Conor Wright

One positive thing I should note here is that I see a few of our friends putting up little tunnels or having a go with a few veggies in a window box etc. The worst of the ignorance appears to be in the 40-50 and teenage ranges, in my own anecdotal experience at least. You could forgive the younger ones, they may well learn. I had little interest in growing food until my mid 20s. There is a level of interest out there, its just a shame that what was common knowledge 2 generations ago is now lost to 90% of the population. The storage and preservation of the grown food is equally important too. Jam making, blanching and freezing, clamping spuds, pickling etc. This is where the real value is in growing your own. Modern life has ****************ed up a lot of people's eating habits too. No time to prepare meals, easier to stop at the deli, ready meals, take aways. I'm guilty of all the above, but you can't beat your own food. shank of lamb with homegrown veggies, fresh eggs, seasonal fruits... we probably manage one in 10 evening meals being 100% off our own land. This should really be the baseline but I see so many people who eat 100% bought food out of fear. Theres a perception that unpackaged food is "dirty" if you want dirty, take a swab of the screen of your phone.. Rant over!

Can't blame them really, an apple a day and all that...

Yeah, I feel your pain. we grow a bit if our own veg and fruit too, nothing special. Had a local beef farmer in visiting recently and he commented on how well our potatoes were doing. I had to point out that they were, in fact gooseberry bushes. You couldn't make it up. We gave a friend some fresh beetroot (stalks intact) a couple of years back and he had no idea what they were. These are country dwelling folk. How bad must it be in the towns and cities? Growing your own food should be a school subject imo.

Had one but sold it on. Couldn't get close to same quality finish as hand cutting. You also need to be able track and cut without losing power, ruling out most older machines with single pumps. They have their place, a long run of 5 or 6 ft hedge beside a road or track is ideal, wide back garden stuff with obstacles. Forget it, pure frustration.

A tow behind grass vac like an agrimetal or trilo would make short work of the clippings.

The majority of my work is rural (read easy access) so it's more cost effective to get a local digger operator to rip out the stumps. They usually have a dump trailer to bring in fresh soil and remove the waste, leaving me with a handy bit of raking and seeding/replanting etc. The odd grinding job I do get I either use my own little dosko grinder or hire a bigger tracked grinder in and operate it myself. I imagine it's tough going, keeping yourself fully booked just stump grinding. With a downturn on the way (don't argue, it's happening!) A bit of diversification might be necessary. As an aside, I've been asked to leave a couple of high stumps recently as people want to have them carved. It may be a combination of factors, cost, more tree companies providing full services incl grinding and the uptick in private tree owners getting carvings or utilising standing stumps as features that is causing a slowdown in work. Regarding the increase in landscapers using your services, it may be an insurance thing.

Have you much to process?

Nothing to do with me!

Long story. Wish I hadn't now as the thing that i was to replace it with was sold to someone else under my nose despite me having paid the deposit. Annoying, but such is life. If you're interested in the details dm me. if you bought it, delete my number! I joke, it wasn't perfect but it was a good example of its type. It still had a couple of niggles but it was a good buy for someone.

Gtm, jansen, cobra, hyundai etc all make decent enough wee chippers for occasional use. I'd go jeau beau or greenmech for constant use, peruzzo make a good machine capable of regular use too, but don't say that to the greenmech guys. Don't go for the smallest offerings. Minimum 13hp in a honda or 15 in a loncin would be OK, any smaller is just too slow and have tiny intakes. I've a gtm 1300 gts and it's a great little machine as long as its kept razor sharp. Bit of a struggle going up trailer ramps on your own with it but it'll fit anywhere a wheelbarrow will. Could do with 3 or 4 more hp but it does the job. Just my two cents.

There's a company in co. Cavan in Ireland that make rims. They were able to make a set for a compact tractor for a mate of mine at a good price, they're agents for bkt tyres too so they can send them out ready to roll. Home - Agrigear Ltd. WWW.AGRIGEAR.IE Tyre and Wheel Specialists

Nice.

I might know a man that does this kind of work, he works mostly around the tullamore portlaoise area. If you're not too far from there I can pm you his details.

Lancia? Nice restoration project for someone.

A **************** up. Just looked like the cutter thought it would go the other way, but I wasn't there and the video doesn't give the whole story. Could have been a lot worse, no one hurt and relatively minor damage. It'll be expensive but hey, everyone went home with all their bits intact.

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We're talking about different videos. I was referring to the one here in Ireland. I tried to upload it but couldn't. Tree went wrong way and landed on a defender in someone's driveway. No rope visible, to me at least.

I was trying to post the doorbell footage. It shows the tree landing dead centre between the piers of the driveway. Would have been stunt fell material if the defender wasn't there! Yeah, trees didn't look too good, no excuse though. Mewp onsite, should have had a rope on.

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An old neighbour where i grew up used to refer to those three monkeys as hear all, see all and say **************** all. Always gives me a smile when I see them. If I had to pick I'd go with say **************** all, at least ya wouldn't have tae listen to 'im!

Love that old gear! Shame to see it scrapped. Is the rip saw running?

As mick said, hard to go wrong with a 560. stihl 261 if you're thinking of changing brand. For occasional use the makita/dolmar offerings are well regarded but not sure about availability anymore. Echo make good saws, 501 would be comparable to 550. anti vibe isn't as good as stihl or husqvarna but I've found my few to be reliable saws. A step down from the big two but not bad machines. If you want to cheap out and take a chance on chinesium the holzforma brand copy some of the older saws, mate of mine has the stihl 660 copy and it's a good grunty saw for occasional use, maybe they do a 254 copy?

Sounds like you're limited to a stroke head then, theres a few offerings with no computer. You will struggle to get a hire machine with the oil flow and auxiliary hydraulics, make sure you know the base machine's abilities before you buy a head. Maybe a hypro processor for the back of a tractor would work? You still have to fell, but it delimbs and cuts to length. Expensive though.

Has the subject changed from tractors to marriage?!

Can't speak for the UK but in Ireland, yes.