tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post5930562020188288817..comments2024-03-23T05:42:07.516-04:00Comments on The Deliberate Agrarian: The Deliberate Agrarian Blogazine July 2012Herrick Kimballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-46103385031525598732012-08-29T15:45:28.407-04:002012-08-29T15:45:28.407-04:00that straight hoe looks like an ice chopper? ice ...that straight hoe looks like an ice chopper? ice choppers would have a straight shaft wheras the hoe would have the curve and 45* angle.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-67591090346037602752012-08-29T08:00:22.584-04:002012-08-29T08:00:22.584-04:00Hello Herrick, I saw this article, and being that ...Hello Herrick, I saw this article, and being that it is in your neck of the woods, thought you might be interested. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/opinion/sean-lennon-destroying-precious-land-for-gas.html?_r=1<br /><br />I am sorry to hear you were not able to prevail in the attempts to curtail fracking in your area. However, hopefully, as gas prices are currently low, there won't be a big push. Best regards,<br /><br />James ChristiansenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-6126587208871820442012-08-10T07:01:53.802-04:002012-08-10T07:01:53.802-04:00Hi Joy—
I'd love to be linked from your web si...Hi Joy—<br />I'd love to be linked from your web site.<br /><br />Hi Margriet—<br />Yes, it's the same company. I see that I spelled the company name wrong. Thanks for the link to their catalog. They make a lot more tools than I realized. I actually have two DeWit hoes and they are very good tools.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-9728728599625907182012-08-08T04:56:34.267-04:002012-08-08T04:56:34.267-04:00Here is the link to the company of The White http:...Here is the link to the company of The White http://www.dewit.eu/catalogus.html<br />greets MargrietAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-37324342741080041792012-08-07T15:30:07.558-04:002012-08-07T15:30:07.558-04:00I enjoy reading your blog. And you mention here th...I enjoy reading your blog. And you mention here the de Witt hoe. Is that the same Dutch company that I like my hoes got it? We live almost next to the White factory! They are true professionals. Sincerely, Margriet of the Netherlands.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-5245481398676779822012-08-07T06:42:01.187-04:002012-08-07T06:42:01.187-04:00Marcus—
My original thought was that I would somed...Marcus—<br />My original thought was that I would someday get an 8N. My grandfather had an 8N. Leyland is comparable. As for you getting an 8N, I beg to differ.... I think you <i>can</i> justify an 8N with only two acres. :-)<br /><br />David Smith—<br />Good rant. I agree with you. I think it was Michael Bunker who called the Civil War the "War Against Southern Agrarianism," which is an entirely appropriate way of putting it. Aside from focusing entirely on the issue of slavery, the government schools teach that Lincoln went to war to preserve the Union. <b>But that war pretty much destroyed the Union as it was established</b> and handed to posterity by the Founders. Our country was designed to be a <i>decentralized</i> federation of sovereign states, which, as you say, were like independent nations. Robert E. Lee considered Virginia his country, more than he considered the USA to be his country. Now, as a result of the war inflicted on the South by the Northern industrial/political interests, we have a more centralized government that it is much easier for special interests to control. You know this, of course, but I'm just agreeing with my own little rant. :-)<br /><br />I'm a Northerner, but I'm not a Yankee. The Southerners understood the Constitution better than anyone and they were the greater American patriots for it.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-10965263137753979822012-08-07T05:58:00.117-04:002012-08-07T05:58:00.117-04:00Anonymous—
I have ordered a copy of the Biological...Anonymous—<br />I have ordered a copy of the Biological Farmer, as you recommended. A goat tractor is a great idea (I think). I'll do a Google search on that. I'm planning to plant clover on a section of the land this month. Thanks for the ideas!<br /><br />Barbara—<br />I've read a lot about hydrofracking in the last 8 months. And I did what I could to ban fracking from my little rural town, but I wasn't able to make the differewnce. <a href="http://dowefracksempronius.blogspot.com/2012/07/july-16-2012-town-board-meeting.html" rel="nofollow">Details Here</a>Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-41638729906426576862012-08-07T05:51:50.434-04:002012-08-07T05:51:50.434-04:00Anonymous & cntrydad—
Pitman shaft and like a ...Anonymous & cntrydad—<br />Pitman shaft and like a shear pin. That makes sense. I hope I don't need to replace it anytime soon. Thanks for the information.<br /><br />Kimberly—<br />Yes, give it a try, and I think you'll be amazed.<br /><br />Muns—<br />I never heard of a Leyland tractor before getting Leyland. I wondered about parts too, but with the internet, parts seem to be available. Perhaps I'll find out otherwise and regret not getting a more popular model. Time will tell.