rotovators

[tim]

- resurrecting the August theme -

does anyone think that, at my age, I could have done this in 25min with fork or spade?

Sorry you can't see the 4.5hp Wolseley Major at the far end. - Tim


 

[tim]

[Mrs Ava]

Looks good Tim, and no way could you have done that in just 25 minutes, not unless you have been on some 'special' tablets!  ;D  
There are a couple of chaps on our site that use rotovators, but they have been running their plots for years, so all of the horrid perrenial weeds are history.  I wouldn't want to do that on mine at the moment as I am still digging out couch grass roots, some are 3 foot long!  :o  Think how many cuttings a rotovator would make out of that!
oooooooo...and it looks like you have great soil!  I am thinking of making cobble paths and a dry stone wall around mine with all the stones I turn up!

[tim]

they do say that you can knock couch by never letting it get to more than 4". Certainly, our previously couchy plot has succumbed to the machine.

Whatever - here's an example of dig and rotovate! - Tim



OK - I've reinstated the photo!

[Hugh_Jones]

My! There ain`t `alf some wobbly footprints in the second one tim.

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

Yo Tim

Looking at your house in the background... I noticed that there are no windows... aNy chance of getting sum put in so I can have a nosey inside? ::)

At your age?  what age is that Tim?

I think what you did in 25mins is brilliant at any age.... nice tilth...

cHeErS

oZzY %)

[tim]

- tilth death us do part? Even with the machine, it's still a labour of love! No wonder one wobbles (staggers) a bit? Look at the stuff it has to break up - and without rain, it's all rock hard.

Age OZ? - you only have to check in 'Profiles' - ssshhhh!

Windows? - that's the barn - where all the machinery and God knows what gets put - and 100s of feet of moulding for my picture framing business. No, the house does have windows, too many, as we know by the cleaner's bill yesterday! - Tim

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

Yo Tim

Just checked yer profile, are you sure it was 25 mins Tim and not 25 days ::) only joshing... I know the Cotswolds having worked there, Birdlip, Cranham and Painswick and not forgeting Cheltenham, giddy up, in fact I think I better forget Cheltenham
always lost money there...

Funny really as I was surprised that Stephan is only 50, and I almost went to the foot of the stairs when I read how old you are.

Wish I could afford a window cleaner :)

cHeErS

oZzY %)

[Hugh_Jones]

Don`t lose heart Oz.  Keep saving your pennies, and by the time you`re Tim`s age (thanks to old Gordon B`s kind heartedness to pensioners) you`ll be able to afford your own window cleaner - just - but probably not much else.

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

Yo Hugh

Saving me pennies???? Here  iz, on a Friday night with a cup of horlicks and sum digestive bickies :( :(  Cant afford to go out this week as I have to save up fo my niece's engagement party next month... whats Gordon Banks got to do with the price of fish? ::) Can remember yonks ago when tha mad bat Thatcher wuz in and she scrapped the wages council, was forced to take a job in a sweatshop for £2.50 an HOUR....B'Strds... at least those days have gone, and like the tories I hope they never return...  hey up political babble alert...

cHeErS

Comrade oZzY %)

[tim]

Poor Oz - have you got a Christmas Box that I can contribute to? - Tim

[ina]

Great show Tim, thanks. -Ina

[Hugh_Jones]

Tim, don`t take any notice of Oz. I think he`s really Professor of Modern Languages at the University of Wales.

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

 (color=Black)Yo Tim

The mice even refuse to live in my house cuz I iz so poor...I can hear that peep again on his violin he iz.... ang on I'll get me guitar out...

Dwaaaaaang Dwaaaaaaaaang dwang

dwang dwang dwang twnaaaaaaaang

twingy twangy twang twang

Twingy Twangy twang Twing,

Thats me busking over with cuz I cant afford the leccy to power my amplifier ::)

I'm on the red pop now 4 x 2l bottles for 98p in asda if anyones buying :) :) :)


cHEeRs

oZzY %)

[Ceri]

to make the red pop even better value, if it comes in clear plastic bottles keep them, cut them in half - you have instant baby cloches

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

(color=rocky gold) Yo Ceri

I used Stronbow 2l+50% free bottles for plant protection earlier this year, asda Soider  whilst being very yummy is sold in Brown plastic bottles, so for the sake of me veg it had to be Strongbow. ::)

