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SteveA

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Everything posted by SteveA

  1. SteveA
    We've been looking into planting a new orchard and will definitely be including some old variteties, especially ones without any need to spray. Not used them (yet) but Ian Sturrock & Sons based in North Wales looks like one to bookmark: "We have been succesfully growing rare organic Welsh fruit trees in North Wales for the last 30 years. After many years of searching, researching and trials, we have developed a collection of fruit trees that will succeed in our unique location. We have varieties of Apple, Pear, Plum and Damson fruit trees from all over Wales, all of which are unique and very rare. Apple Tree, Pear Tree, Plum Tree, Damson Tree. Our organic fruit trees are disease resistant (no need to spray), ripen well despite our cool and cloudy summers and bear fruit that doesn't blow off the trees during autumn gales."
  2. SteveA
    Here's the advice coming from Andy at Farm in my Pocket: "I've had some success with crunchy peanut butter believe it or not. Scrub really well with it, then wash off with soap and water. If that fails, a mixture of sugar and ecover washing up liquid is a powerful detergent scrub: and as a last resort this stuff is safe enough for occasional use. De-Solv-It You could also try neat tea tree oil. Whatever you use, moisturise well afterwards."
  3. SteveA
    That's exactly the same problem I've been having..... i just tried using the search again and it didn't work.....BUT.... then i tried it again (3 rd attempt) and it DID work!! Weird. I'll start using the search again over the next couple days and will report back here.... Thanks
  4. SteveA
    I've been trying the Arbtalk search link at the top right of this page. Is there an app for ipad? cheers
  5. SteveA
    I hope there aren't kids reading some of the advice here and taking it seriously. Using petrol or white spirit to cleanse skin?.... No way!! Maybe the forum moderators could put a minimum age 40cert on those comments....
  6. SteveA
    Some interesting suggestions ~ most of which I'll not be trying!
  7. SteveA
    Not sure if this has already been mentioned? The search facility returns no results (on ipad) so have been using google to search by including "arbtalk". Great forum though, learning loads!
  8. SteveA
    oooch, I'd be interested to find out as well.... sounds like you tried swarfega. Could be worth asking a chemist.... Andy at Farm In My Pocket may be a good person to ask, just maybe... Contact | Farm In My Pocket | Farm In My Pocket
  9. SteveA
    Excellent, thanks for all your thoughts & advice.... that confirms I'm mad! ....now looking at the petrol ones.... cheers
  10. SteveA
    Can't help notice lots of positive user reviews for the battery powered Husqvarna T536 Li XP see the specifications here: HUSQVARNA 536 Li XP® - XP® saws ....am I mad to seriously consider this as my first ever chainsaw? We have 16 acres of mixed woodland to manage; and our woods range from scrub ~ to unmanaged coppice ~ to self seeded mini-trees ~ to medium trees ~ to big trees ~ to massive gurt trees. I'm not expecting the Husky T536 LiXP to fell anything massive, and probably nothing much medium size.... My questions are: How much work should I realistically expect this electric chainsaw to cope with?.... What's the maximum fell size? Could I get away with just buying this and a much bigger chainsaw at a later date?
  11. SteveA
    First I've heard about Evironment Agency Exemption.... what's the deal with that? .... our ditches aren't filled with 'waste'; just really good/ useful/ natural woodland humus. Does this exemption certificate bureaucracy apply to every person with a ditch to clear?
  12. SteveA
    Anyone tried a tracked mini dumper/ carrier in woodland? ....certainly looks useful for transporting the humus out of the woods. Maybe it could be converted as a forwarder as well? [ame=http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TR7v1LEWWzk&feature=related]TransporteurdemoR.avi - YouTube[/ame]
  13. SteveA
    okaaay, um, I think that's called child labour isn't it?! hmmm, probably a bit heavy going for kids - (call me a modern man).
  14. SteveA
    Thanks!... i didnt go to art school either! We're near Haverfordwest. Looks like you have a tractor and a trailer with lifting gear... you lucky bugger! I have a froe!
  15. SteveA
    We have about 360m of ditch to clear which has good access from our meadow so we'll probably be hiring a mini-digger to do that stretch. The broadleaf woodland has a 100m stretch of ditch we need to tackle and this is not so easy to access. We haven't got a clear run along either side of the ditch; the occasional big tree in the way halts access for big vehicles and there is an ancient bund immediately adjacent the ditch. The bund zig-zags its way-through the woods helping to divert the natural flow of water..... which considering our increasingly less predictable climate should be a huge help to the trees.... but only if the ditch is open! I've been thinking about buying or hiring a small tracked carrier/ dumper to cart the humus around. Anyone here been using one? Here's a diagram of our ditch.... ...diagram via Twitter: @thewoodlandfarm: Working out our ditch clearing plan! http://t.co/JP8cekScW6
  16. SteveA
    That's good to consider, thankyou. I've never used a rutting spade before, is it alot easier than using a typical garden spade/ or shovel? Also wondering, are you transporting your humus away, or earthing up to the side of your ditches?
  17. SteveA
    We have ditch problems.... the problem is that it appears most of ours haven't been cleared since perhaps WW2, or earlier?! This has resulted in waterlogging issues, including tree roots getting washed out. The ditch areas range from not too squishy (easy to walk on) to extremely squishy (welly boot sucking material). The ditches have been left for so long that the bottom of the ditch is pretty much at normal ground level.... not sure I should be calling it a ditch?....it's more of a 'used to be a ditch'. Our plan is to dig out the ditches without using heavy equipment and transport the ditch humus into the meadow to be used for horticultural purposes. So we know what we want to achieve... and my question is: What do you use to dig your own woodland ditch?
  18. SteveA
    yes gransfors do make a drawknife.... looks like this: Also suggest using a shave horse!
  19. SteveA
    I just bought a new Gransfors froe from Ian at Lakeland Coppice Products in Cumbria....was the cheapest Gransfors froe I could find (including postage) and is nice to be able to support the great work they've been doing (keeping it real). The froe cost me £75.06 inc postage. note: their website looks old school and doesnt seem to work very well (i think they might be working on a web re-design)..... if you have a problem with their online shop try emailing Ian directly, or phone, or pigeon!

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