Have you seen them all before? Which ones are new to you? Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! If you haven't seen my life hacks video, check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/q0JeDrpZ1Ck/v-deo.html
I do tons of wet burning since I have a 40 year old barn near by, only safe way. I make an oven out of wet leaves and osb. let it cook everything dry, then it takes off after an hour or so. keep hosing the osb down throughout the process. pull it, keep piling soaking wet shit on it.
Honestly, you have your own tweaks on them, but glad you ate the screw driver, so I didn't have to ask you. 😉 The permethrin, I have never done, but actually seen. Did not know it lasted all summer. Probably will do now. After getting bit by the first Lonestar tick I ever seen, and worrying about developing an meat allergy for months. I already got Celiac's, wtf am I gonna eat lol. I love your videos, sincerely. With out sounding too arrogant, a peer is tough to find. I use a grinder on cattle panels when I can, just because I don't bleed as much without the bolt cutter points.
My dad uses cattle panels as tomato cages, but he doesn't cut them. He just plants the plants in a row and runs a full panel down either side of the row about a foot to a foot and a half apart. A few metal t fence posts and some rebar wire ties to hold it all together. Then he can just walk the row and reach in the holes in the panels to pick the tomatoes.
The permethrin treatment is used in the military. I remember it coming in a bag made to soak the garments. It's wild that it survives washing, but it's true.
Hello John, I see you are missing a fender bolt on your tractor @ 1 : 50 / when you are talking about the battery charger.😁 I have one for my lawn tractor. How about painting your air tank green so other people will know this is and air tank, also make the tank nicer with no rust. I have and old Freon tank I use, I painted mine Green and added AIR stickers. I think Harbor Freight had a kit one time with a pop off valve and a gauge with it. John, I'm like you, I always check my ear muffs for 🕷bugs. Lots of Great Tips. 👍I too have use gas 💥💣to start a fire, Kerosene works but will go out. I guess I will get a small torch to start my fire pit. Thanks John. I wish I had a Neighbor like you !😆👍
We are using cattle panel sections for individual tomato cages, too. However, my husband bent them into “L” shaped units by standing on a 2x4 on top of the panel and pulling the free end up. This allows us to take 2 “L” opposite each other to form a square. We zip tie them together for use and can still stack them into a corner of the shed taking up very little floor space. They could also be hung from the junction of a wall and ceiling! Hope this helps others figure out how to store cattle panel tomato cages.
We just use one of the ''L'' shapes .and plant in the inside corner . As they grow I tie cheap hemp twine across the open end which forms a triangle . Doubles the use of expensive panels and also scrap pieces become useful
I'm an old retired rehab nurse that now gardens without help. Your advise on using your legs (quadriceps) and saving your back is really important information. I have worked with big strong guys that had injured their back so I was faced with doing the lifting myself. I do what ever I can to prevent some heavy thing being on the ground. I keep a tarp or something in my car not to keep dirt out but so I can just pull something heavy out and on to a garden cart with boards over it. I then transfer from the cart to a storage bin with the top so I can just flip it over into the cart if I need to. I do allot of drag and flip. Easier than lifting people.
Once you get the flame established in a bonfire you can also use a leaf blower to keep it going. I watched a guy burning up a pile of medium sized stumps in a constant misty drizzle by driving the fire with excess air. It also helps keep down the soot/smoke to burn with an excess of air. I had no idea he was burning until we were within 100 yards of the property. Edit: Permethrin can also be dangerous for cats, worth looking in to at least.
Great advice on checking PPE before putting. When I worked as a Database Administrator we used to toss around this question; Who consistently makes backups of their data? Answer: People who have experienced a catastrophic data loss. I once stuffed my foot into a muck boot that had been in the garage all winter and it didn't fit right. I took it off and dumped out a dead chipmunk.
Oy, fellow DBA.. completely agree! You’re only as good as your last backup.. In AZ, checking footwear EVERY TIME is always on the pre-flight checklist. Black widow bites hurt like heck. I’ve been guilty of jumping on the digger, slapping on the ear muffs while backing out, and waiting for movement in my ears.. dumb, I know.
To start fires I use old limbs that fall out of trees cut them to length of a 5 gallon bucket and pour in some old diesel and let them soak up all of the fuel it wants. The well rotted ones work the best. I light it by putting a piece of paper towel underneath. The stick will burn for a very long time.
the tomato cages, the old propane tank and the permethrin really impressed me. Only thing to note is that permethrin is poisonous to cats and fish so maybe keep it away from those or yourself from them when your clothes are impregnated with it.
@Eminator Studios Wow thank you very much for your comment. My husband sent me this video. And you can actually make your own Marigold slew yourself. I explained to him how I did this years ago when we were living out in the country. You can make it yourself.. but I didn't know permethrin can be toxic to cats or fish. Quite interesting. I wonder if it's better to make it yourself than to use the straight chemical itself? Thank you for this triggering comment because it's going to send me down an informational rabbit hole. People need to know all sides of all facts within different things. I always take to the comments. My husband never does. He sees it and says okay let's run with it. I swear. He's purchased things off of Amazon that have been completely crap. He sees a high star comment and that's it. And whatever he purchased was junk. ☝️🧐🤔 Which is probably why he handed me this video.. 😆🤣😂 Thank you for your comment. This is why comments are so important. 💋👌💫🙏🏼😇
I spray it on my cattle to get rid of the flies that are biting them. But I never spray it under the porch or places like that where the cats might hang out since it is toxic to them. Their livers cannot process it like we, or a cow, or a dog can. Cat's have a unique metabolism and they are very sensitive to some things, like certain essential oils and pesticides, that are not very toxic to us. NEVER use a pesticide or essential oil on a cat without first looking it up to see if it is safe.
@@MzClementine I like fish but got rid of my Koi pond years ago. Not a fan of cats so I don't have any of those, but I mean if you walk by a cat and don't touch it is the cat going to fall over dead? Just Asking?? I mean I'm not actively trying to kill anything but ticks, chiggers, & mosquito's! 🙂
@@robertmyers5993 it's only dangerous to cats in the liquid form. They have to ingest or inhale it to get it inside their body. Once it dries on your clothes it's safe.
re: bonfire... place all the timber in a heap and cover it with a tarpaulin. the moment you get a few hours of rain then you light it after taking the tarpaulin off, ground all around is wet.
As someone in the trades occasionally lifting heavy stuff, doing manual labor hours a day, I really liked the legs/back tips. Also smart with the bonfire lighting. Good stuff all around man.
We use cattle panel tomato cages more simply by cutting them in squares and pairing two panels like an A frame. This folds up flat for off season storage. Also, a small handheld propane tank with a soldering torch works great for starting a wood pile and a battery leaf blower will supercharge the flame into a self-sustaining bonfire with minimal effort.
As a 5' female I have used all the lifting/carrying hacks. You can also carry heavy and/or large/bulky objects on your back using your legs for the lift and letting it rest on your back as you walk (of course you have to bend over somewhat, but it works).
for gloves, roll them up if you are storing in a shed, then the outside area for bugs to enter is just at the outside and they can't get inside just at the surface.
For starting big brush pile fires I have found using a bag of match light charcoal works well too. I put it at the bottom in as far as I can shove it (entire bag unopened), light the bag, and it’s as simple as that.
I gave myself some great bruising on my leg moving a floor model bandsaw down a flight of stairs resting it on my thigh. Bruising my legs is better than damaging my back.
Fire starting - I found a blow torch or even a fire-lighter is enough to get it started, however I then use a leaf blower to fuel that thing with oxygen and watch it rip through. Even when down to embers, get that air in there and feel the heat sky rocket for whatever you are going to throw on top, wet or dry!
All good tips/hacks! I've used lifting like you do for years and had many a young man question (and then hopefully learn from) me. Great permethrin and bonfire hacks! Here's a tip for you: screwdriver handles really go down easy with some sour cream Ranch dip!
I made a tomato tunnel with em .bend that thing into a rainbow and put some t posts in to secure it to the ground. Zip tie a bunch together. Plant tomatoes on both sides. By the end of the summer you're walking through a tunnel of tomatoes. It's kinda magical and delicious too.
The shovel-leg thing works in any situation involving a shovel, scalping grass, digging, lifting a full shovel. There's always a way to use your leg strength or even just as a pivot point to avoid back fatigue. Legs are cool
I've used a couple of these tricks before. The first one about putting a battery maintainer on infrequently used equipment I used on my personal pickup after I got a company truck and rarely used my pickup. I read about a tip to connect the maintainer to the wall outlet with an extension cord long enough to go through the steering wheel so you don't drive off without first unplugging the maintainer. This was an excellent tip for my absent minded self. This works as long as the vehicle is inside or at least under roof.
