Peasgood

They don't break. Amazed at the income you get, is that the going rate for knapsacking?

Are the ready made ones on eBay not an option? See them regularly on there, £2600 iirc.

I had noticed but dismayed to see it replaced with surgical masks and disposable gloves.

Put the IBC on a pallet and fill it with logs, up to you if you stack them or just drop them in, The logs for my fire are 18" long and I find it easy to stack them. Smaller logs can just be chucked in or dropped off an elevator. IBC in the pic has the top and bottom cut out. When full, wrap elastinet around the bottom bit where the cage has been removed, then pull it up a bit (I use fork lift but pulley or winch could be used. Wrap a bit more and continue up until the IBC is clear. Have a look at Posch packfix video for idea how they work. I wrap mine manually rather than auto. Works very well for me. Net doesn't degrade in UV, logs in pic have been there for 2 years and net is fine. Needs a bit of trial and error with amount of wrap to use as little as possible without the stack collapsing.

I have tried cages, vented bags and stock net home made thingies but now use my own version of Posch packfix using elastic netting. Elastinet from MCA Kingstone.

Lay them off

I'm sticking with scorched.

Looks like it has been scorched to me. Is it likely to have been frosted since you had it, is it in a strong cold wind, are you wetting the leaves in bright sunlight, was it living in a poly tunnel and now outside (or vice versa)? It isn't aphid damage.

Saw an episode of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire this week and one question was what is a besom. Contestant got it wrong even with 50:50, phone a friend (who didn't know) and ask the audience (who also got it wrong, and it was after 50:50) I couldn't believe it.

I didn't know bism was a real word as I have never heard anyone other than my mother say it. (usually referring to one of her children)

Broom handle through the front spokes stops their gallop

In UK if ants are on the tree it means there are aphids/greenfly. The ants feed off them rather than harm the tree. Some insecticides can cause harm at certain times of year, sounds to me like the insecticide did the damage not the ants. Not much you can do other than make sure it has enough water and hope for the best.

I like my Posch. Mine hasn't got a winch on it but they are available. Could probably retrofit a 12v winch. It will stall my MF35 if used at tickover on a nasty bit of wood. Should be fine on reasonable stuff for billets though.

Fit the pump on the pallet toes and put quickfit connectors on the pipes

Not familiar with other vehicles but a 7 seater Terrano would be relatively easy as they have full length chassis rails and the body just bolts onto it. Chop the body off behind the seats and you are done.

I made my own using an ibc cage without the pallet and the top and bottom of the bottle cut off. Cut the bottom third off the cage drill a few holes in the bottle and cable tie the bottle to the cage. Set it on a pallet, fill it with logs and lift the ibc off while wrapping with the net wrap. It works very well and is easier than it sounds. Stacking the logs in there is better as it holds together well. Don't skimp on the wrap because picking a collapsed stack is pants.

Sown. Used to be all by hand but a lot easier dropping the seed down the spout of a strawberry planter. Didnt use wigwams, had a single row of vertical canes between tall fence posts. Canes were 6’ pushed in the ground about 6” and tied with bale string. One single strand as tight as you can and then weave another to it tying in the canes. Dont do it any more as you can’t sell enough to make it worthwhile. Modern housewives don’t want to cook anything that needs preparing it seems. They buy French beans instead so they can just chuck them in a pan.

Have sown runner beans commercially outdoors on 19 April for decades, haven’t lost a crop yet. Will concede some years it’s been a bit cold.

I have employed Romanians to pick strawberries and had them live on site. I would class them as my friends and still in touch years later. There are always comments about the farmer just wanting cheap labour, these people aren't cheap. They are preferred because they work hard, are bright, quick learners, polite, honest, reliable and actually want to work. I have also employed locals to do the same job, generally they are the opposite of the above. There are exceptions in both camps of course as there are also bound to be bad farmers when it comes to looking after their employees. There is no real reason why the locals can't do the job, they just don't want to. It has nothing to do with pay either. The locals are just not hungry enough, they can get enough money doing easier work. The Romanians if they could find a job at home would do so, and a well paid job over there is about £250 a month, prices of things are about the same as here. That is what they tell me. Plenty of posts on here moaning about employees not working hard, failing to turn up, poor time keeping, on the mobile all the time, smoking too much, etc etc. If you could find people without those faults you would jump at it even if they cost you a bit more rather than a bit less as everyone claims. Their worst fault is if you ask them if they used a chainsaw before (or any other machine) you can be sure they will say yes when most likely they've never even seen one. No doubt someone will be along soon to say get the people on the dole to do it. WTF makes anyone think they the dole queue is a good source of hard working people is beyond me. Try it yourself and then comment.

Depends on the size of your timber but a sawbench is much quicker than a chainsaw.

There are not many farms around here where the tank isn't on a stand. Never heard of any companies refusing to fill because of needing a ladder. That includes three farms of my own with tanks. A bit like people saying they won't fill single skin tanks when in reality they will fill an ibc if you ask.

I would only consider plastic tanks myself. Steel rusts and you have no idea how much water has been in a used tank and for how long. Water will always be in there just from condensation and will always sit at the bottom of the tank. Bunded tanks are a good idea in principle but there is no way of inspecting the inner tank. Single skin and build a bund is a better solution imo. As for manual pumps, it is what I have and quite happy with it. Hi-flow pump and does one litre for one revolution. Standard manual pumps are fine of course. The other option usually taken is put the tank on a stand and use gravity.

I read your post a while back when you posted it. Yesterday I saw a young fresh bramble shoot and remembered your post and decided to have a taste. Well I shan't be doing that again. I would describe it as slightly more astringent than a unripe sloe (ie. horrid!) I now see the date of your post was April 1st.

Yes, it was on the smaller branches but not so much on the trunk. Got a facefull of sawdust which made my eyes sore for a few days.