Best Farm Truck

Maintaining Cleared Fields If the trees you're cutting are several feet tall, it can be helpful to work from the mature trees outward, since the young trees will be leaning away from the large trees and won't have as many branches on that side, making...

It has allelopathic effect on weeds and other grasses, so do not plant it where you will be growing corn. It will smell like manure. It excels at capturing nitrogen and provides added benefit when used in conjunction with rye.

One of my routine farming projects is my ongoing quest to keep young trees from invading my fields. However, mowers like these are unable to do the job as cleanly as a smaller mower, and with that much power, you want to avoid any rocks or stumps that...

If it is pelletized or treated with anything that does not meet National Organic Program standards, it can cost you certification in the fields where it was used for three years. I keep a running journal on my computer and update it at the same time every...

Carbon monoxide is a silent killer that can strike when you run any generator inside without adequate ventilation. It could save your life and the lives of others. Often inverter generators, which convert the power to DC and back to AC, produce a cleaner...

Using your brain to discern what to wear and when could be called common sense, but it's not as common as it used to be. Here's the list of gear I try to make sure I have: Gloves: maybe two pair, in case we work on something heavy duty that would tear...

When I began studying permaculture, I envisioned a massive landscaping effort like Dan Halsey carried out. All these flowering plants near my apple trees attract beneficial bees, wasps and other predator insects throughout the growing season.

The farmer places the tines into the soil, steps on the bar, and uses the handles to rock back and forth, gently breaking up compaction along the soil's strata. Replacing mechanized equipment with these human-powered tools reduces your fossil-fuel use...

Here are five reasons why everyone needs a staple gun. It's arguably easier to use than a household stapler. It's Lightweight And Portable Because it's small and lightweight, you can easily toss this item into a tool box and carry it to whatever project...

For now, they're fine as is. I have yet to install the tools. << More Shop Talk >> Tags Jim Ruen , tools I secured 24-inch-long, 3/4- by 1-inch pieces of trim from a recent oak-flooring installation as bumpers to the ends of the four panels.

Many of them offer in-depth information on the products they carry. Personally, this is how I intend to find my anvil. If it's the craftsman tool you seek, visit the wide variety of companies online.

“Put a 25-gallon spray tank on the backend of an ATV or a 110-gallon tank on the back of a small acreage tractor without proper counterweights, and you can quickly lose control of steering,” Hammond warns.

Of all the tools and machines that farmers have to be thankful for, tractors should probably be at the top of the list. In addition to serving a key role in baling hay (carrying around a hundred bales at a time from the fields to your barn), hay wagons...

Gloves You'll definitely want to wear a pair of tough gloves when trimming trees, as they help protect your hands from blisters, scratches and cuts. They're easy to maneuver into cramped spaces and can easily cut through branches more than an inch thick,...

I would dearly love to have one of his saws, but at $250 give or take a sawbuck or two, I have a hard time justifying it if I look at my recent use pattern. That said, I have a building permit for a small cabin this spring.

As an example, I recently got creative with an apple picker. Believe it or not, I'm using it for snow removal. Thanks to a heavy snowfall a few days prior, a lot of snow inhabited the roof above the door, to the point that it was hanging over the edge...

Or at least it seems that way, as I'm sure many hobby farmers can attest. It doesn't look like much at first glance (to be honest, it looks like a rusty piece of junk) but as it turns out, this item is an old-fashioned measuring wheel—and a big one...

My collection of such tools is extensive, and most of the tools are in constant use throughout the year. The difference? The wires are thick—they're multiple wires twisted together—and I wouldn't dare try to cut through them with wire cutters.

I was totally inhibited by this tool. I am a rough-cut tool guy, not a fine-cabinet maker or post-and-beam builder! I nail and screw and glue things together . I know I will buy other new tools, like the sabre saw I recently picked up, but they will be...

I always do my best to prepare the way for safe felling . Knowing calves would quickly discover the gap, I decided to cut a 40- to 50-foot cedar, strip the branches and place a section of trunk as a barrier.

A unit that is 4 feet wide will aerate 33 percent more soil on each pass than a unit measuring 3 feet wide, which can add up to significant time savings for large lawns. This can be necessary if the soil in your lawn has too much thatch (dried plant remains)...

However, Massey Ferguson's 1835 baler and Hesston's Model 4550 are built in a straight-line design that moves hay in a straight path from the windrow to the bale chute, thus preserving nutritious leaves that might otherwise be lost in the baling process.

The action of locking them generates extraordinary strength; I once repaired the bent latch on a mailbox by grabbing on with locking pliers and simply squeezing the metal latch back into place, a task I couldn't have begun to accomplish with ordinary...

For a klutz like me, it means the motor stops when I release my grip. << More Shop Talk >> Tags angle grinder , Jim Ruen , tool shopping , tools , torque It is easy to get into trouble if a cutting or grinding wheel gets into the wrong position, digs...

Snow shovels are also useful for removing the broken chunks of ice once the chipping process is complete. Because digging bars are very heavy, their shortcomings (such as their narrow pointed ends) are overcome to some extent by their simple ability to...

Be sure to keep the bottom of your sled free of snow and ice so that it remains easy to use. Do you have any sled tips to share? As counterintuitive as it might seem (why would snow on the bottom of the sled be an issue?), the frozen snow can cause your...

I have a couple of digging bars and have found them to be well-suited to a variety of jobs. As you can see, digging bars can be used for a lot more than just digging. Other common names for digging bars are “pinch point bar,” “tamper bar” and...