I burn all my brush piles in the winter, I wait 'till there is a foot of snow and then I use old motor oil and a leaf blower to get things started. Summertime I always have to worry about a permit.
I have surgery scheduled for replacing my l5s1 disc and eventually need to replace 4 more discs in my neck . I’m 39 years old and have been in agony for over a decade since I was injured . SO PLEASE ! Listen to FarmCraft101 on this advice of saving your back . I wouldn’t wish this pain on the worst of enemies. I watch this channel to learn hacks like this . Now that I’m no longer in the Navy , I plan on moving my family back to Montana . My back injury is scary. These tips and tricks are getting cataloged in my brain for when we have our own ranch again . I think about winters and how my back will take the crap end of the stick when it comes to labor . So first order of business when we move is to buy a excavator and any other equipment to make my job easier and give my back the time to slowly get better and eventually ( hopefully) have enough core strength to prevent further injury . I can say one thing for certain- I will continue to watch , like and follow every video to learn as much as I can in order to help my family and my health in the future. Thank you FarmCraft101 for everything! I truly appreciate it :) I wish you and your family ( as well your channel) the best of success and happiness in the future. -Taren Meacham
Love the back saving tips. I'm all about preserving what's left of my increasingly fragile, aging back. I'm looking forward to using some of those techniques in the future. Also, I had a similar experience with my PC headphones. There was an actual earwig in one of mine several years ago and I found out after I put them on. Luckily I felt him moving around next to my ear and he didn't bite, but yeah, I can't even imagine finding a wasp nest in them. Thanks again for such great content FarmCradt101!
For the most part yes, but I am 51 years old and have been around the block a couple times. The only difference is the tomato cages were made from leftover concrete reinforcement wire. It was free, and I love putting things to use like that. Love the video. Hat's off for helping younger people get a clue. Especially with the fire. My old foreman wasn't as lucky as you. 😎
Some good tips - there's an easy way to improve burning off though (which I do): Let the pile season (you don't want to burn green, way too much smoke, hard to start etc) and just before it rains, cover with a tarp, or at least most of it if the pile is too big to cover it all. Then burn after the rain has soaked everything. That way you are burning dry seasoned wood whilst everything is wet so no chance of starting spotfires. To burn slower, better off with a long, narrow pile than a high even pyramid or cone shape. Then burn from the top of the middle, and it will slowly spread down and outwards. Very controllable and little to no smoke.
Was told years ago that theres a "sign" better for burning brush piles but the old timer couldn't remember when that was. I've searched everywhere never located the information . Anyone ever heard of this?
I'm a 73 yr old very active petit woman, thank you for your back-saving tips, especially the grass scalping and lifting with thights, I'm sure I can be active until well in my 90's.👍👍👍
Great video and tips, thank you! I can attest to gasoline and diesel being extremely dangerous when used to start a bonfire/brush pile fire. When I was a teenager I went to burn a pile of brush. I had a mix of gasoline and diesel that we used to start the fire. I sprinkled a small amount on the pile and went to put the gas/diesel can back on the wagon away from the pile. I went back to start the fire with a wad of paper that I lit and threw into the pile where I had put the fuel mixture. The whole pile exploded into flames and put me in the hospital for two weeks with burns to my face, arms, hands, and lungs. It was later decided that the hot temps and high humidity that day served to quickly vaporize the fuel and the fumes spread through the entire pile and caused it to explode when an ignition source was introduced. Be careful out there, it could happen to you and it could be worse.
Me thinks what you thought was a small amount was probably a large amount. I Use diesel and run a diesel petrol mix out as a wick and light the wick but find the best is a small piece of car tire tube. I even take a small piece with me when I go bush. You can get a fire going in the rain if needed.
@@wayneg8763, Nope, the gas/diesel was in an old milk jug, I could see exactly how much I used. That happened a long time ago, I now know how to better start a brush pile fire.
On the propane tank, I haven't seen one made into a compressed air container but I have seen tanks specifically made to hold compressed air for tires when I worked for the Forest Service. HA, never thought about a weed torch, which I happen to have (dang sandburs), for lighting a burn pile. I'll have to remember that one. LOL, no need to eat a screwdriver though.
We do something very similar for tomato cages - but instead of using the cattle panels we use concrete reinforcing steel mesh, or "remesh" I believe it's often called. It you need to make a lot of cages, it might be even more cost effective. And if you buy it in a roll, it already wants to take the shape of a tomato cage vs starting from a flat panel.
What we have done differently on the tomato cages is we do triangle cages, each side is two sections wide and we use the extra wire to create a hinge. It's nice when you can unfasten one corner and lay them flat for storage.
planting corn miles from home the gravity box of starter fertilizer covered with tarp doubles as "safe location" from pissed off swarm of yellow jackets its saved me more than once
Outstanding video! Your information was delivered succinctly, the examples were thorough, and you didn’t waste time with clickbait type nonsense. I learned a lot and enjoyed it the whole time. Well done, sir!
We just bought some ground in southern Missouri and noticed several farms in that area that made “tomato cages “ similar to your version, then filled them with the local large rocks laying all around. They use them for boundary markers. They actually look pretty nice.
The lift with your legs tip was amazing! It seems so simple, but seeing you show examples made it so much more doable. Especially to pick up the tongue of a trailer.
Interesting, I remove the propane valve and dump the oil out (likely Ethyl Mercaptan) and replace valve. Smell dissipates after a while. Great tips video.
I save foam rubber if I find it to start fires. I also use a shop vac and tape a burn pipe to the hose on the exhaust port. A big shop vac will melt glass in a burn barrel. I have even used a ten dollar squirrel cage furnace fan with metal ducting or pipes to burn stubborn things. When a slob tenant leaves furniture behind you have to make choices. Even box springs lose their foam and covering and the springs collapse to recycled metal if you are creative. Don't take chances with bed bugs. A dark plastic wrap and summer sun takes care of any nasties. A junk washer or dryer makes a killer burn barrel if reinforced with a second unit. Even dryer drums can be stacked together for a free burn barrel.
Here in Germany every county has annual bonfires in the Easter season. The local firefighters supervise these bonfires and they do it exactly as you showd here. Start it with a torch, it's the best way! Another plus is that you don't poison the ground by dumping fossil fuels on the ground.
I have seen or used most of those. That weed burner was probably the best $20 I have spent. For free tomato cages look for free ibc totes on marketplace or Craigslist then cut the cages off of them, they bend with a little cutting. We used them just as flat panels and tied the plants to them. Worked good for something for cucumber to climb as well.
The mater cages are a good idea, a friend of mine has made them from concrete wire before, hadn't thought of cattle panels though, those things have about as many uses as duct tape
I've seen or used all before, you can grow the other "tomatoes" with those cages as well, baking soda vinegar will settle the smell on your portable air tank. I use essential oil blends for bugs because smells good. Use quick grip vrs C clamps and bamboo arc for lightweight drill holes in 2×4 for bamboo and quick grip the 2x4 to your bar.
I've seen a few of these and they are all great ideas! The tomato cages, I've been making mine out of what we call "hog wire" which is pretty much what you used but I buy it in a 360ft roll. I not only cage my tomatoes, but also my potatoes and some other vegetables too. I container garden and made the greatest (at least I think so) vegetable containers that I made from landscape cloth and baskets which allows me to hill my potatoes twice as high. I plant everything in them. I plant 150 containers of vegetable and at least the same flowers every year. I love it and the cages protect my vegetables from critters and keep my plants standing tall. Great tips and great video! Thanks!
That last one is the ticket. I recommend even buying the long one from Home Depot when that one goes out. I used to take a while to start my brush fires.
Cattle panels are great for all sorts of uses. I designed a cage similar to your tomato cage but bent the wire at 90° angles to make a tall square or box shape. Then I could place a game camera inside the cage looking out through one of the rectangular openings. Now you have a camera mount that enables to place your camera wherever there isn't a tree or structure to mount it to. The cage offers protection to the camera, has a frame that can be camouflaged and allows you to pick various heights to mount the camera. You can make the cage taller or shorter depending on need and can make the bottom tines or stakes longer as needed for pushing into the ground. Also recommend a chainsaw refueling safety guide if you feel comfortable doing something like that. Had a friend using his chainsaw on a cool day and he stopped to refuel it with catastrophic results. Like lighting bonfires with gasoline, the fuel vapors will find a balanced triangle together with heat and oxygen. A fraction of a second later you don't have a fire, you have a problem. He died.
