Small Square Bale Handling Equipment

The idea is to build a good planting medium. If you have poor soil, you can spread out the old bale remains, place new bales on top of them the following year, and eventually you will have some very good soil full of earthworms.

Bedding plants can be packed into the sides of a wire basket to produce a cascade of color all summer. Swedish Ivy likes low light, so could be paired up with the neon hues of orange or dark pink Impatiens for that shady corner of the porch or deck, or...

For indoor growing, you should choose a smaller variety such as dwarf French marigolds, which are smaller than 12 inches fully grown.You can plant marigold seeds in shallow seed trays to begin with, and move the plants to pots or planters once they've...

Hand Tools Daniel Johnson Every farm needs a variety of hand tools such as locking pliers . Composter iStock/Thinkstock I love composting. How could anybody not compost? Shutterstock Before we bought our indispensable pickup, we bought an old Chevy Blazer.

Tap water can be used for most plants unless water quality in a problem in your area. Though tap water often contains small amounts of chlorine for decontamination, it is not a sufficient amount to injure most plants.

John Deere's Frontier No-Till Grain Drill BD1307 is a perfect size for hobby-farm agricultural applications. The company's Model 2148 Till-Ease Cultipacker features agricultural-quality, 9.5-inch, cast-iron packer wheels; large, greasable bearings; and...

A trellis can be purchased from a garden store or homemade from sticks if you want to be more creative.Carefully tie the vine to the trellis using jute or string. Be sure the vine is tied to the trellis in a pleasing shape.

These fruits are enjoyed fresh, used for jams and jellies or canned. Those who want a fruit with a tangy flavor usually prefer yellow nectarines.Nectarine trees come in a variety of sizes.

This time the bit of ground that was due to be cleared contained a healthy grove of mature, ever-flowering, pink. The bed we make today may be torn apart in favor of something new on the morrow.

Put them under cover if you can. They were stored too close together, and she got caught and suffocated. Allow at least 1 foot of air space between bales. Here are some things you should know: Buy fresh-smelling, mold- and dust-free hay appropriate to...

The green leaves are heart-shaped with streaks of yellow. One cultivar, Marble Queen, has white leaves streaked with yellow or green. The pleasant fragrance emanates from the foliage, making geraniums a good choice for winter homes.

Match them with flowers of a different texture or height, perhaps upright snapdragons, also with a wide range of colors and short, medium or tall varieties. Delicate lobelia comes in white and several shades of true blue and will fill in gaps between...

The leaves are slightly curved, slim and 2 to 4 inches long. The foliage is blue-green turning to gold in fall when it drops and leaves a quirky skeleton through winter. The silvery catkins appear in spring and last well into summer.Salix Kilmarnock requires...

Tulips look best in a wide, shallow pot, roughly 4 to 6 inches deep; the pot must be deep enough to allow a minimum of 2 inches below the bottom of the bulbs for root development. Tulips (Tulipa spp.) are springtime plants that produce vibrantly colored...

As time allows, I'm going to use the suggestions I found to add some fragrance near the windows, and add plantings that will make the front door a focal point. Never before had I planned a garden that would be less than 12 inches deep, but close to 20...

(A shackle is the bowed top part of a padlock.) Heavy-duty, keyed padlocks with hardened shackles and five or more pin tumblers are difficult to cut through and to pick. • Walk your yard with a critical eye, searching for places burglars might gain...

Oaks and other large trees can be espalieredin a free-standing fashion, using a framework of metal or bamboo.An entire row of these two-dimensional trees may occupy a small strip bed along a sidewalk, defining a front yard and perhaps screening off unwelcome...

Hive stand: This improves air circulation by elevating the hive. Smoker: This implement produces a cool smoke that settles the bees by causing them to gorge on honey. Here's a list of equipment you'll need to get started with beekeeping.

Similar measurements work for other animals. Bales act as an easy-to-find food source for animals when there is not enough grazing material available.Hay bales are sometimes used merely for decoration.

Load-bearing construction, more often challenged by zoning and commercial codes, means that the roof and windows are supported by the straw-bale walls. Drawing inspiration from their hobby farm, each book captures a slice of their journey to live and...

Straw bale garden instructions direct you to water bales well for three to four weeks before using this method.Locate the bales in their permanent area. Water in well.Make sure bales stay damp.

Expected Price: New seed-drill equipment appropriate for small-farm use starts around $700. You know you're a farmer when the thought of spending a sunny December Saturday afternoon at an auction for farm equipment sounds like a good time.

Specialized attachments, like loaders, augers, or rear- or front-mount implements, require minimal levels of hydraulic power and horsepower. While the size of the acreage to be worked is an important consideration in picking a power source, it's only...

Water deeply.Cover the bale with a 3- to 5-inch layer of a mixture of half commercial potting soil and half compost when you are ready to plant. On the "off" days, water the bale deeply but do not add fertilizer.

If weeds or grasses begin to grow from the bales, simply trim them to keep them short.Remove all the blossoms from the strawberry plants for the first few months after planting in order to encourage the plants to build up a food reserve.

Our fences also have to help protect us from predators , including free-roaming dogs. Some people keep Angora-goat wethers because they aren't stressed by breeding and they tend to grow nice fiber all their lives.

No farming pursuit is worth someone having a heat-related issue, so be careful, use good judgment—and bale on cooler days if possible. Only so many bales can be produced per hour, and even when they're off the fields, they still need to be stored in...