 HP Ford with a 6 foot disc harrow. Could run a tiller for finish work. Then take my 1 row cultivator with modified shares to throw nice beds up. Works out nice for a 1 acre garden. Flood irrigation by flow well located near by when necessary. Plow it all under with the harrow when harvest complete. Pretty much garden year round in my neighborhood.

 

[dun]

I planted our garden on sunday. Overseeded 15 acres of red clover into a fescue pasture.

dun

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

OK Jake, I'll bite, what are range magots

dang range magots keep breaking down our fences and eating everything so far.

and they're big enough to break down fences??? :shock:

nasty old sheep

dun

Are they wild?? or belong to a neighbor?

 

[dun]

OK Jake, I'll bite, what are range magots

nasty old sheep

dun

Are they wild?? or belong to a neighbor?

Feral or belong to a neighbor doesn't really matter, they're still rm's

dun

 

[Jake]

OK Jake, I'll bite, what are range magots

dang range magots keep breaking down our fences and eating everything so far.

and they're big enough to break down fences??? :shock:

sheep.... the just push or crawl or jump or climb or w/e any fence we'd built until now... it's high enough I have problems climing over... gets too wobbly... it's cattle panels lifted off the ground 6 inches or so and then T-posts holding them up... we've built a shack, an alleyway, a "barn" and have wheat planted now... not too shabby really, for a bunch of kids that through it together overtime and didn't pay too much attention to detail.

 

[cowgirl580]

we have some of the same probs up here with rm, except we call them prairie lice. all the same. they don't always get in the garden, but they sure do like to get into the hay shed when the sheepherders bring them by.