I got some of that permethrin clothes spray (they sell it pre-diluted now) and it does work wonders. I got some socks pre treated with it and they have saved my ankles from chiggers. Every year my ankles would be just torn up with flaming red bites from chiggers but no more! Thanks some better than typical tips in here!
I have seen all of them but the tick repellant. Funny story about the cattle panels. Dad got several of them from a neighbor. The neighbor didn't have a big truck, so he rolled them up (not very tightly). Dad stacked the 7 or 8 panels on the side yard intending to move them that day. Around a week later mom told him to get rid of them or she would. Another week later mom went out to cut them up and throw them away when she noticed the weeds growing up through them. So she made them into tomato cages. She had me put in 2 posts so she could wire a panel up for raspberries. We also put a net on one and made a plant shade that she could put over her planter box when it gets too hot and still keep it up off the plants. If you make eyes on one side and tines on the other, 4 of them make a handy temporary coral for goats and sheep when you are trying to separate one or two. I love cattle panels, they are soo useful. Yet again, I am definitely doing the tick spray.
I love this channel so much!!! I enjoyed all the tips, but if I had to pick a favourite, I particularly enjoyed the repurposed obsolete propane tank being used as an easily mobile air tank. Edit: Forgot to mention that I religiously check my hearing protection for spiders too! 😱
I keep a propane bottle on a cheap dolly using bungie cords. Makes it easy to pull around. Starting brush piles or edging my gravel driveway. Saves your back too!😁
Lifting advice was A++ for me after throwing out my back last month. Thank you! Edit: There were several other amazing tips, the fire starting one hit me hard. Had a similar incident 15 years ago also. Came scary close to burning down the family orchard as a teen, but thankfully my father came with a tractor and mitigated the spread. I would use the same fire starting technique you first showed, years back, but we would be lighting nearly 1/2 an acre of prunings or more. After thousands of trees were pruned, the row of limbs were pushed to the back of the property and gathered into separarted piles, but they would get big fast if not burned weekly. Fire is truly scary and I use the same method of fire lighting, ever since and I never want to be that terrified, because of a runaway bon fire, evere again. Lesson learned, thank you for sharing these life saving tips, with the next generation!
My favorite "hack/tip" was the battery charger. Ordering today! Not through Amazon though. The "Don't use your back" tips were pretty helpful as well. Ohhh & the shade on your tractor was pretty boss. 🤠😎💯 Many thanks 👍👍👍🙂
I discovered permethrin thanks to you! Not sure how I didn’t know about this earlier, but none the less it works amazing on carpenter bees, problem solved
Cattle panels are great in combination with raised bed gardening. We just take a full panel and arch it over the walkway between two raised beds and plant tomatoes each bed, next to the arch. Tomatoes grow up the arch and form a canopy which makes easy pickings. I also made a fence around our raised beds out of cattle panels and tee-posts. Keeps the deer out.
I use the same construction design but instead of cattle panels, I use concrete reinforcing wire. It's a smaller gauge (bends a little easier) but still much heavier than what you can get on pre made cages. Mine give me about 6-8 years of service before the wires that stick in the ground rust bad enough to break. I cut the old points and the next ring of wire off the bottom to give it fresh points to stick in the ground. It leaves the cage one square shorter but I get another 6 years of use. I have no idea how much this wire cost, I just get leftover pieces from friends that work with concrete construction. I use 11 sections to make mine. 10 for the cage and the 11th to bend back around to lock the ends together and make the circle.
I think your choice of any number of various coatings you might already have lying around would add 3-6 years to the lifespan before a problem like that. There are things I wouldn’t really want in the ground my tomatoes grow in but unless you’re consuming them like it’s going out of fashion I think there’s bigger things to worry ahout
This video popped up on my feed again today (5/14/2024), and reminded me again of things I have wanted to do but not implemented. I did purchase a propane torch for hand-held small bottles, and found that it works great for started fires in my backyard pit, as well as heating metal. The tomato cage hack is one yet to get done. I am going to share this to a couple of local gardening sites on Facebook, so hopefully you'll get some new viewers. I got my Toyota forklift from Bidadoo/eBay last week. $215. It doesn't run, but for that price I can do a complete rebuild on it and still be money ahead. I will use the Farmcraft 101 method of cylinder repair if and when the time comes. Love the channel Jon. You are the guy I have always wanted to be.
You ever try spraying permethrin on your hearing protectors to keep those bwidows out of there? Great tomato cages. I always learn something really useful from you. Cheers!
Quick fire starting trick I use is a few easy light charcoal briquettes. Light them under the pile, once they are burning for a few minutes then get out the ol' leaf blower and blow those briquettes. Simple alternative to the propane torch.
For tomato cages, we used a whole roll of concrete reinforcement mesh, which is 6’ tall and about 100’ long. Makes a bigger tomato cage, and very sturdy. Our tomato plants are big enough that cattle panel is inadequate. To fasten them into the ground we use stainless steel staples.
I've got one for you. Instead of using toxic wasp spray that is thinned down nerve agent (which is bad for everything), I use Mean Green cleaner concentrate. I mix it half and half with water, and use an off the shelf spray bottle. The nozzle can be adjusted to mist or stream, and usually has pretty good range. Once you get some of the cleaner on the abdomen of the wasp, it begins to aspirate and dies. It takes the fight right out of even the meanest red paper wasps and yelllow jackets. The best part is that the cleaner is biodegradable, and won't have any lasting effects after your encounter.
nice. Dawn dish soap and water in a good spray bottle work good and its an 'organic' insect killer. kills faster than those nasty wasps can sprays and much safer for the person.
We use Dawn ultra , because we have bees and that’s what you have to use if you have a diseased hive (or we use brake cleaner for quick squirts in smaller holes for instant death). The permetherin for clothes works great for ticks, but it needs to be applied and dried far away from the cat.
I would suggest examining the SDS for Mean Green or any other product before assuming it is safe. :) Alas, few research topics thoroughly, through the lens of understanding how "science" actually works today. (And yes, we have multiple videos and articles posted addressing the present state of science.) Toxins are toxic. When one's life depends on accurate research, as mine does, one tends to be more cautious in forming conclusions. Take it from this human canary- this world is a toxic coal mine! Don't be fooled by the corporate propaganda! The link below is the latest installment in my series "How to Research Everything." This post includes links to previous videos including a "How to Research Chemicals" video. non-toxic-home.org/f/why-is-research-so-hard-these-days-video
We've been doing the permetherin trick with our military uniforms for many years, deploying to mosquito infested areas. They're good for 6 month deployments. Usually....
Thank you for your service! Didn't know it works for mosquitos. I just bought some to spray clothes with. Was working on some property and kept getting attacked and bitten by ticks so i quit going to the property. Mosquitos were insane and had to use bug spray that i hate to be covered in. I read online about spraying clothes for ticks. In his video he used it on shorts and tshirts. What i read said you had to have long sleeves, pants, hats e.t.c. with 115° heat index i was discouraged and still haven't went back up to the property. (Walk from car to building have ticks on me) Any suggestions on the best way to use this? Property has woods and about 1 acre that has tall weeded grass. No one had lived there for several years. Had most of the old rotted mobile home torn down. Would like to get that finished before winter. I mowed the grass a few times im sure it's up to my shoulders again by now. There are fire ant hills in the tall grass i need to do something about (huge ones i was shocked how big) Would like to enjoy/ reclaim this property. Just frustrated.
@@backroadsusa6915 Treat your pants/socks/shoes once a year and it should be fairly decent at repelling them. Keep that grass mowed down, ticks thrive in unmowed field grass. Also get some Guinea fowl, they love ticks.
Don't move your body when you shovel, and always grip the blade end of the handle with your hand over (palm down) not under (palm up). An expansion of your shovel work. A too common job is filling the wheel barrow or filling the cement mixer. Two things are important. First, pick the position that you absolutely do not need to turn, raise, or shift your body. What is on the shovel weighs 6 pounds, 10 pounds,, If you are moving or turning your body to lift or throw the shovel load,, you are moving 150 pound to throw the 10 pounds. That IS the total number of calories expended to move that single shovel load. It is IMPERATIVE that you find the position of the wheel barrow or cement mixer or pickup bed,, that is inline with the pick up and throw of the shovel. It will double or triple your productivity for the day or week. Second,, you have two hands on the shovel. The one hand is up near the end of the handle or gripping the D handle,, the second hand is gripping down nearer the blade. Nearly everyone grabs that lower hand palm up. No. Wrong. Nearly every shovel job your hand should grasp the lower hand near the blade with palm down. There are exceptions to this,, but they are few. Palm down, gripping over the handle,, once you get used to it,, greatly increases your range of motion,, range of throw. And reduces the total calories expended. I'm old. Been doing this a long time. Long enough that I have excavated for basements with a hand shovel and pick and wheel barrow. Yep. You cannot get a backhoe into some sites, can't. Also,, so many placements of sand or stone were dropped from the back of a double bottom on the street,, and bobcats were very uncommon, or bobcats cannot get into a basement excavation to lay the sand bed prior to the slab pour. Shovel and wheel barrow. There are 1,000 tons of pea stone under one house I can think of and 40 yards of sand under the slab of another. The 40 yards was placed in a single day. One man, one wheel barrow. Don't move your body when you shovel and always (nearly) grip the blade end of the handle with your hand over not under. These two things can double your productivity.
