[Stephen Leslie]

Thanks for all the in-depth description of your cultimulcher set-up, Erika—very useful. I never had the opportunity to use a Perfecta but recognized it as the multiculcher equivalent—-interesting to hear your take on the relative aggressiveness of the two tools.
We rely on the spring tooth harrow to eradicate quack grass and bind weed. Never have seen a quack digger, but have heard this is a common tool in the upper mid-west.
Eli, very impressive to see your home-built version—thanks for posting. Where did you obtain the components? Are you using it to re-mediate pasture or market garden ground?

[Stephen Leslie]

Thanks for responses. Thanks, Erika—this is just the kind of info I am looking for. We are using plow and/or disc, spring tooth, spike tooth, and flex harrows (don’t own a roller)for seed bed prep in the market garden—plus, use the cultivator with middle shank to form beds and mark rows. On the plus side, the horses are kept engaged with lots of passes—but, in the rush to get the garden fitted and planted in the spring I have wondered if a combination tool would make a difference.
With our rotation we alternate sections from winter-killed to non-winter-killed cover crops—so that we are not just using plow or disc but rather alternating their use—hopefully thereby avoiding plow or disc pan. Know of some folks who use a single shank chisel with a team to break up compaction.
PS) Attached photo just for fun—from HPD showing this tool on a mighty scale!

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[Stephen Leslie]

I am posting this to see if anyone coming up from Mass, Conn, or NY, might be able to pick up Jelmar Alabad who is a teamster at Roxbury Farm in Kinderhook, NY. He would need a ride Friday or very early Saturday. We are hoping to get him to the event to help out with the cultivating presentations. Jelmar has a lot of experience of different HD systems used in Europe, Cental America, and among Amish farming communities.

[Stephen Leslie]

The 2nd set of pics shows the Pioneer Crumbler, a 3′ section of spring teeth followed by a roller/crumbler, good for single or small team, and can be ganged into multiple sections.
Also, 2 pics of Anny’s All-In-One which will be demo’d at APFD in Barton VT Sept 28-29.
The All-In-One can be used with single or team, it has an array of quick detach tools, and can be off-set for bed cultivation.

[Stephen Leslie]

Right, Bekah, that first pic is a rotovator, I think it was about 8′ width. I got the impression that the HPD in Illinois maybe leans to the big hitches and the power carts because even the Amish are drawn into commodity cropping of soy and corn. On the positive side, good for them for finding a way to keep their families farming. Even so, was great to see the new ground drive innovations (from I&J in particular) making a good showing. Also, plenty of produce equipment for single and team on display. I think the Ohio event in 2014 will probably lean more to produce farming, as there is a lot more of that going on in the region.

[Stephen Leslie]

Sending in a few more pics of HPD that didn’t make it thru last time

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[Stephen Leslie]

Here are a few pics from the event:
*I&J ground drive cart with 4-abreast pulling JD baler
*Boom sprayer
*Horse backpack sprayer—-very level-headed horse
*E-Z Trail mulch layer
*A new multi-tool carrier for horse or oxen (not sure of make)
*Single horse culti-mulcher
*Double-axle motorized cart powering a rotovator
*The Crumbler—harrow from Pioneer
*Anny’s All-In-One multi tool carrier for single or team
*A close-up of the All-In-One

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[Stephen Leslie]

Neither the Spring or Summer Issue have come out yet (the Spring edition is available for viewing online at the SFJ website) Lynn and company are having ongoing difficulties in regards to an investment partner who turned out to be a crook (which he referred to in his NEWS FROM HERE in the Winter edition). I know that Lynn and Kristi are 100% dedicated to keeping the Journal going and when they ave a clear path forward they will be in touch with the readership with plans and possible requests for help to keep this invaluable voice of our community alive into the future. One possibility is that SFJ will dissolve as a for-profit business and reconstitute as a not-for-profit.
Best
Stephen

[Stephen Leslie]

A few years ago we got an engineering neighbor to help us restore a McD no.6 mowing machine. Trouble was, with Fjord draft ponies we couldn’t get the yoke high enough to get the cutting angle or balance of the machine correct (Lynn Miller suggests 32″ as the ideal yoke height in his book on Mowers).
I’d seen Donn Hewes with a no.7 mower with a new dolly wheel on it at the 1st NEAPFD and called to ask him more about it. He gave me the contact to purchase one and was very helpful in describing how to put it together with the mower. I’m not sure who actually makes them but you can get these dolly wheels from Leon M Brubaker in Trevorton, PA (and just about anything else HD you’re looking for). With the dolly wheel on you can then easily determine the ideal tongue length for your team. Best of all, the tongue pivots up and down from the wheel to the correct yoke height without impacting the angle or balance of the mower. Although this 3rd wheel creates a slight bit more draft, to my mind this is more than offset by the fact that it removes all the tongue weight off of your horses, increasing their comfort level to an enormous degree. Good luck mowing—waiting for the rain to stop here so we can bring in the rest of the 1st cutting, or as an old Vermont neighbor of mine says, “We’ll be bringing in 1st and 2nd cut at the same time!”

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[Stephen Leslie]

Yes! More in-depth focus on working horses in the market garden. Teach to learn—learn to teach—all the research and networking is improving my horsemanship and farming—tho leaving me a little sleep deprived.

[Stephen Leslie]

Really exciting to see you getting off to such a successful start. I hope to see this cultivator in action some time—thanks for posting!

[Stephen Leslie]

Stephen Leslie here, author of “The New Horse=Powered Farm”. I have not visited the Forum in quite awhile and was happy to find this thread addressing my book. Thanks to everyone for gracious words about it. I feel the strengths of this book are rooted in three facts:
1) I have been making my living as a farmer for 21 years
2) I have been working with horses for 19 years
3) (most important) I called on the help of a whole community of teamster farmers to assist me in putting together as complete as possible a picture of current tools and best practices for farming with horses. I am very grateful and enthusiastic about this book because it does contain many amazing and useful contributions from a host of experienced teamsters—farmers and loggers. Foremost among them are Eric and Anne Nordell, who offered me not only written contributions, but tremendous support, editing and technical advice throughout the time I was working on this project.
And those of you who are familiar with Chelsea Green Publishing know of their long term dedication toward getting good tools into the hands of folks who are working for a saner, healthier future for our society and planet.
Although the book does include a general introduction to getting started with horses and the many possible applications of live horse power to the small farm, the core content is devoted to market gardening with horses. This is because, in the first instance it is what I primarily do with my horses—we manage a 4 acre CSA market garden with 4 Fjords (and lots of human muscle, too!). Secondarily, it seems to me, that many of the new and young farmers just starting out are drawn towards market gardening as central to the local/sustainable food movement and as a relatively lucrative way to make a living farming.
It was these folks that I wanted to reach and provide impulse to—they are a great hope for a restorative and regenerative agriculture to help heal Mother Earth.

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