WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2023

Hi,

Two hours in the garden hut & garden this afternoon; I've just come indoors feeling frozen but pleased.


Looking like someone cares about it. The Howard Bulldog petrol rotavator I've struggled so hard to get time to restore it.

Not yet complete; it runs but carburation needs a bit of work; the large tine cover yet to fit also other controls; why can't I have a warm dry day to complete it.

These old machines were made to last forever with a bit of TLC; it was scrap when I bought it but spending time to restore it I should enjoy using it for years to come once it's completed. I've restored many machines over the years; it's always a great joy to bring them back into service. It's brush painted because of the dire weather preventing spraying. On topic too because I've been doing this in the garden.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

It's looking good Colin, well done so far.

 

My dad got a 2 or 3 Howard rotavators @Retired he got one that looks very similar to the one you've got but with a guard on and much dirtier think its about 12inch wide. He got a very big one with a diesel engine on as well which I am trying to scrap but it weighs a ton. Think he got part of another model as well but I probably try and scrap that as well , engine gone on it and it taking room up in the garage . Rotavators aren't something I use to much , my grandad on mums side had a old petrol flymo tiller which my mum give me which I prefer to use if needed .

 

Just pruned a climbing rose today Pauls scarlet which was annoying me with it gangly limbs all over the place. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get all the perennials in the back garden cut back and shredded up with the lawnmower for the compost heap . I put the rose cutting in the garden waste bin we only get 1 empty ( Jan ) from end of Nov to March bit of a con really , gardening doesn't stop because it Autumn/winter .

 

Hi,

May I suggest you don't scrap the rotavator or any parts @Perki It's possible if you place them on Gumtree you could get decent money and have them collected saving you disposing of them?

Gumtree | Free classified ads from the #1 classifieds site in the UK

I use Gumtree for all my selling or giving away; it costs absolutely nothing in fees; I've sold large machines such as two lathes at £1,200 each both to different buyers in Ireland. Posting adds is so easy and I communicate by email through Gumtree so no one knows my email address.

I'd love a big Howard but it would be too dangerous to use on our steep garden; the same when I fancied a "Bobcat" mini digger; I can't get heavy kit into the garden hence I've been reassembling my rotavator in sections I could carry up to the hut.

Examples;

Howard gem rotavators | in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire | Gumtree

Big Howard worth quite a bit.

Howard rotavator lead wheel weights | in Coventry, West Midlands | Gumtree

Even rough spares can be sold; I like Gumtree for selling and buying; I never sell on eBay but I buy lots through eBay; there's usually a few Howard's for sale on eBay.

Just a suggestion; I hope it's of use.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

!!! Argh!

But I am not in a fit state at the moment.

 

I doubt the big Howard will ever run again , I don't believe its worked in my life time a project that never started maybe . I did sell a couple of his machines earlier this year on Ebay, might be worth putting it on just so they can come and move it for me. It does look like that one on gumtree Colin. I'll pull sheet off tomorrow and see if it hasn't rusted away yet .

 

Today I haven't done anything. Well I did water the 2 Orchids in the small kitchen window as well as the 3 Dragon trees & the 4 or 5 Christmas Cactus cuttings sitting on the pots of the Dragon trees!

 

Hi,

You might be pleasantly surprised if you advertise the rotavator & parts @Perki. Lots of people buy such things as restoration projects the way I do; if the Howard gets restored it will give excellent service for years to come whilst affording the restorer many happy hours of dirty hands.


Years ago I saw this on eBay it being local to me. It had been stored in a scrapyard for over twenty years; I knew it was a valuable lathe but bought it very cheaply including delivery because I was well aware of its value.

Here's the same lathe after lots of TLC. It's a very, very rare German Lorch Schmidt precision center lathe worth £K's.

This is a large lathe capable of serious turning; even very small Lorch lathes command high prices as seen here;




I'm aware this isn't on topic but I like to encourage others to restore these old machines. The Howard Bulldog rotavator restoration isn't "what's done in the garden today" but hopefully it will soon be rotavating our meadows so it will be working in the garden making my life a great deal lighter and easier than digging by spade. My lathe's too help by making wood or metal parts in relation to garden work; I only have two lathes at the moment one for wood the other for metal but it's surprising how much money they save me over the years. I've used my wood turning lathe to turn things like wooden rollers and even wooden wheels for mowers; the Lorch I've just used to turn a valve seat cutting tool for the Howard I'm restoring.

It might look like scrap but people like me enjoy such projects. Good luck @Perki

Just rambling on as usual.

Kind regards, Colin

 

Visited the allotment for the first time in a bit. The previous frosty weather we had had damaged my celeriac to the point where it is unsalvageable which is annoying. I could have pulled them before this frosty weather but thought they were a bit more frost hardy. The winter radish are also looking a bit poorly, but I haven't tested them. All mustards, mizuna, coriander, spinach outside and everything inside like lettuce survived this fine. That's two weeks of straight frosts down to -6c in the greenhouse, so maybe another degree or so lower outside plus of course any wind chill.

I also raked up all the leaves around the Currants and put it on the compost heap and covered an overgrown bed with cardboard.

Pic is the temperature recorder inside the greenhouse, which gets zero direct sun in winter

 

Today I did go out on the balcony - but almost wished I hadn't! I could only manage about 10 mins or so due to the cold wind. I gave the Cyclamen on the balcony railings a check over as I hadn't looked at them since we had 3 nights of frost.

I removed some dead flowers as well as some seed capsules as I'm not interested in saving seed. I also removed some dead & rotting leaves. I even put a handful of compost in one pot as the corm was rising up out on the pot & after pushing it back down there was quite an empty space.

I also spent some of the time searching for the caterpillars that glue the leaves together. I found a few & chucked them outside the balcony into the grass. If they don't become a meal for some bird they will probably die anyway. I've found lots of them on my plants during the summer months & it's been a constant battle to try & get rid of the things! When they are disturbed they fall to the ground, or compost in a pot & can be quite difficult to find again. They even have a habit of rearing up, as if to attack you! I have to constantly check my Geraniums & Pelargoniums for them. I tried to avoid getting them in the mini-greenhouse by checking carefully every plant before putting them inside it. Didn't do much good! Perhaps there were still adult moths flying around during the few warm weeks we had in October laying their eggs on my plants as the door was kept open all day & night.

 

Would you be interested in a treatment that doesn't involve chemicals, Balc? Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacteria that targets caterpillars without harming other creatures, including humans Over here it's sold specifically to combat pine processionary and Box moth caterpillars, but I'm sure there'll be a similar product for sale in UK. It's a little sachet of powder that you mix with water and spray on. Can be used as prevention or cure. It's very effective, even against those horrible little geranium moths

 

Hi,

Your petrol rotavator must have been a beast giving such a wide dig @shiney; I think mine only gives about 12" wide dig but because of the steep slope it's going to be difficult to handle; it's weight though will be a bonus to stop it bouncing around; my previous lightweight rotavator used to go airborne a lot whilst bouncing out of control.



I had one of these; the stones and roots finally killed it; I ended up scrapping it being fed up of repairing the tines.

Kind regards, Colin.