Are you going to rotavate in the spring? I iz, cuz its a real time saver as Tim has so kindly shared with us and the fact that he has too many windows and a very rich window cleaner:) :) :)

Can remeber whe I first got me plot and the hoo=ing and harr-ing about rotavating, but Tim has sold the benefits to me.. 25 mins iz all Tim took, youd think with all that spare time he would clean his own blinking blonking windows :) ::)

cHeErS

oZzY %)

[Ceri]

Hi Ozzy - my soil is sooooo soft I can dig down four foot and its still friable - its like digging in oatmeal so no I don't think I'm going to need to rotivate!  (I can hear the groans now!)  If completely cleared one patch and put onions in.  The rest I've hoed and covered in black plastic.  I'm in the process of uncovering and bean trenching the first 6 foot.

I think that the years of digging the soil  to get it to this state may have not done it much good.  Its so soft I'm concerned it won't hold nutrients/water particularly well after reading stuff about overdigging here.  I think I'll be better off throwing lots of organic matter on, forking it in and just planting.  Has your course got to soil management yet - esp overworked soil?  If so you can advise if this is a good route.  Cheers

[tim]

4'? No Roman remains yet? And what do you do when you get there? - Tim

[Ceri]

I started so I finished??  Actually, I probably could have gone further but hey, life is too sort.  I shouldn't moan when other people have such solid soil - but how much nutrients could the soil have with no clay etc. bits underneath the topsoil??  Been great for the bean trenches - not sure about swedes and caulis which I understand need firm soil?

[Hugh_Jones]

If you`ve got 4 ft of soft soil in your lottie Cerig then you won`t need to do much digging in the future.  If you think it`s been overworked in the past dig in as much old newspaper as you can - keep it at the bottom of the spit if possible - with as much organic matter as you can lay hands on above it. Don`t worry about your organic stuff being properly rotted; at this time of the year (especially with light soils) it`s perfectly permissible to dig in half rotted stuff.  In future years don`t dig, but dump all your compost/manure on the surface and cover it with black polythene, and it will all work into the groiund by spring.  You can do exactly the same thing with green manure such as mustard, comfrey (chop it down and leavce it lying on the soil) or other `soft` green manures, as well as all soft weeds. Then stick to just surface cultivation of the top 2 or 3 inches.

This applies just as well to your runner bean trench once you have dug it and filled it with all the stuff mentioned on these boards.

You`re quite right about the brassicas though - they won`t do much good on soft soil - cabbages and caulies stay small(ish) and brussels have very loose sprouts.

[Ozzy_aka_Pothead]

Yo ceri

whooo hooooooo a chance for me to show you what I think I have learnt.?

No clay? hmmmmmmmm let me think... ......... in my own professional ::) opinion, no clay means tha your soil is going to be a HUNGRY soil, this means that you iz going to have to feed it lots... the Brithish standard for soil is 5% or more organic matter, Does the soil seem to hold water? if it is free draining then you has a sandy soil, and digging down 4ft. leads me to ask.. do they do donkey rides, and sell Icecreams on your site/beach? :)

If its a sandy soil, then it will also be an "early" soil, which eans it will warm up quicker in spring, but it can also be prone to drought,....

Thats te vast extent of my knowledge so far, I know its no good trying to "improve" texture by adding(in your case) clay, cuz its the sheer volume involved that wouldn't make it practical....

Maybe if yo go out late at night... you can have a little dig on the other plots and see if it is common?

I now know why I got my plot so quickly... blinking blonking stones blink, digging is areal chore and next year the are building a road through/ well dead near like, the site...  I iz thinking of jacking this plot in and putting my name down on the other sites where there is a
waiting list.... but I will probably keep this one until the other comes along, but the motivation to do a "good" job just aint there... shame about the road, cuz its dead peaceful there at the moment, can even hear the river sometimes, absolutely CRIMINAL it is, loadsand loads of wildlife is going to disappear, that feeling that you get when everything is growing/living and realising the very small part you play, is going to be destroyed cuz pappa wants a brand new road... hey up
environmental babble

cHeErS

oZzY %) (thats why I havent dun me rugby repor, feeling a bit gutted and angry and gutted.. where me leaonard cohen?.... I remmeber you well, in that Chelsea hotel... babbling again... tip? just hit post Oz... k :):):):):)