Have a 1972 Troybilt tiller that kicks it. Still quite the monster for a small garden. The modern ones post bankruptcy and buyout that you see at places like Lowe’s are POS.
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2020 How does your garden grow
- Thread starter Sean Gadhar
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I also planted 20 maple trees into pots. and still have some white pines and other trees and bushes to plant.
Looking at your list, i see I forgot to mention some things and to plant some things.
Them old Troybilt's are good.
I have one of these old Milwaukee's,
and one of the old Homelite's
Have rebuilt the carburetor a couple of times on the Tecumseh engine. Maybe time for solid state ignition. 48 years and still tilling. A project for next winter, as the old gal ran a bit rough earlier this spring.
The Milwaukee is a tank. A guy gave it to me, it had been sitting outside for years, the exhaust had been up turned so it filled with rain water, causing the valves to rust so bad that the rust pushed the keepers of the value springs. I think it took me an hour to get it running again. It's a one pull wonder, It's a beast though.
Bought the Homelite from a guy for practically nothing, but the motor was shot, after a year or two I put a flat head Briggs on it and have been running it for 20 years. Good little tiller. I made a hiller/furrower to go behind it for planting and hilling potatoes.
Have the original paperwork from when my grandmother purchased the Troybuilt in 1972. I got hauled to her house to use it to till her garden. Don’t know who to leave it to though when the day comes. Doubt any of my nephews could use it unless I showed them where the game controller unit was.
I’ve got a disc setup to maybe pull behind the ATV if it comes to that. Have two mid 1970s Wheelhorse lawn tractors it was intended to be used with that I may rebuild some day. One with a hydrostatic transmission, the other manual. Both just waiting for me. Have plenty of parts, even have two extra engines. If I don’t rebuild/refurbish expect all will be sold some day for scrap value, at least from what I see right now from those likely to inherit.
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I have a Troybuilt that I use to break things up in the spring. After that, my light weight Mantis is a joy to use and very nimble for weed control.
This might sound a little strange but I focus a lot of attention on my perennials. I do plant the annual garden beans, Waltham squash, tomatoes, and others. However; I do have plants that come up ever year without the time consuming act of tilling, seeding, weeding that is required with domesticated plants. For example this is what I have for perennials. Your going to laugh.
I have a bunch of Hastas...They are great for salads and high in proteins and carbs. They run around the house and down my 600 foot driveway.
I have Jerusalem Artichokes. High in proteins Vitamins A,D,B-12 and potassium.
Asparagus is good for potassium, vitamin A, calcium and fiber
h
Pokeweed...lots of healing qualities and taste like spinach
French Sorrel is great for Vitamin A, potassium, calcium and fiber.
I also maintain an area of chickweed which is good for Vitamin C, copper and magnesium. no picture
I also cultivate a large area of Plantain...this plant is off the chart when it comes to nutritional benefits. no picture
Having these perennials gives me somewhat of a comforting feeling knowing that each year, in the worst of times, food will be available with the least amount of effort. I'm a homesteader not a survivalist. However in these time with earthquakes in Virginia, the pandemic worldwide and rioting in most of out major cities, the difference between the homesteader and survivalist could transition over in a heart beat.
Cobra 6
I have a bunch of Hastas...They are great for salads and high in proteins and carbs. They run around the house and down my 600 foot driveway.
I have Jerusalem Artichokes. High in proteins Vitamins A,D,B-12 and potassium.
Asparagus is good for potassium, vitamin A, calcium and fiber
h
Pokeweed...lots of healing qualities and taste like spinach
French Sorrel is great for Vitamin A, potassium, calcium and fiber.
I also maintain an area of chickweed which is good for Vitamin C, copper and magnesium. no picture
I also cultivate a large area of Plantain...this plant is off the chart when it comes to nutritional benefits. no picture
Having these perennials gives me somewhat of a comforting feeling knowing that each year, in the worst of times, food will be available with the least amount of effort. I'm a homesteader not a survivalist. However in these time with earthquakes in Virginia, the pandemic worldwide and rioting in most of out major cities, the difference between the homesteader and survivalist could transition over in a heart beat.
Cobra 6
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I planted some of those Jerusalem artichokes several years ago. They aren't too bad raw or in a stir fry like water chestnuts. But as a side dish on their own I am not that fond of them. Plus, they have turned into an invasive species trying to take over a portion of my strawberry patch. They have hard to get rid of.
I had a 7 horsepower Craftsman tiller for years. It sure looked like the Troybilt Pony model just painted a differant color. I bought a new one several years ago and went with th 7 horsepower again,( I got a floor model at a good price.) I sure wish I'd gone down in size though.I'm getting too old to manhandle a big machine like this.
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Got one of those Craftsmans myself I have had for years, good machines.
Just gettingfinished planting here, our last killing frost was less than a week ago. Knocked the heck out of my grape vines that had already bud broke. Don't imagine it did the apples any good either.
Just gettingfinished planting here, our last killing frost was less than a week ago. Knocked the heck out of my grape vines that had already bud broke. Don't imagine it did the apples any good either.
Sounds normal to me. Have never tried hostas, what do they taste like ?
Odd some of you mention killing frost and down here in South Texas it's already getting almost too hot to grow anything but weeds and cactus. We have a few weeks left, it's had been a good year for tomatos and bell peppers, so far.
When eaten raw there is a slight slim to them somewhat like Okra. However, when cooked they taste much like spinach. In addition to my perennials mentioned above, I have started patches of Ditch Lilies and Caucasian Spinach. I recently purchased nine fern fiddle heads and in time will be another viable perennial requiring little time invested for produce return.
Cobra 6
My 3 kinds of tomatoes and peppers are doing very well.
Each year down here in San Antonio, Texas they have a Rodeo in Feburary. Texas A + M college, along with the junior Master gardeners and 4H program, puts out a variety of tomato known as the "Rodeo Tomato". This year the Rodeo tomato was the Red Snapper. For you heirloom tomato planters this one greatly resembles a Brandywine in looks, size and taste. I don't really prefer new hybrids, the heirlooms are my first choice.But this one isn't bad if you like the large beefsteak variety.
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Plus this years variety was a determinate. I much prefer the indeterminate tomatos.
