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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 8/16/2007 10:53:35 AM
Posts: 9,
Visits: 16
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I'm looking to start a small farm in the next few years. About 1-1.5 acres in veggies and flowers. What is the most essential equipment I should invest in? I'd like to purchase items that are multi-purpose so I get the most bang for my buck and economize on storage space.
http://apartmentfarm.wordpress.com
http://shadetreestudios.etsy.com
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/2/2008 6:42:59 AM
Posts: 38,
Visits: 65
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| Hi! I like your way of thinking! I saw this in an article ... "Tools of the Organic Trade." Here's an excerpt: Once when I was a young gardener, I took a test for a job at a botanical garden. As part of the test, the nervous job candidates were walked into an enormous equipment barn and asked to name various garden tools that the examiner pointed out and say what they would be used for. We saw right away that we had many different names for the same tool and that even if we didn’t know exactly what a tool was for, its shape gave enough clues that we could make a pretty good guess.
... she continues Each of the main gardening tasks—digging, cutting, cultivating, carrying loads and watering—has several tools for different aspects and scales of the job. Which tools you should add to your garden shop depends on which jobs you need to do. Someone who works frequently with trees will need loppers, a folding saw and probably a pole pruner; the vegetable gardener will have more use for a hoe; someone who needs to plant large numbers of bulbs would be lost without a trowel. Most likely you won’t need more than the most basic tools to be outfitted for the tasks of the garden.
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 4/6/2008 3:45:55 PM
Posts: 9,
Visits: 68
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| I would say that first, you need to decide what you are going to raise and how you are going to raise it. Single rows, wide rows, closely spaced single rows? Beds? Permanent, raised, annual? Mulch? Plastic, paper, other organic? Laid how? Any trellising? Will you be cover cropping or green manuring? Using animal manures? Making compost? In piles, trenches, or sheet composting? Spreading fertilizer? For that much area, I would imagine you'll be needing mechanical help. ATV? Tractor? What size? What attachments will you need to accommodate how you plan to raise things? Mini tiller? Hand tools! Besides all the obvious, what about a wheeled seeder and a wheeled cultivator? Flame weeder? What is your plan to market your vegetables and flowers? If you are going to sell at a farmers' market, you'll need to contact the manager to get all their info. You might have to check with the local or state sanitarian for their rules -- for example, we can sell raw vegetables, but once they're "processed" by being cut or even sometimes washed (greens), rules and regulations kick in. And some things sell better than others, depending on the season and the seller. Just some things to think about. All the best to you!
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