<br /><br />Garth—<br />I did not intend to get a tractor so soon. Leyland was owned by friends of ours who have a micro-dairy and decided that they really don't need a tractor at all. We have a little more land than them and want to use the tractor primarily to pull a wagon to haul firewood and wood chips and etc. An old 4WD pickup would serve the same purpose, but the tractor presented itself, and the price was affordable.Herrick Kimballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116051416696885647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-37251908263746240312012-08-06T10:15:19.395-04:002012-08-06T10:15:19.395-04:00Hello Herrik, over from Mia's Aspiring Homemak...Hello Herrik, over from Mia's Aspiring Homemaker blog, enjoy your writing so much! I have a family blog, but do a weekly post for our Farmer's Co-op in the Ozark Regions of AR./OK./MO. sharing good ideas from farmers. You certainly have some things that would be of interest. Would you mind me giving a link back to you?<br />Joy Tilton on Granny MountainJoy Tiltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04183952085695405635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-78741049210977739382012-08-04T09:51:41.234-04:002012-08-04T09:51:41.234-04:00Great installment to your blogzine, Mr. Kimball, p...Great installment to your blogzine, Mr. Kimball, particularly the sections featuring Wendell Berry and the thoughts on Industrialism from Os Guiness.<br /><br />Here are some of my related thoughts:<br /><br />At the risk of sounding like a mere neo-Confederate, I also think some of our problems stem from how to save America as a consolidated nation-state; simply put, we're aiming to "save" and unify too much that is simply irreconcilable, in contradiction, it seems to me, of the very limits agrarianism teaches us. It's one thing as Christians to pray for and reach out to folks who so radically disagree with us on matters of marriage, liberty, religion, even Industrialism vs. Agrarianism, etc. (e.g. Mayors Bloomberg and Emanuel, and the significant populations that support them); it's quite another to be forced to remain in an increasingly tyrannical union with them. On the micro scale, while I might invite people over who disagreed with me on some of these matters, I would never agree to allow them to have authority in or over my household ("Good fences make good neighbors!")! Our political and cultural difference were allowed to be preserved and respected when the republic first began; in fact the word "state" in <br />18th c. parlance means "nation", and that's how the founding generation regarded their loyalties from the beginning. We were supposed to be a voluntary union of confederated mini nation-states, united for mutual benefit, but ultimately sovereign in order to maintain the integrity of our respective sub-culture within each. <br /><br />"Interesting history lesson, Dave [maybe], but what's this have to do with the subject at hand?" Industrialism, and often its concomitant corporate-crony-capitalist system, works to level and eliminate the very idea of limits and local cultures and economies necessary to the rootedness of agrarianism. As a testament to this, travel from Los Angeles to New York and points in between, and look at the same stores, the same types of strip malls; further, listen to the speech of our folks. I live in the South, but I'll bet you that many of our youngsters speak with many of the same Valley Dude/Girl inflections and vocabulary as you'll often hear in CA, in ME, or even AK and HI. These are mere symptoms, but they indicate something far more disturbing, i.e. the elimination of that very rootedness and idea of limits so necessary to the sustainability of agrarianism.<br /><br />Again, is this just another Southerner shouting, "The South will rise again!"? No! But I do believe ALL of us, North, South, East, and West, while we must be mutually supportive, must also change our paradigms of "saving America" and go back to the original idea of our founding, for both philosophical and practical reasons. Frankly, "America" - a term, incidentally, that increasingly is made meaningless by the very Industrial-crony-capitalist-globalist system that has dominated for so long - is too big and too diverse (in too many ways that are downright evil) to save. Our states and localities are plenty big enough for us to worry about!<br /><br />End of rant! Thanks again for another great set of articles!<br /><br />Regards,<br />David Smith<br />TennesseeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-27017568017076087002012-08-03T20:49:33.888-04:002012-08-03T20:49:33.888-04:00Beautiful tractor! I have been coveting a Ford 8N,...Beautiful tractor! I have been coveting a Ford 8N, but can't really justify it with only 2 acres to mow. There is a true intimate bond between an agrarian minded man and his God given land. As usual, your blog paints a beautiful portrait of that bond.- Marcusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-11226662987129178492012-08-02T00:17:27.735-04:002012-08-02T00:17:27.735-04:00hi I left the comment about goats etc. after discu...hi I left the comment about goats etc. after discussing you with my dh he said that you should consider burning the paddock this season as it will destroy most seeds on the surface and give you good potash to start with you should do this before light rain (heavy will wash it away and with out rain it will blow away) after burning and rain you should lighty harrow the land (not plow you don't want to disturd those wonderful deep root systems that will rot and provide channels deep into the subsoil -this is a no-till method) then plant a mix of clovers, alfalfa,etc -suited to your area we don't know if you get snow but there are grasses that if you get the seed in the ground before /around fall they will overwinter and spring back in spring but you should not burn every year he thinks that it's the best thing to clean up the land and get you started (it's also the best when you have alot of disease, look up the no-till crop growing (cereals/legumes) it has revelutionised farming here hope this helpsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-48059343513178455182012-08-01T21:56:58.351-04:002012-08-01T21:56:58.351-04:00Sometime back you wrote about fracking. Have you s...Sometime back you wrote about fracking. Have you seen this?