Wendalane Farms » Equipment

Mower Fixing

Bob — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:19:21 +0000

Digital cameras have other uses beyond taking pictures for others to see. Sometimes they can be used as a great visual reminder of how to put a piece of equipment back together. Here we’re taking pictures of the mower deck before removing it to sharpen clean it, sharpen the blades, and put a new belt on. Once we’ve completed all the work we’ll be able to reference the pictures to see what do hickey goes in which spot.

Trays and Trays

Bob — Sat, 02 May 2009 01:15:42 +0000

We go through a ton of plug trays, seemingly an endless amount. It seems that whenever a few more trays of baby plants go in the ground a bunch more go from the light racks to the greenhouse. All in a days work. Eventually by the end of June the plug trays are all planted out, and we just direct seed from there.

Wheel Hoe

Bob — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:11:04 +0000

The new wheel hoe arrived the other day and it’s all put together. We’ve grown to a size where we need to “move up a level” in terms of the equipment we use for various tasks. On the weeding front we hope the wheel hoe will help speed up the labour intensive task of keeping weeds to a minimum. During the test run we were impressed. We’ll see how it handles things this summer.

Temperature Rising

Bob — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:00:41 +0000

Tonight is the test run of the greenhouse. The furnace seems to be running great after we put on a new thermostat and removed the dead bird from the fire chamber. Apparently the bird got in through the chimney and died in there. We’ll put some chicken wire over the chimney tomorrow to prevent more of that. The above picture shows the fan control thermostat (for if it gets to hot), and just a regular thermostat.

Hoop It Up

Bob — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:18:26 +0000

The greenhouse is ready. Tomorrow night we’ll fire up the furnace for a test run to make sure it’s in shape to keep things warm at night. During the day the sun will get the temperature up to 25C or more and the exhaust fan will kick in. At night the furnace just needs to keep things a bit above freezing and we’re happy. Wednesday the transplanting will begin!

Seagulls and Spring Plowing

Bob — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:03:10 +0000

On the other side of the shed is the non-flower part of our farm. Last fall things got so busy that a small piece of ground didn’t get plowed. Conditions were pretty good Saturday morning so the last of the wheat stubble was plowed under. Seagulls must have amazing hearing. It only took about an hour for this group to show up and follow the plow. I always wonder where they come from.

Bubble Bubble

Bob — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:33:54 +0000

Our windmill isn’t just for good looks. As it turns it pumps air into our pond. This is supposed to keep the oxygen levels up in the pond, and create a better source of water for plants and animals. Even though the river is close by we’ve always pumped out of the pond because we have better control over the quality of water we get.

Blowing in the Wind

Bob — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:58:08 +0000

We always put a fan on our plug trays for a number of reasons. We feel that it reduces the amount of mold or mildew that can grow when conditions are too wet. It also allows the plants to blow in the wind, which we hope simulates the great outdoors a little more and produces healthier stronger stems.

Light Racks

Bob — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:10:54 +0000

A number of years ago we built these light racks to start seeds in February. They spend most of their time in the garage, but we move them in around this time of year to get an early start on our growing season. This year we’re trying a new spot in the back room of our house instead of the kitchen. Once all the racks are in and seeded we’ll almost need to wear sunglasses in this room.