@@patriciacole8773 I am glad you found it helpful. It is arcane knowledge but even today there is a shovel in every garden shed. It is still useful to me. 70 years old and we mixed our own concrete for a 1200 square foot shop slab. Too far out in the desert for a redi-mix truck so 25 yards of sand and gravel shoveled in to a constantly turning cement mixer on a 3 day pour. If you can find that sweet spot where you do not have to move your body at all,, you can move a lot of dirt
My grandfather made tomato cages in a similar way. My dad told me about it after i complained to him about the store bought ones. I then made some this way with Concrete-Reinforcing Mesh. I didn't think to wrap them around for the seam but we did cut the bottom for spikes. Very cool to see great minds thinking alike.
Thank you ! Have seen several of these and have been making the cages for years. I got a lot out of the lifting techniques and will put those to use ! The flammable liquid tip is great. I had a very close call once bottle feeding a classic car… nothing to mess with. Thanks and please keep your videos coming. I love them all. Curious how you got your mathematical skills…engineering?
Lifting a boat on a trailer to the ball hitch: back up under the bow with knees bent and back against the hull then rise up using legs. As a 125lb kid I routinely trailered the same boat as seen on "Flipper". Bon Fires: cutting roads we piled green trees and brush with old tires about 1ft off ground. Mix a few gallons of kerosene with diesel fuel and splash. Give it a few minutes to vaporize then toss in a torch and it will slowly ignite without problems. bug juice: add one drop of cheap dishwashing liquid as a surfactant. It will break surface tension so the liquid soaks in instead of rolling off.
My Grandfather taught me most of this things when I was growing up. He was an “old school” farmer who grew up during the Great Depression and never threw anything away as he may need it at some point. The only thing that you do differently is using the weed torch for bonfires. He always used diesel as it has an ignition delay compared to gas. Really enjoy your videos!
*#6: I never heard of Permethrin SFA. I am definitely going to do that.* *#5: I worked on the docks as a longshoreman & I learned how to use my legs the same way & many other ways. Although I am a small man I could keep up with everyone else because of how I created leverage.*
Permethrin is a synthetic that behaves like the organic found in those marigolds. It is highly toxic to fish and bees and residues are long lasting. It is “likely” carcinogenic but remains a seemingly less dangerous pesticide than many alternatives. With that said, if you or your dog ( cats don’t tolerate it well) are around disease vectors like ticks this stuff is the lesser of two evils IMJ.
The bond fire was my favorite got a laugh out that but glad to hear you warning people what could've happened and of the part about eating the screw driver. 😝
I don't know about US environmental laws, but I can tell you where I live (Belgium), it is illegal to buy and use permethrine as it is considered toxic to live stock and humans alike. In fact our local FDA even checks for traces of the stuff on produce. It used to be used a lot though, on flea collars for cats and dogs, a few years back. And by the way, local farmers here used to do the same "trick" you do but with DDT. But DDT has been made illegal for use for over 20 years at least now (if not longer)
Here in America we have a couple of serious tick borne diseases, Lyme disease is very debilitating up 375% this year. I'll take my chances with permethrin over lyme disease any day.
I've actually made similar tomato cages, learned it years ago from my wifes father, an old school farmer. They used hog wire c-clamps. When not in use, they'll fold up flat. Really like the tip on spray to keep ticks and chiggers away, I'll be looking to use this! Great video, awesome content, presented simple for folks just like me! God bless you and your family!👍
Yes I have 6-8 of these Mr R made for me and they are MANY years old. He is a farmboy and I am a suburbanite. I'm glad he's a farmboy especially in these times! Mrs R
Honestly, as long as you keep your back straight when you lift you are fine. I mean people deadlift 100kg+ without hurting their backs. If you are too tired to hold proper form when lifting, stop.
My dad made some super durable tomato cages out of a roll of remesh that is typically used for reinforcing concrete. Same idea as the one you showed. They have lasted for years!
I came to comments to post the same thing. The wire is lighter than cattle panel, but plenty strong to last for years. Also, way cheaper. The squares are 6x6... perfect for all but prize-winning beefsteak toms.
Have seen tom cages from cattle panels for quite a while now. Better suggestion is to connect them with heavy duty zip ties. Then at the end of the season you can cut the ties so they lay flat for storage for us urban gardeners. ;)
Where I live short shovels are the norm and shorter stature people are also the norm, but I’ve found that there are plenty of situations where using a short shovel with a d-ring handle is excellent! Such as working on a hillside and your working above you as well as when your in a trench or hole and working on the sides, they are great!
I make the tomato cages the same way. They last forever. You probably know this, but for others that dont. Right after you plant the tomatoes and put the cage around it. Get a very large plastic trash bag. Cut the bottom off. Slide the trash bag over the cage. Tye wrap the top edge of trash bag in 4 spots around cage to the top of cage. This acts as a sort of greenhouse affect to the plants. It also protects the plants from the rough winds and storms in spring. Your plants will be much bigger and grow much faster than your fellow gardeners in your area. I’ve done this for years and the results are incredible.
You have a great clear strong voice. Being hard of hearing...makes it difficult to understand many folks on UA-cam....but not with you. Good tips!!! The lifting ones are going to be put to use immediately. Thx!!!
Ive seen all of those, except for the cattle fencing as tomato cages. All those tips are useful, of course. Love your channel. I can't wait for the next video to come out. I look forward to them! :)
I highly recommend grabbing a cheap 12V solar panel, like for a deer feeder or similar. My dad keeps them on whatever vehicles we aren't using for a while, and they do a good job of keeping things float charged without needing a power connection
Have you seen them all before? Which ones are new to you? Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! If you haven't seen my life hacks video, check it out here: ua-cam.com/video/q0JeDrpZ1Ck/v-deo.html
I do tons of wet burning since I have a 40 year old barn near by, only safe way. I make an oven out of wet leaves and osb. let it cook everything dry, then it takes off after an hour or so. keep hosing the osb down throughout the process. pull it, keep piling soaking wet shit on it.
I like the big torch. I use my small propane torch to light my charcoal grill and never use fluid after i had a grill explode as a teenager
Permethrin is toxic in high enough concentrations.
Honestly, you have your own tweaks on them, but glad you ate the screw driver, so I didn't have to ask you. 😉 The permethrin, I have never done, but actually seen. Did not know it lasted all summer. Probably will do now. After getting bit by the first Lonestar tick I ever seen, and worrying about developing an meat allergy for months. I already got Celiac's, wtf am I gonna eat lol.
I love your videos, sincerely. With out sounding too arrogant, a peer is tough to find.
I use a grinder on cattle panels when I can, just because I don't bleed as much without the bolt cutter points.
it is good you ate the screwdriver. I have seen or done them all :) but still a good vid!
My dad uses cattle panels as tomato cages, but he doesn't cut them. He just plants the plants in a row and runs a full panel down either side of the row about a foot to a foot and a half apart. A few metal t fence posts and some rebar wire ties to hold it all together. Then he can just walk the row and reach in the holes in the panels to pick the tomatoes.
I didn't realize what they were called but my father did also.
Tomatoes are gross
@@hannable3871 Good for you
🍅 are good some better than others. 🍅 + mayo sammich = 😋
This works for string beans or any running plant also.
The permethrin treatment is used in the military. I remember it coming in a bag made to soak the garments. It's wild that it survives washing, but it's true.
is the permethrin safe to use on my dogs? and if so at what strength please?
@@rodnawilliams9398 permethrin is often used as a flea/tick dip. Most bottles found in farm stores will have safe dilution ratios listed.
Permethrin is toxic to cats WHEN WET. Once it's dry, its ok for them.
You are very good at explaining complex topics in a non-boring way. I really like your content!
