Mulch

Mulch was the only task completed today i.e. the only task that related to Home Hill Farm.

After spending 2 hours setting up feed strips for weaners and then new mums and calves, and moving irrigation equipment it was a quick trip home to wolf down breakfast.

Then off to the next door neighbours to borrow a set of disc harrows for the boss to be trialled over the river next weekend. Collecting something from a neighbour is not a 5 minute task as there are social implications such as a long chat about numerous topics. One of which included how a couple of years ago he had been going away for a few days and gave his cows and calves a much larger strip of Ryegrass resulting in a dead cow  and some very sick ones. So it seems everyone falls into that trap of feeding off too much nitrogen at least once.

The disc harrows needed to be checked out by the local machinery repair person which involved once more a long chat about numerous topics. One topic was the vehicle being driven to collect the disc harrows. We had swapped vehicles with the boss as his Landcruiser had a much larger tray than the farm's Colorado. If you try to ignore the fact that the Landcruiser has a V8 diesel the comparison is all in favour of the Landcruiser. Even though it is the basic model with vinyl interior, manual wind down windows and no arm rests and the cup holder is an after thought it is a miracle of engineering to drive. The gear stick clicks into each gear with a firm precision, the ride is comfortable, the high cabin allows wonderful vision when manoeuvring in a tight spot. and a heavy load makes no difference to stability. Who needs 5 forward gears, with the power of the V8 any mistake in gear selection is compensated for by the V8 power. But then you do have to watch the fuel gauge needle moving rapidly towards the 'E' symbol. That is probably why it has two fuel tanks. Still as a heavy duty work horse it has no competitors. The Colarado on the other hand is someone's poor first attempt at building a 4WD work vehicle. It has one redeeming feature, 4WD can be engaged with the push of a button. After that it is all down hill.

The end result after careful examination of the disc harrows was that they were in good order and no greasing, repairs or adjustments would be required before use. Not bad for a piece of equipment that had been in storage for a decade.

Having lost most of the day the rest went quickly with whipper snipping Fireweed, harrowing and moving irrigation equipment.

Finally reached home to find Jean had been more productive and had weeded a goodly amount of the vegetable garden and watered numerous pots in addition to feeding and weeding young trees. To feel as if some forward progress was made I mulched a bale of Lucerne to use as mulch on the newly weeded shallots and onions.

Lucerne



Finely shredded Lucerne, ideal as a mulch for more delicate plants