<br /><br />http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2182179/Sherry-Vargsons-blames-fracking-flammable-tap-water.htmlBarbara Frankhttp://www.thrivinginthe21stcentury.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-77313620963165286172012-08-01T21:12:28.480-04:002012-08-01T21:12:28.480-04:00If you have the time you could try goats either te...If you have the time you could try goats either tethered (must be on chains) or a goat tractor (you would have to build) it took three years for goats to clear some very bad land here and they thrived (different weeds but some three meters high) and were sold for more than bought at the end and manuered the ground the other thing is to plant clovers and other ground covers they will smother alot of the weeds and you just keep slashing them back to the ground for a couple of years then the fertility will improve get a copy of the biological farmer he has lots to teach on soil fertility.Even the humble chicken it a mighty warrior against weeds chook tractors are an amazing way to clear the ground start small clear an acre plant good grasses AND NEVER LET YOUR WEEDS GO TO SEED We reclaimed a 10 acre paddok this way and afterwards alway walked around with a small ladies digging tool then if we saw a weed trying we would dig it out, have fun there is nothing more satifing than reclaiming land and deciding which bits to give back to nature which ones to plant trees in and which bits are best for pasture or berries or fruit trees or ..... and that first year getting to know the land I love the way the Lord has blessed youAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-2448467197824786032012-07-31T11:57:17.286-04:002012-07-31T11:57:17.286-04:00Herrick,
We are finally ready to start haying our...Herrick,<br /><br />We are finally ready to start haying our pastures after 6 years on our farm.<br /><br />We bought all the equipment one by one, as we could afford it.<br /><br />Last Spring, we got the tractor. Last fall, the sickle bar mower. This Spring, the rake. Finally, 2 weeks ago, the baler.<br /><br />Graham's excited about being a hay farmer, as he calls it. Our sickle bar mower also has the Pitman shaft and we had to order a new piece of wood. Ours is hickory.<br /><br />Have fun on Leyland,<br /><br />AnnieCountry Living in a Cariboo Valleyhttp://www.countrylivinginacariboovalley.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-73339961830355013792012-07-31T10:02:29.980-04:002012-07-31T10:02:29.980-04:00Herrick,
You should have been a historian, a biol...Herrick,<br /><br />You should have been a historian, a biologist/chemist, and an "everything else!"<br /><br />I have baulked at getting a tractor and all the things that go with it. Not sure why. Maybe just the expense at it all.<br /><br />I'll be sure to buy your new book when it comes out. I'll have a few things to learn from it for sure!foutfolkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04079651678447028444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-16793722499717561412012-07-30T23:24:14.877-04:002012-07-30T23:24:14.877-04:00Geewhiz a tractor and mower and manure spreader! Y...Geewhiz a tractor and mower and manure spreader! You're way ahead in the game. Was Leyland a common tractor in Northern NY? Without raining on your day - I'd worry a bit about spare parts. She looks to be in very good shape tho.<br />Regards,<br />MunsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-68570920331848273202012-07-30T23:09:05.007-04:002012-07-30T23:09:05.007-04:00Hi Mr. Kimball,
I like your idea of planting the t...Hi Mr. Kimball,<br />I like your idea of planting the tomato seeds in the solar pyramids. We don't have very much room to germinate our seeds indoors. The mutt tomato seeds that pop up around the garden sure grow like weeds comepared to the ones I start in my cold frame and transplant (to much shock slows them down). So I will have to try this method next year.<br />Thanks for the idea.<br /><br />kimberlyAn At Home Daughterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15703109969618447107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-74047652640118655422012-07-30T22:28:55.831-04:002012-07-30T22:28:55.831-04:00Hi Herrick:
I have a 1960's sickle bar mower a...Hi Herrick:<br />I have a 1960's sickle bar mower as well. Last year may wooden shaft, known as a Pitman shaft, broke. I made a new one from some ash I had. It broke this year almost right away - I guess the ash just wasn't strong enough. I made a new one out of a well seasoned (100+ years old) piece of oak. It worked well, and I hope it lasts for a few years. I spent 6 hours on various repairs and it took only 2 hours to cut my small field of hay. Baling was better - I only spent 4 hours on repairs and 2 hours baling! The joys of 50 year equipment.cntrydadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05153318761110261365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13729569.post-23090085783619648752012-07-30T21:51:06.821-04:002012-07-30T21:51:06.821-04:00Herrick:
The wooden piece in the mower mechanism ...Herrick:<br /><br />The wooden piece in the mower mechanism is a shear-pin of sorts. If you hit a rock hard with the sickle (like where the empty turkey egg was), it will break the wooden piece rather than stripping the gears in the gear-box. At least is is suppposed to...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com