Hello John, I see you are missing a fender bolt on your tractor @ 1 : 50 / when you are talking about the battery charger.😁 I have one for my lawn tractor. How about painting your air tank green so other people will know this is and air tank, also make the tank nicer with no rust. I have and old Freon tank I use, I painted mine Green and added AIR stickers. I think Harbor Freight had a kit one time with a pop off valve and a gauge with it. John, I'm like you, I always check my ear muffs for 🕷bugs. Lots of Great Tips. 👍I too have use gas 💥💣to start a fire, Kerosene works but will go out. I guess I will get a small torch to start my fire pit. Thanks John. I wish I had a Neighbor like you !😆👍
We are using cattle panel sections for individual tomato cages, too. However, my husband bent them into “L” shaped units by standing on a 2x4 on top of the panel and pulling the free end up. This allows us to take 2 “L” opposite each other to form a square. We zip tie them together for use and can still stack them into a corner of the shed taking up very little floor space. They could also be hung from the junction of a wall and ceiling! Hope this helps others figure out how to store cattle panel tomato cages.
Good move, thankyou !
That's a great idea!
We just use one of the ''L'' shapes .and plant in the inside corner . As they grow I tie cheap hemp twine across the open end which forms a triangle . Doubles the use of expensive panels and also scrap pieces become useful
I like it, alot easier to store too!
I'm an old retired rehab nurse that now gardens without help. Your advise on using your legs (quadriceps) and saving your back is really important information. I have worked with big strong guys that had injured their back so I was faced with doing the lifting myself. I do what ever I can to prevent some heavy thing being on the ground. I keep a tarp or something in my car not to keep dirt out but so I can just pull something heavy out and on to a garden cart with boards over it. I then transfer from the cart to a storage bin with the top so I can just flip it over into the cart if I need to. I do allot of drag and flip. Easier than lifting people.
Once you get the flame established in a bonfire you can also use a leaf blower to keep it going. I watched a guy burning up a pile of medium sized stumps in a constant misty drizzle by driving the fire with excess air. It also helps keep down the soot/smoke to burn with an excess of air. I had no idea he was burning until we were within 100 yards of the property.
Edit: Permethrin can also be dangerous for cats, worth looking in to at least.
This! A much more efficient use of a splash of gas. I've burnt some pretty wet stuff this way.
I just use a zero turn mower and stoke it up as needed.
So basically the same way they do the forest fires that only burn the homes.
Great advice on checking PPE before putting. When I worked as a Database Administrator we used to toss around this question; Who consistently makes backups of their data? Answer: People who have experienced a catastrophic data loss. I once stuffed my foot into a muck boot that had been in the garage all winter and it didn't fit right. I took it off and dumped out a dead chipmunk.
I always dump my boots for spiders. I rarely find one, but sometimes.
Our daughter, roughly 5-6 at the time, almost put her shoe on that had been on the back porch. She noticed a web- turned out to be a black widow.
Oy, fellow DBA.. completely agree! You’re only as good as your last backup.. In AZ, checking footwear EVERY TIME is always on the pre-flight checklist. Black widow bites hurt like heck. I’ve been guilty of jumping on the digger, slapping on the ear muffs while backing out, and waiting for movement in my ears.. dumb, I know.
@@gardengirl318 Red Backs in AUS. But then we have the REALLY deadly Funnel Web spiders, you get bitten, you die ! Literally.
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To start fires I use old limbs that fall out of trees cut them to length of a 5 gallon bucket and pour in some old diesel and let them soak up all of the fuel it wants. The well rotted ones work the best. I light it by putting a piece of paper towel underneath. The stick will burn for a very long time.
the tomato cages, the old propane tank and the permethrin really impressed me.
Only thing to note is that permethrin is poisonous to cats and fish so maybe keep it away from those or yourself from them when your clothes are impregnated with it.
also poisonous to pollinators/beneficial predator-insects
@Eminator Studios Wow thank you very much for your comment. My husband sent me this video. And you can actually make your own Marigold slew yourself. I explained to him how I did this years ago when we were living out in the country. You can make it yourself.. but I didn't know permethrin can be toxic to cats or fish. Quite interesting. I wonder if it's better to make it yourself than to use the straight chemical itself? Thank you for this triggering comment because it's going to send me down an informational rabbit hole. People need to know all sides of all facts within different things. I always take to the comments. My husband never does. He sees it and says okay let's run with it. I swear. He's purchased things off of Amazon that have been completely crap. He sees a high star comment and that's it. And whatever he purchased was junk.
☝️🧐🤔
Which is probably why he handed me this video.. 😆🤣😂
Thank you for your comment. This is why comments are so important. 💋👌💫🙏🏼😇
I spray it on my cattle to get rid of the flies that are biting them. But I never spray it under the porch or places like that where the cats might hang out since it is toxic to them. Their livers cannot process it like we, or a cow, or a dog can. Cat's have a unique metabolism and they are very sensitive to some things, like certain essential oils and pesticides, that are not very toxic to us. NEVER use a pesticide or essential oil on a cat without first looking it up to see if it is safe.
@@MzClementine I like fish but got rid of my Koi pond years ago. Not a fan of cats so I don't have any of those, but I mean if you walk by a cat and don't touch it is the cat going to fall over dead? Just Asking?? I mean I'm not actively trying to kill anything but ticks, chiggers, & mosquito's! 🙂
@@robertmyers5993 it's only dangerous to cats in the liquid form. They have to ingest or inhale it to get it inside their body. Once it dries on your clothes it's safe.
re: bonfire... place all the timber in a heap and cover it with a tarpaulin. the moment you get a few hours of rain then you light it after taking the tarpaulin off, ground all around is wet.
These are very good advices! Now i need a big American farm!
Dear John. The tomatoes cage, air tank and bon fire are a winners for me. Great channel, I'm a fan.
As someone in the trades occasionally lifting heavy stuff, doing manual labor hours a day, I really liked the legs/back tips. Also smart with the bonfire lighting. Good stuff all around man.
Great back saving tips.
I needed to see this 30 years ago
We use cattle panel tomato cages more simply by cutting them in squares and pairing two panels like an A frame. This folds up flat for off season storage.
Also, a small handheld propane tank with a soldering torch works great for starting a wood pile and a battery leaf blower will supercharge the flame into a self-sustaining bonfire with minimal effort.
As a 5' female I have used all the lifting/carrying hacks. You can also carry heavy and/or large/bulky objects on your back using your legs for the lift and letting it rest on your back as you walk (of course you have to bend over somewhat, but it works).
The one on ticks and your shovel hacks. Going to use them this weekend, I appreciate it amigo, start posting more…
for gloves, roll them up if you are storing in a shed, then the outside area for bugs to enter is just at the outside and they can't get inside just at the surface.
For starting big brush pile fires I have found using a bag of match light charcoal works well too. I put it at the bottom in as far as I can shove it (entire bag unopened), light the bag, and it’s as simple as that.
I change my own oil. i used the old oil to start fires. It doesn't take much.
I gave myself some great bruising on my leg moving a floor model bandsaw down a flight of stairs resting it on my thigh. Bruising my legs is better than damaging my back.
I also lift with my legs, but one drawback is if you get under something, it's a lot harder to get out from under it if something goes wrong.
Carry a wood post/2×4 at the height you want the object to slide underneath while you do what you need to.
Fire starting - I found a blow torch or even a fire-lighter is enough to get it started, however I then use a leaf blower to fuel that thing with oxygen and watch it rip through. Even when down to embers, get that air in there and feel the heat sky rocket for whatever you are going to throw on top, wet or dry!
All good tips/hacks! I've used lifting like you do for years and had many a young man question (and then hopefully learn from) me. Great permethrin and bonfire hacks!
Here's a tip for you: screwdriver handles really go down easy with some sour cream Ranch dip!
I made a tomato tunnel with em .bend that thing into a rainbow and put some t posts in to secure it to the ground. Zip tie a bunch together. Plant tomatoes on both sides. By the end of the summer you're walking through a tunnel of tomatoes. It's kinda magical and delicious too.
The shovel-leg thing works in any situation involving a shovel, scalping grass, digging, lifting a full shovel. There's always a way to use your leg strength or even just as a pivot point to avoid back fatigue. Legs are cool
Yep, you learn little tricks like this pretty quick when you have to run a shovel all day. I did a lot of that in my younger years
Seems best with a D-handle shovel. Probably not so easy with a long-handle.
I made an arbor trellis out of a hunk of cattle panel. Very sturdy. There's a clematis climbing on it now.
I've used a couple of these tricks before. The first one about putting a battery maintainer on infrequently used equipment I used on my personal pickup after I got a company truck and rarely used my pickup. I read about a tip to connect the maintainer to the wall outlet with an extension cord long enough to go through the steering wheel so you don't drive off without first unplugging the maintainer. This was an excellent tip for my absent minded self. This works as long as the vehicle is inside or at least under roof.
