Ted Moldovan

Not sure how far or what all was added after first page. Short on time, need to get to work.

Sea Shells ground up like something we use like ostler shells

Some types of beer work better then others.

Vinegar

AG lime to dust

Burn wood ash. Don't let get wet.


All I can think of got to run.

Teddy

Josh Hawkins wrote:
And another question dealing with plowing:
If I need to pay someone to plow a 1/2 acre of easy access land, what are some expected ballpark figures or going rates. How much time should plowing a 1/2 acre of cow manure fertilized (if cow manure influences the level of difficulty of plowing or not) clay like soil on flat land take?

Thanks for the information everyone! First time using permies!

HI Josh

If the farmer is close. To mold board plow 1/2 acre, 6-8 " deep . Time is where the cost is, travel and getting hitched up plows ready. So it only going to take the farmer maybe an hour to plow, but maybe 2 hours to get ready to plow. Disking and harrowing will maybe be easier.

I would if I was plowing already ( hitched and plowing somewhere else) charge $50.00 to plow $50.00 to disk, you would have to be there to remove junk, rocks, if blackberries and small trees help unclog plows. Plus travel time and hauling. Time to plow 1/2 hour to an hour. Disking 1/2 hour. 75 horse tractor and 4 bottoms, 10 foot disk.

Larger jobs I charge per acre. $23.00 to plow. Disking first time $15.00 and second $10.00. Sometimes ground needs to dry up to finish disking. I no longer remove stones, roots, steel, blocks, wire, posts, tires and any other junk, owner (renter) has to be there. Every time I come off the tractor to move, unplug junk, Cost goes up. Cost will go down if you were planing on helping us, trade of labor for plowing, we do allot of small square bales. That cost would be gas money, plus a little for W&T (wear and tear).

Cost would go up if any apply. A wet field. Hard pan like a driveway. Huge amount of trash on or blow ground, trash would be roots and plant matter that will not plow down.

Normal is about 2.5 to 3 acres and hour to plow. There are many things that can change that. Disking is about 5 Mph and 10 ft. double so average 3 acres here. Finish disking is one pass. Harrowing I don't do too often any more.

Teddy

Only trouble with fresh manure is it getting on to the produce.

Now how long you need to be able to sell produce? Age of manure?

We used tea from manure for years, never hurt us. But if someone
that is not use to it or get raw manure on the food it can make them
sick.

How clean are the cattle are they caring any thing you don't want ??

Never used any of the newer costly mauls or axes most have talked about so a little old school here.
Sure are some sweet looking new toys. Like the video on the hammer mill, thanks for sharing.


Here (western PA ) with our hard woods we use a 8 lbs head with Fiberglass handle. Fiberglass for durability.
Love the feel of wood but helpers are all too hard on the wooden handles. Anything over 16 " or so in diameter
is just a little much for a 6 lbs maul head.

Have 4; 8 lbs maul heads and one is better then the rest. It is a cheap Japan made head,
looks the same as other all the other maul heads, almost same length and shape.

Have 3; 6 lbs heads for smaller sizes.

Take a 8 lbs sledge and few wedges with us. Maybe a sharp double headed axe and hatchet. Just in case.


If splitting wood by hand is an art, splitting locust posts is the craftsman end of it. You have to learn the wood is made different.
Grains and knocks are killers and can stop you cold in your tracks or destroy your post. A wind checked log needs a hydraulic
splitter, just not worth the trouble. Seen a 18" 20' cherry log take two of us 1.25 hours to split, for two rows across a truck bed. It was free and easy
to get to but we had to pass on that stand, just too hard to split. One other time, two of us took 2 hours for a Red Oak log 24" 14' to split, by far the hardest log
I've ever split, never again.

Which way does a tree grow? Trees are made to take weight down. So 80 percent of the time hit the root end. If you image an arrow pointing in the
direction of the sky, think about it that way. Your tool will want to bounce off the the pointy arrow. Hit the back of the arrow and it will split easier. That said it
not the case at stump bulge, these are best for making splitting base. Branches is a rough area to split, some just will not, and need to be cut or use hydraulics.
If you look at a log. Look for knots and straighter grains, start with the straight grain ends the pieces split easier. Looking mostly knots, burris (sp) or other items,
like cables, wire and bolts, even cement all are items to looks for. Here we get wood from town time to time but allot from field edges and fence rows, never
know what you'll find.

Splitting base which should only be around 8-10 " high not 16-24" most are too high and you losing the strongest part of your swing, end of you swing. Place
base on hard ground, use the driveway, road, I've even use a hard wood hay wagon many times. As you set a log up look for natural checking (splitting) follow the
natural way the wood is going, starting there. On larger pieces diameter 24-32" maybe start on an edge, knock off about 3-6 " and go around working to center,
then you end up with some nice pieces for making kindling. Or we fire up a chainsaw and cut in half, do not long for a 85 cc saw.

Post splitting is a art an I'm better at showing then typing it all out. Here's where wedges, craftsmen grade axes, hatchets and a good light chain saw come
into play. The largest I ever split was a 22-28 " diameter log sum 22' long to make a grape arbor. Finished the grape arbor was 20' by 18' and allot of work. Should
last some 25-30 years all split Black Locust grade 1 and 2 not any soft of green wood use all debarked, set in dry ground, and hand set, not cement in.

Wood I will not split, American Elm, or trees that are wind checked. Couple of others I know not the name of them, thought one was a nut like butter nut but I'm not sure.
We don't burn any pine or spruce here. Oak (red and white), Cherry, Maple (hard and soft), Hickory, Locust, Nuts trees, Sassafras, Birch, Beech and fruit trees. Few other
types to.

Yep have to listen to what was already said. Corn and weeds grass don't mix well.

On a longer day corn you can maybe plant in sod and mulch as it grows. Place fertilizer ( compost ) manure in rows under ground and cover with heavy mulch.

Would say if you can get it to 8-10 inches high and water as needed after mulching. It is going to need nitrogen and allot at 2' tall.

We always plowed and planted corn, any heavy weeds always set it back or worse. Planted and cultivated , hoe and mulch if not tall enough.
Weeds to heavy turns 7 inch ears to 4 inch ears or no ears at all.

Hi Brandon Most of you question was answered by Marco, I would just add:

Not sure of your location(s)? We are having a very cold spell here, In North East. Going to slow everything down.

For most fertilizers it takes about two weeks for a return. The liquid fish should do the job. Better to have too little then too much.
Keep off plant place around the outside edge let the plant go after the fertilizer is always a good idea. That said don't place it too far away.