Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Winter Preparations

During the colder months, I was able to do some work on the machines.  The Super A needed a new clutch.  So that involved splitting the tractor into two pieces.  What?!  It's one of the more invasive procedures I think you can do on this tractor.  Just about everything else is bolted on the side of the engine within easy reach.  Working on this rig makes me nostalgic for the days when everything was built sturdier and simpler...Though the copious oil and grease does not.  Everything went back together and it all works again!  Whew.  Now we're working on extending the wheelbase.  Most bolts on this have not been touched in 60 years, so if you want to unscrew something, you plan 3 days ahead to allow an appropriate WD-40 bath. 


Another project was building a seed germination table.  Some incandescent rope light, coiled about works pretty well.


I put some reflective bubble wrap type insulation behind it in hopes of better efficiency.  Later on I added a 2nd run of rope light parallel with this one.  it now keeps a flat of soil at a pleasant 70 degrees in the hoophouse.


We added some soil amendments to the hoophouse.  Hi calcium lime, and fishmeal.  mmmm



And here's my daily farming buddy.  1 year later picking up our Fedco order again.




Obligatory father daughter Carhartt picture