I have a maintaining solar panel because no hydro
I burn all my brush piles in the winter, I wait 'till there is a foot of snow and then I use old motor oil and a leaf blower to get things started. Summertime I always have to worry about a permit.
Those tomato cages look awesome. I think I'm going to make a few for next year.
I have surgery scheduled for replacing my l5s1 disc and eventually need to replace 4 more discs in my neck . I’m 39 years old and have been in agony for over a decade since I was injured . SO PLEASE ! Listen to FarmCraft101 on this advice of saving your back . I wouldn’t wish this pain on the worst of enemies. I watch this channel to learn hacks like this . Now that I’m no longer in the Navy , I plan on moving my family back to Montana . My back injury is scary. These tips and tricks are getting cataloged in my brain for when we have our own ranch again . I think about winters and how my back will take the crap end of the stick when it comes to labor . So first order of business when we move is to buy a excavator and any other equipment to make my job easier and give my back the time to slowly get better and eventually ( hopefully) have enough core strength to prevent further injury .
I can say one thing for certain- I will continue to watch , like and follow every video to learn as much as I can in order to help my family and my health in the future.
Thank you FarmCraft101 for everything! I truly appreciate it :)
I wish you and your family ( as well your channel) the best of success and happiness in the future.
-Taren Meacham
This is a celebration of the awesomeness of dads. Rock on, my friend.
Love the back saving tips. I'm all about preserving what's left of my increasingly fragile, aging back. I'm looking forward to using some of those techniques in the future. Also, I had a similar experience with my PC headphones. There was an actual earwig in one of mine several years ago and I found out after I put them on. Luckily I felt him moving around next to my ear and he didn't bite, but yeah, I can't even imagine finding a wasp nest in them. Thanks again for such great content FarmCradt101!
For the most part yes, but I am 51 years old and have been around the block a couple times. The only difference is the tomato cages were made from leftover concrete reinforcement wire. It was free, and I love putting things to use like that. Love the video. Hat's off for helping younger people get a clue. Especially with the fire. My old foreman wasn't as lucky as you. 😎
Some good tips - there's an easy way to improve burning off though (which I do): Let the pile season (you don't want to burn green, way too much smoke, hard to start etc) and just before it rains, cover with a tarp, or at least most of it if the pile is too big to cover it all. Then burn after the rain has soaked everything. That way you are burning dry seasoned wood whilst everything is wet so no chance of starting spotfires. To burn slower, better off with a long, narrow pile than a high even pyramid or cone shape. Then burn from the top of the middle, and it will slowly spread down and outwards. Very controllable and little to no smoke.
Was told years ago that theres a "sign" better for burning brush piles but the old timer couldn't remember when that was. I've searched everywhere never located the information . Anyone ever heard of this?
Or after a good snowstorm
I'm a 73 yr old very active petit woman, thank you for your back-saving tips, especially the grass scalping and lifting with thights, I'm sure I can be active until well in my 90's.👍👍👍
Great video and tips, thank you!
I can attest to gasoline and diesel being extremely dangerous when used to start a bonfire/brush pile fire.
When I was a teenager I went to burn a pile of brush. I had a mix of gasoline and diesel that we used to start the fire. I sprinkled a small amount on the pile and went to put the gas/diesel can back on the wagon away from the pile. I went back to start the fire with a wad of paper that I lit and threw into the pile where I had put the fuel mixture. The whole pile exploded into flames and put me in the hospital for two weeks with burns to my face, arms, hands, and lungs. It was later decided that the hot temps and high humidity that day served to quickly vaporize the fuel and the fumes spread through the entire pile and caused it to explode when an ignition source was introduced.
Be careful out there, it could happen to you and it could be worse.
Me thinks what you thought was a small amount was probably a large amount. I Use diesel and run a diesel petrol mix out as a wick and light the wick but find the best is a small piece of car tire tube. I even take a small piece with me when I go bush. You can get a fire going in the rain if needed.
@@wayneg8763, Nope, the gas/diesel was in an old milk jug, I could see exactly how much I used. That happened a long time ago, I now know how to better start a brush pile fire.
On the propane tank, I haven't seen one made into a compressed air container but I have seen tanks specifically made to hold compressed air for tires when I worked for the Forest Service. HA, never thought about a weed torch, which I happen to have (dang sandburs), for lighting a burn pile. I'll have to remember that one. LOL, no need to eat a screwdriver though.
We do something very similar for tomato cages - but instead of using the cattle panels we use concrete reinforcing steel mesh, or "remesh" I believe it's often called. It you need to make a lot of cages, it might be even more cost effective. And if you buy it in a roll, it already wants to take the shape of a tomato cage vs starting from a flat panel.
I’ve used this mesh to keep moose from destroying trees.
Agree, much easier to work with and mine have lasted 30 years.
Much cheaper!
All but one. The wire turner is brilliant
What we have done differently on the tomato cages is we do triangle cages, each side is two sections wide and we use the extra wire to create a hinge. It's nice when you can unfasten one corner and lay them flat for storage.
planting corn miles from home the gravity box of starter fertilizer covered with tarp doubles as "safe location" from pissed off swarm of yellow jackets its saved me more than once
Outstanding video! Your information was delivered succinctly, the examples were thorough, and you didn’t waste time with clickbait type nonsense. I learned a lot and enjoyed it the whole time. Well done, sir!
I "lift with my legs" all the time, love the content, keep up the good work 👍
We just bought some ground in southern Missouri and noticed several farms in that area that made “tomato cages “ similar to your version, then filled them with the local large rocks laying all around. They use them for boundary markers. They actually look pretty nice.
What you’re describing is called a “gabion”. They’re used in landscaping, civil engineering, bar the military, etc.
The lift with your legs tip was amazing! It seems so simple, but seeing you show examples made it so much more doable. Especially to pick up the tongue of a trailer.
Interesting, I remove the propane valve and dump the oil out (likely Ethyl Mercaptan) and replace valve. Smell dissipates after a while. Great tips video.
I save foam rubber if I find it to start fires. I also use a shop vac and tape a burn pipe to the hose on the exhaust port. A big shop vac will melt glass in a burn barrel. I have even used a ten dollar squirrel cage furnace fan with metal ducting or pipes to burn stubborn things.
When a slob tenant leaves furniture behind you have to make choices. Even box springs lose their foam and covering and the springs collapse to recycled metal if you are creative.
Don't take chances with bed bugs. A dark plastic wrap and summer sun takes care of any nasties.
A junk washer or dryer makes a killer burn barrel if reinforced with a second unit. Even dryer drums can be stacked together for a free burn barrel.
Here in Germany every county has annual bonfires in the Easter season. The local firefighters supervise these bonfires and they do it exactly as you showd here. Start it with a torch, it's the best way! Another plus is that you don't poison the ground by dumping fossil fuels on the ground.
I have seen or used most of those. That weed burner was probably the best $20 I have spent.
For free tomato cages look for free ibc totes on marketplace or Craigslist then cut the cages off of them, they bend with a little cutting. We used them just as flat panels and tied the plants to them. Worked good for something for cucumber to climb as well.
Fix that propane tank on a dolly and weed burning will be even easier
@@georgegaming5094 I hardly ever use it for weed burning, just melting and heating stuff.
My fav was the last bite from the screwdriver! I'm 76 and a farm/countryboy. I still enjoyed the video. I am also a John
The mater cages are a good idea, a friend of mine has made them from concrete wire before, hadn't thought of cattle panels though, those things have about as many uses as duct tape
I have seen all of them before The Torch at the end is My favorite just so much easier to deal with weeds and Bon fires and debris
I've seen or used all before, you can grow the other "tomatoes" with those cages as well, baking soda vinegar will settle the smell on your portable air tank.
I use essential oil blends for bugs because smells good. Use quick grip vrs C clamps and bamboo arc for lightweight drill holes in 2×4 for bamboo and quick grip the 2x4 to your bar.
Loopie tomatoes! Lol
Those are fantastic tomatoe cages and they would also protect fruit trees from the deer rubbing them!!!
I've seen a few of these and they are all great ideas! The tomato cages, I've been making mine out of what we call "hog wire" which is pretty much what you used but I buy it in a 360ft roll. I not only cage my tomatoes, but also my potatoes and some other vegetables too. I container garden and made the greatest (at least I think so) vegetable containers that I made from landscape cloth and baskets which allows me to hill my potatoes twice as high. I plant everything in them. I plant 150 containers of vegetable and at least the same flowers every year. I love it and the cages protect my vegetables from critters and keep my plants standing tall. Great tips and great video! Thanks!
