Homesteading and Hobby Farm/Ranch

lurkingdirk said:

Did a quick fish in my pond today. Pulled a few things out, I stocked it with bluegill, crappie, and perch. By next summer they will be big enough to eat. I can't wait to be able to fish on my own property and get enough to have an evenings fish fry. The pond is just over an acre and averages 10 feet deep. I have six solar fountains that I put in, and each of them draws water from about 250 feet away, so there is good water movement. It's clear to the bottom. It's far enough into my property and surrounded by trees that no one knows it's there, which is how I like it. Once the panfish are well established I hope to introduce either large mouth bass or walleye. Can't do both, it's not big enough. I have a 50 foot dock that goes out into the pond which is great for fishing, but I also have a little boat to go out if I want to. Every one of my kids loves fishing (essentially spending time together), but they also love eating it. I'm so glad I took the time to dig this. I was worried it would dry up in drought seasons, but once it filled up the water level hasn't dipped virtually at all.

I'm actually considering digging another pond to use for irrigation. My fruit and vegetable farming continues to grow, and my wells aren't going to be sufficient soon. I'm also considering planting about 3 acres of grapes to make my own wine. I'd have to clear forest, and it's all hardwood, but I'd be set for lumber and firewood for a long time. The soil is perfect, and the climate is about right, so next year's major grounds project might be to get the land prepared to plant vines in 2024.

The one thing that I'm worried about is this all getting beyond me. While I'm committed to producing food for us, and we're doing really well with that, I tend to go big. It might get to a point where I have to hire someone(s) to maintain stuff. Keeping weeds down, trimming vines, trimming fruit trees, blah blah blah. I'm still working on my house, too. I have a bunch of cabinetry to be making, and two bathrooms to redo. I don't want staff, but it might be inevitable with the trajectory I'm on.

What do you guys think? Worth it to have a "farm hand" to help with animals and food production?

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Blazin said:

We do burns all the time. Right now it's too dry. I usually start a burn early in the AM on a day I know it's going to rain once it gets going rain makes no difference but I can leave it without worrying about it. Last one we did, had stumps burning days later still glowing inside. We have some monstrous piles again for whenever this dry spell breaks.

Part of new Road, connecting upper fields with lower field
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2 days after fire:
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I have a grapple on tractor I use to just pull brush out into burn area in field
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I continue to try to make sure all the groundhogs on the property receive their 22lr vaccine injection.
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Sludig said:

My question would be, is it some kind of quick easy hook up point I can get plumbed, because I dont think I"d want to leave the generator sitting around. Not sure if it's a basic plug to then hook into a transfer switch, and then I'd be worried about whether it works such that it's not going to fuck up my tv's etc. (I'd turn everything off, but some things like to auto on if not shut down and suddenly get power back)

I hate electricity, so I also dont know how to compare the watts of portable gen's with the permanant ones being in KWH. They were trying to say 20k would be about maxed out on my space etc though I think that's not being fair to how much I wouldn't be using as I intended it for not freezing than trying to run comforts.

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lurkingdirk said:

Yeah, just get someone to put the transfer plug in, and you'll be able to roll a portable generator right out to that spot and plug it in. If you're not using it, you can store it wherever

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Palum said:

Are you just mowing or do you plan on towing a dump cart, aerator, spreader, etc.? Do you have any thicker brush or lawn you mow that you need the power to cut through? Are you planning on mulching only or bagging? These things dictate certain hp and therefore size questions.

I would either get the cheapest big box special (sub 2k), or go to a power equipment store and go to the quality tier (2500-3500) that has things like a welded deck, more go to chop through more grass at speed, etc.

The green tax is rarely worth it IMO, you can sometimes find ok deals but I went with Cub Cadet. MTD makes decent stuff at the right price tier, but they are not available at big box stores you have to go to a PE dealer.

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Blazin said:

Also keep in mind that in the low end lawn tractor segment most of the machines are assembled from a complete menagerie of parts and there are just a few different engines that are you used.

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Blazin said:

For that small I would just get a cub cadet 48" deck and just take care of it. They aren't built to stand up to harsher conditions but for what you want it will get the job done. Just keep up on filter and oil changes they aren't that hard to do once you watch a youtube video. This is for FL? So you never really have much of an "off" season to worry about a gas engine sitting too long. The deck steel is junk but you can protect it by not letting rotting grass be stuck up under the deck, so make sure you get a model that has the nozzle to fit a hose to blow out the grass underneath the deck. I'd also still just get the zero turn version. I spend so much on equipment that these numbers seem rather meh but to me the $6k zero turn is worth it over the $4k tractor.

Or be a boss and get a proper diesel machine like a man and pay $25k

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Palum said:

Cub Cadet is one of the MTD brands. While the lower series are at big box stores the nicer ones are at the PE dealers.

Also, all else being equal if it's just grass I would consider a ZT. I only bought a tractor because I needed to do a bit more landscape work and it's not all flat.

You also have to decide what your time is worth, both for mowing speed and maintenance schedule and reliability. I would more highly recommend the closest dealer that does right by their customers over any other option regardless of brand or type. With prices where they are you can't buy a $799 3 season special anymore outside of Craigslist.

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Palum said:

MTD makes most of the big box specials and regional brands like Troy Bilt, Bolens, Craftsman and Ryobi at times, Arnold, Yard-Man, Yard Machines, Toro (tractors), Murray, etc. A lot have come and gone and been produced under agreement.

A lot of Briggs and Stratton (which are ok if finicky), but they do make the nicer units with Kohler or Kawasaki engines.

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Palum said:

Yea basically but that means they have a lot of aftermarket (e.g. baggers, blades, etc.).

Again, depends what you're after. I don't regret spending the extra grand to get a welded mowing deck, LED headlights that actually work, comfier chair, bigger more reliable engine, better tires, nice hydrostatic transmission that makes driving one pedal, dealer who will repair stuff if needed, quick detach PTO and deck, nicer bagger, etc.

If I'm going to keep it running for 10 years min, the extra $100 a year to fiddle fuck with a rotting deck or bad carb or having to shift 3792 times every mow (I just screamed internally at bad memories), just ain't worth it.

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