Gnome

Carving one of those little xmas trees and combination of slimy gloves, workpiece not secured properly and a degree of stupidity. I managed to take my hand off the saw to catch the workpiece as it moved and let the chain do the damage. I'm still not sure whether the brake was on, the machine running or just the weight of the falling saw as it happened really fast. Lots of blood and has just been annoying. Managed to get back playing my guitars but don't think i'll be giving steve vai any sleepless nights now. I posted the damage on another thread but here it is again with what it looks like now. Please wear gloves or at least don't be a doughnut like me!!!

Yes they (young uns in sooped up corsas) wear down those tyres pretty quick and if you have a friend of a friend of a friend who mixes in those circles they save a couple of quid when they get their new tyres if they just take them home and give them to you. And if you are friends with the agricultural folks of this fair land you might get a tractor tyre as an instant raised bed.

I see where your coming from Tony. You could try a few the standard way as a control. It might give you a better comparison. The weather will have a big impact on your yield if the last few growing seasons are anything to go by. I've tried the car tyre system a few times where you keep adding a tyre and soil as the plant grows. My results were that low profile tyres are more suitable and the maris pipers made lovely chips.

Yes left hand injury, loss of feeling in two fingers after contact with chain. Always wear gloves now, even to bed!! After 3 months the index finger which got caught first has still not healed. It's mindset as well. Only took them off as the wood I has moving was slippery and gloves ended up slimy giving poor grip on handle.

Hayter Harrier 56 for me but I've heard a few moans about the newer models (cheaper plastic bits). My lot are between 6 and 12 years old quite simple under the deck. Briggs engines are a doddle too. Reasonable in the wet too and good finish.

Tony I am really interested in this method of spud growing. I don't want to be shot down in flames by anyone and I don't want to think you have done something wrong because there are no right ways of growing, you just get different yields. So here goes. By splitting the spuds in two you have reduced the amount of stored energy in each tuber. You might find that because of this your plants will be slower to start and there could be a reduction in vigour. By splitting them there is an increased risk of soil bourne disease as a large open surface area is perfect for them. I don't know if you are watering them but in those enclosed areas you might get botrytis grey mould if you don't let the air circulate. As I've stated I am keen on new ways of doing things. I prefer to go a more traditional route and get the large egg boxes( the old cardboard trays of 25 or so) and place them with the end which has most eyes facing up and make sure none are touching and they are kept in the light and fairly cool and dry.(cold dry greenhouse). It's a common method that many on here may have used. My neighbour gets spuds from the local shop and he just plants the same variety year after year in the same spot and has bumper crops so everything is possible in my book. I tried your splitting method at college with a large piece of ginger in a 2L cola bottle and it rooted no problem.(The Jock's amongst us might see the funny side of that) The only problem was maintaining the high light levels required up here.

Thanks for sharing. very interesting. Need an accumulator for my wallet.

Bit early for me. Not doing them this year. My rule of thumb is chit them in the egg boxes until after april fools day then if ground conditions are ok plant them.

I thought the one on the right was a severed hand.

Great pics and great setup Mick. Was he automatically irrigating? Shading is a crucial part of outdoor bonsai growing. All this bonsai talk is just what I need to get my collection sorted out and displayed in a suitable manner. Once the bedding plants are done mind!!!!

I've used a number of the usual suspects on here and always a pleasure doing business with them. Stuff usually arrives within 48 hrs and that is at the other end of the country. My local Stihl dealer has now ceased trading and the local Husky dealer is too expensive. I have always had a problem with the attitude of the dealers. I think alot comes down to competence. Never have what I'm looking for. Always a hassle to order it in. And expensive. And always complaining about buying cheaper online. As if it is my fault. Can't be bothered with all the macho BS as well. I'm as hard as nails but like to speak to people in a civilised way which does'nt always come across right. Nobody likes a smart a**. I now service all the works machines myself. Order my husky parts from the US. Briggs&Stratton parts from a small online site and ebay. Get alot of the unusual tools and supplies from small ebay shops, never had a problem. Any new works machinery will be going through the chaps on here as far as I'm concerned.

I'm too old at 34 IMO but your just a pup at 33!!!. I wake up most mornings with my back on fire. my knees groaning and I'm really starting to feel the effects of gravity. If you make strange grumbling noises when putting on yer socks it might be time to think again. The aerial rescue would be good for you though. Driving licence first though Chipper!!!