That last one is the ticket. I recommend even buying the long one from Home Depot when that one goes out. I used to take a while to start my brush fires.
Cattle panels are great for all sorts of uses. I designed a cage similar to your tomato cage but bent the wire at 90° angles to make a tall square or box shape. Then I could place a game camera inside the cage looking out through one of the rectangular openings. Now you have a camera mount that enables to place your camera wherever there isn't a tree or structure to mount it to. The cage offers protection to the camera, has a frame that can be camouflaged and allows you to pick various heights to mount the camera. You can make the cage taller or shorter depending on need and can make the bottom tines or stakes longer as needed for pushing into the ground. Also recommend a chainsaw refueling safety guide if you feel comfortable doing something like that. Had a friend using his chainsaw on a cool day and he stopped to refuel it with catastrophic results. Like lighting bonfires with gasoline, the fuel vapors will find a balanced triangle together with heat and oxygen. A fraction of a second later you don't have a fire, you have a problem. He died.
The permethrin trick is pure gold for us in Wisconsin --- especially with Lymes disease being common THANK YOU !
I got some of that permethrin clothes spray (they sell it pre-diluted now) and it does work wonders. I got some socks pre treated with it and they have saved my ankles from chiggers. Every year my ankles would be just torn up with flaming red bites from chiggers but no more! Thanks some better than typical tips in here!
They where all good.
I liked the tomato cages and the portable air tank.
We use rebar mesh (used for pouring concrete) to make tomato cages 🙂 We’ve also used cattle panel, but the rebar mesh is cheaper.
I have seen all of them but the tick repellant. Funny story about the cattle panels. Dad got several of them from a neighbor. The neighbor didn't have a big truck, so he rolled them up (not very tightly). Dad stacked the 7 or 8 panels on the side yard intending to move them that day. Around a week later mom told him to get rid of them or she would. Another week later mom went out to cut them up and throw them away when she noticed the weeds growing up through them. So she made them into tomato cages. She had me put in 2 posts so she could wire a panel up for raspberries. We also put a net on one and made a plant shade that she could put over her planter box when it gets too hot and still keep it up off the plants. If you make eyes on one side and tines on the other, 4 of them make a handy temporary coral for goats and sheep when you are trying to separate one or two. I love cattle panels, they are soo useful. Yet again, I am definitely doing the tick spray.
I love this channel so much!!! I enjoyed all the tips, but if I had to pick a favourite, I particularly enjoyed the repurposed obsolete propane tank being used as an easily mobile air tank.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I religiously check my hearing protection for spiders too! 😱
I keep a propane bottle on a cheap dolly using bungie cords. Makes it easy to pull around. Starting brush piles or edging my gravel driveway. Saves your back too!😁
Lifting advice was A++ for me after throwing out my back last month. Thank you!
Edit: There were several other amazing tips, the fire starting one hit me hard. Had a similar incident 15 years ago also. Came scary close to burning down the family orchard as a teen, but thankfully my father came with a tractor and mitigated the spread. I would use the same fire starting technique you first showed, years back, but we would be lighting nearly 1/2 an acre of prunings or more. After thousands of trees were pruned, the row of limbs were pushed to the back of the property and gathered into separarted piles, but they would get big fast if not burned weekly. Fire is truly scary and I use the same method of fire lighting, ever since and I never want to be that terrified, because of a runaway bon fire, evere again. Lesson learned, thank you for sharing these life saving tips, with the next generation!
My favorite "hack/tip" was the battery charger. Ordering today! Not through Amazon though. The "Don't use your back" tips were pretty helpful as well. Ohhh & the shade on your tractor was pretty boss. 🤠😎💯 Many thanks 👍👍👍🙂
I discovered permethrin thanks to you! Not sure how I didn’t know about this earlier, but none the less it works amazing on carpenter bees, problem solved
Cattle panels are great in combination with raised bed gardening. We just take a full panel and arch it over the walkway between two raised beds and plant tomatoes each bed, next to the arch. Tomatoes grow up the arch and form a canopy which makes easy pickings.
I also made a fence around our raised beds out of cattle panels and tee-posts. Keeps the deer out.
I use the same construction design but instead of cattle panels, I use concrete reinforcing wire. It's a smaller gauge (bends a little easier) but still much heavier than what you can get on pre made cages. Mine give me about 6-8 years of service before the wires that stick in the ground rust bad enough to break. I cut the old points and the next ring of wire off the bottom to give it fresh points to stick in the ground. It leaves the cage one square shorter but I get another 6 years of use. I have no idea how much this wire cost, I just get leftover pieces from friends that work with concrete construction. I use 11 sections to make mine. 10 for the cage and the 11th to bend back around to lock the ends together and make the circle.
I think your choice of any number of various coatings you might already have lying around would add 3-6 years to the lifespan before a problem like that.
There are things I wouldn’t really want in the ground my tomatoes grow in but unless you’re consuming them like it’s going out of fashion I think there’s bigger things to worry ahout
Pull them out of the soil after growing season. Mine have lasted 30 years.
This video popped up on my feed again today (5/14/2024), and reminded me again of things I have wanted to do but not implemented. I did purchase a propane torch for hand-held small bottles, and found that it works great for started fires in my backyard pit, as well as heating metal. The tomato cage hack is one yet to get done. I am going to share this to a couple of local gardening sites on Facebook, so hopefully you'll get some new viewers.
I got my Toyota forklift from Bidadoo/eBay last week. $215. It doesn't run, but for that price I can do a complete rebuild on it and still be money ahead. I will use the Farmcraft 101 method of cylinder repair if and when the time comes.
Love the channel Jon. You are the guy I have always wanted to be.
You ever try spraying permethrin on your hearing protectors to keep those bwidows out of there? Great tomato cages. I always learn something really useful from you. Cheers!
Great idea!
Quick fire starting trick I use is a few easy light charcoal briquettes. Light them under the pile, once they are burning for a few minutes then get out the ol' leaf blower and blow those briquettes. Simple alternative to the propane torch.
Love your stuff man!
For tomato cages, we used a whole roll of concrete reinforcement mesh, which is 6’ tall and about 100’ long. Makes a bigger tomato cage, and very sturdy. Our tomato plants are big enough that cattle panel is inadequate. To fasten them into the ground we use stainless steel staples.
I've got one for you. Instead of using toxic wasp spray that is thinned down nerve agent (which is bad for everything), I use Mean Green cleaner concentrate. I mix it half and half with water, and use an off the shelf spray bottle. The nozzle can be adjusted to mist or stream, and usually has pretty good range. Once you get some of the cleaner on the abdomen of the wasp, it begins to aspirate and dies. It takes the fight right out of even the meanest red paper wasps and yelllow jackets. The best part is that the cleaner is biodegradable, and won't have any lasting effects after your encounter.
nice. Dawn dish soap and water in a good spray bottle work good and its an 'organic' insect killer. kills faster than those nasty wasps can sprays and much safer for the person.
@@GreenPlanetFarm so does Mean Green.
We use Dawn ultra , because we have bees and that’s what you have to use if you have a diseased hive (or we use brake cleaner for quick squirts in smaller holes for instant death). The permetherin for clothes works great for ticks, but it needs to be applied and dried far away from the cat.
I would suggest examining the SDS for Mean Green or any other product before assuming it is safe. :)
Alas, few research topics thoroughly, through the lens of understanding how "science" actually works today. (And yes, we have multiple videos and articles posted addressing the present state of science.)
Toxins are toxic. When one's life depends on accurate research, as mine does, one tends to be more cautious in forming conclusions.
Take it from this human canary- this world is a toxic coal mine!
Don't be fooled by the corporate propaganda! The link below is the latest installment in my series "How to Research Everything." This post includes links to previous videos including a "How to Research Chemicals" video.
non-toxic-home.org/f/why-is-research-so-hard-these-days-video
We've been doing the permetherin trick with our military uniforms for many years, deploying to mosquito infested areas.
They're good for 6 month deployments. Usually....
Thank you for your service!
Didn't know it works for mosquitos. I just bought some to spray clothes with. Was working on some property and kept getting attacked and bitten by ticks so i quit going to the property. Mosquitos were insane and had to use bug spray that i hate to be covered in. I read online about spraying clothes for ticks. In his video he used it on shorts and tshirts. What i read said you had to have long sleeves, pants, hats e.t.c. with 115° heat index i was discouraged and still haven't went back up to the property.
(Walk from car to building have ticks on me)
Any suggestions on the best way to use this?
Property has woods and about 1 acre that has tall weeded grass. No one had lived there for several years.
Had most of the old rotted mobile home torn down.
Would like to get that finished before winter. I mowed the grass a few times im sure it's up to my shoulders again by now.
There are fire ant hills in the tall grass i need to do something about (huge ones i was shocked how big)
Would like to enjoy/ reclaim this property.
Just frustrated.
@@backroadsusa6915 Treat your pants/socks/shoes once a year and it should be fairly decent at repelling them.
Keep that grass mowed down, ticks thrive in unmowed field grass.
Also get some Guinea fowl, they love ticks.
@@Absaalookemensch i plan on getting those once i move there. No water yet on the property, working on that.
Don't move your body when you shovel, and always grip the blade end of the handle with your hand over (palm down) not under (palm up).
An expansion of your shovel work. A too common job is filling the wheel barrow or filling the cement mixer. Two things are important. First, pick the position that you absolutely do not need to turn, raise, or shift your body. What is on the shovel weighs 6 pounds, 10 pounds,, If you are moving or turning your body to lift or throw the shovel load,, you are moving 150 pound to throw the 10 pounds. That IS the total number of calories expended to move that single shovel load. It is IMPERATIVE that you find the position of the wheel barrow or cement mixer or pickup bed,, that is inline with the pick up and throw of the shovel. It will double or triple your productivity for the day or week. Second,, you have two hands on the shovel. The one hand is up near the end of the handle or gripping the D handle,, the second hand is gripping down nearer the blade. Nearly everyone grabs that lower hand palm up. No. Wrong. Nearly every shovel job your hand should grasp the lower hand near the blade with palm down. There are exceptions to this,, but they are few. Palm down, gripping over the handle,, once you get used to it,, greatly increases your range of motion,, range of throw. And reduces the total calories expended.
I'm old. Been doing this a long time. Long enough that I have excavated for basements with a hand shovel and pick and wheel barrow. Yep. You cannot get a backhoe into some sites, can't. Also,, so many placements of sand or stone were dropped from the back of a double bottom on the street,, and bobcats were very uncommon, or bobcats cannot get into a basement excavation to lay the sand bed prior to the slab pour. Shovel and wheel barrow. There are 1,000 tons of pea stone under one house I can think of and 40 yards of sand under the slab of another. The 40 yards was placed in a single day. One man, one wheel barrow.
Don't move your body when you shovel and always (nearly) grip the blade end of the handle with your hand over not under. These two things can double your productivity.
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
@@patriciacole8773 I am glad you found it helpful. It is arcane knowledge but even today there is a shovel in every garden shed. It is still useful to me. 70 years old and we mixed our own concrete for a 1200 square foot shop slab. Too far out in the desert for a redi-mix truck so 25 yards of sand and gravel shoveled in to a constantly turning cement mixer on a 3 day pour. If you can find that sweet spot where you do not have to move your body at all,, you can move a lot of dirt
My grandfather made tomato cages in a similar way. My dad told me about it after i complained to him about the store bought ones. I then made some this way with Concrete-Reinforcing Mesh. I didn't think to wrap them around for the seam but we did cut the bottom for spikes. Very cool to see great minds thinking alike.
Thank you ! Have seen several of these and have been making the cages for years. I got a lot out of the lifting techniques and will put those to use ! The flammable liquid tip is great. I had a very close call once bottle feeding a classic car… nothing to mess with.
Thanks and please keep your videos coming. I love them all. Curious how you got your mathematical skills…engineering?
Lifting a boat on a trailer to the ball hitch: back up under the bow with knees bent and back against the hull then rise up using legs. As a 125lb kid I routinely trailered the same boat as seen on "Flipper".
Bon Fires: cutting roads we piled green trees and brush with old tires about 1ft off ground. Mix a few gallons of kerosene with diesel fuel and splash. Give it a few minutes to vaporize then toss in a torch and it will slowly ignite without problems.
bug juice: add one drop of cheap dishwashing liquid as a surfactant. It will break surface tension so the liquid soaks in instead of rolling off.
Rare 9th Hack--
When you go fishing in a small boat, you can avoid paddling by dipping your Johnson in the water.
My Grandfather taught me most of this things when I was growing up. He was an “old school” farmer who grew up during the Great Depression and never threw anything away as he may need it at some point. The only thing that you do differently is using the weed torch for bonfires. He always used diesel as it has an ignition delay compared to gas. Really enjoy your videos!
*#6: I never heard of Permethrin SFA. I am definitely going to do that.*
*#5: I worked on the docks as a longshoreman & I learned how to use my legs the same way & many other ways. Although I am a small man I could keep up with everyone else because of how I created leverage.*
Permethrin is a synthetic that behaves like the organic found in those marigolds. It is highly toxic to fish and bees and residues are long lasting. It is “likely” carcinogenic but remains a seemingly less dangerous pesticide than many alternatives. With that said, if you or your dog ( cats don’t tolerate it well) are around disease vectors like ticks this stuff is the lesser of two evils IMJ.
The bond fire was my favorite got a laugh out that but glad to hear you warning people what could've happened and of the part about eating the screw driver. 😝
I don't know about US environmental laws, but I can tell you where I live (Belgium), it is illegal to buy and use permethrine as it is considered toxic to live stock and humans alike. In fact our local FDA even checks for traces of the stuff on produce. It used to be used a lot though, on flea collars for cats and dogs, a few years back. And by the way, local farmers here used to do the same "trick" you do but with DDT. But DDT has been made illegal for use for over 20 years at least now (if not longer)
Here in America we have a couple of serious tick borne diseases, Lyme disease is very debilitating up 375% this year. I'll take my chances with permethrin over lyme disease any day.
Love your tips for the back, it’s so important many people overlook.🙏👌😘
I've actually made similar tomato cages, learned it years ago from my wifes father, an old school farmer. They used hog wire c-clamps. When not in use, they'll fold up flat. Really like the tip on spray to keep ticks and chiggers away, I'll be looking to use this! Great video, awesome content, presented simple for folks just like me! God bless you and your family!👍
Yes I have 6-8 of these Mr R made for me and they are MANY years old. He is a farmboy and I am a suburbanite. I'm glad he's a farmboy especially in these times! Mrs R
Honestly, as long as you keep your back straight when you lift you are fine. I mean people deadlift 100kg+ without hurting their backs. If you are too tired to hold proper form when lifting, stop.
Several ‘new to me’ ideas. Thanks. My fav? The Flame Thrower! 😂
My dad made some super durable tomato cages out of a roll of remesh that is typically used for reinforcing concrete. Same idea as the one you showed. They have lasted for years!
I came to comments to post the same thing. The wire is lighter than cattle panel, but plenty strong to last for years. Also, way cheaper. The squares are 6x6... perfect for all but prize-winning beefsteak toms.
Have seen tom cages from cattle panels for quite a while now. Better suggestion is to connect them with heavy duty zip ties. Then at the end of the season you can cut the ties so they lay flat for storage for us urban gardeners. ;)
Only "hack" I would add is never under any circumstances buy a short handled shovel.
I got raised garden beds homie.. that thang is clutch 😂👌
short handles are for short people
Where I live short shovels are the norm and shorter stature people are also the norm, but I’ve found that there are plenty of situations where using a short shovel with a d-ring handle is excellent! Such as working on a hillside and your working above you as well as when your in a trench or hole and working on the sides, they are great!
I make the tomato cages the same way. They last forever. You probably know this, but for others that dont. Right after you plant the tomatoes and put the cage around it. Get a very large plastic trash bag. Cut the bottom off. Slide the trash bag over the cage. Tye wrap the top edge of trash bag in 4 spots around cage to the top of cage. This acts as a sort of greenhouse affect to the plants. It also protects the plants from the rough winds and storms in spring. Your plants will be much bigger and grow much faster than your fellow gardeners in your area. I’ve done this for years and the results are incredible.
Permethrin is a much better idea(and less stinky) than in an old camping book I read of smoking your clothing with tobbacco stems.
You have a great clear strong voice. Being hard of hearing...makes it difficult to understand many folks on UA-cam....but not with you.
Good tips!!! The lifting ones are going to be put to use immediately.
Thx!!!
Ive seen all of those, except for the cattle fencing as tomato cages. All those tips are useful, of course. Love your channel. I can't wait for the next video to come out. I look forward to them! :)
I highly recommend grabbing a cheap 12V solar panel, like for a deer feeder or similar. My dad keeps them on whatever vehicles we aren't using for a while, and they do a good job of keeping things float charged without needing a power connection
If there's any tip that I need more than the others, it's the starting a big fire safely. Thank you for the knowledge!