A British Standards test I had to do while testing double glazing involved dry ice and meths. Glass beaker with meths in and add the dry ice. The beaker starts smoking like something out of frankenstein but the temperature in the beakers goes down to -70oC stick your battery in a couple of polybags (good ones)and if it survives you can use it in Siberia!!! Remember PPE.

I had a connection issue with arbtalk there so i'll try again! The Bonsai Specialist (Specialist Series): Amazon.co.uk: David Squire: Books This is a great wee book and is reasonably priced. You should get it at most garden centres if you don't like amazon. Good info on care and planting as well as styles and species suitable. A good entry point which has words as well as pictures. The more expensive books on the subject that I have are good for inspiration but I would get really stressed looking after a 100year old black pine that I would need to take out a mortgage to buy in the first place!!!

Here's a few more that were done at the same time. Bonsai mysters will no doubt say that you don't put stones in the pots!!! I don't like sushi or Karate either. I don't care I think they look no bad! When I started I did the hard pruning on top left them for a month then root pruned them into training pots. The little shallow rectangular and oval pots that you would think bonsai trees are in. Hope that gives you some inspiration.

Right Treepuncher finally tracked down the files on my old laptop apologies for the poor resolution as these were taken back in 2007. These are all made from the batch I got from the conifers at the garden centre as part of a job lot of unsalables. At this time of year you could always ask a local centre if they can do the same before new stock arrives.

Thanks Geoff. Husky cordless or MS150 hmmmmmm.

I was thinking that the backhandle would solve the West of Scotland weather problem by carving in my polytunnel. Just small 20 minute carves!! Is the throttle response similar to a petrol or is it more like an on/off response Roni?

I'll try and find my before and after pictures of a few conifers I was doing for a project.

And there off

When I left college I had an idea of having my own bonsai nursery but after a fair amount of research and talking to a few beardy types in the local bonsai societies I was soon put off by there attitude especially when they found out I was a qualified Horticulturist. I lost about 20 that I was growing in the harsh winters we had a couple of years back. They didn't cost me anything as they were seedlings I had rescued from borders when weeding. When I worked in the local garden centre I would get lots of conifer species cheap if they were of poor shape and unsalable, take them home prune them wire them and stick them in a pot. A good way of increasing your collection. My advice would be pay particular attention to where you will place your bonsai as too much heat and direct sunlight will soon kill them. Obviously watering and feeding are critical. The main problem is due to the small shallow containers so it's a daily check. Don't get me wrong if you have the time and patience they can look stunning. The pruning is very theraputic. After getting the Niwaki book full size tree pruning is more exciting to me. Hope this helps.

Get a hold of whoever is in charge of this community and let them know the score. It will save you a fortune on extra defences. Big lump of wood in your hand aswell will reinforce the issue if required. Tried and tested. If you are talking of a travelling community you may need backup. If it's the weirdy beardy types I'm sure the problem will be nipped in the bud. Best to tackle this kind of thing sharpish or it will just get worse good luck.

Bad couple of years i've had growing so only planning on using up veg seed which I have in storage. I'm sure i've still got some seeds saved from a parent of Ailsa Craig tomatoes which was developed at my former college so that might be a little project. Main problem was harvesting as just not enough time to crop and the kitchen staff have changed and are useless with some of my hard worked product. No incentive. My supplier of seed tatties has shortages so that is a good excuse not to grow them this year. But I am ramping up flower production so i'm not getting lazy in me old age. Was going to start a thread on my bedding plant production if anyone is interested. Hope this wind stops soon as i've got 20 plus panes in my prop house to change.

very happy with the new app. well done steve. Sent using Arbtalk Mobile App

I was informed that removing basal plates of veg like onions,garlic and leeks can make things a little easier. Same as preparing root veg such as carrots ensuring half an inch off each end. Cabbage is better with leaves peeled off individually and white stem cut off each leaf. Easier on a savoy. Basically ensuring nothing just sits in the gut needing alot of processing. It was an old boy that told me this and said it alleviated some of the cramps. As well as taking time to chew food and less more often. I'm not a doctor. Hope this may be of some use. If someone knows differently let me know as I will remove it from my memory bank. I don't have such problems but always do this and have less stomach upsets.