I figure I'm always a month behind. Sometimes it's procrastination, sometimes I just run out of cool temps because it gets warm early. Plant cool weather stuff and a month later, over 80 degrees. Just like some Winters we don't get snow and hardly a day of single temps. This year 10-12 inches in one shot and single temps for two weeks. That doesn't mean a cool Spring or Summer though. Just plant early and often and don't buy seeds that cost 50 cents each.
Just bought a set of four tires for the truck and a new type of chinese tire changer machine. It runs on air instead of the manual one I have from Harbor Freight.
Tire shops don't like when you bring them new new tires you didn't buy from them and ask them to put them on. Paid $100 to get the last set put on and it took half a day with travel and a little wait time. This $360 tire machine will pay for itself pretty quick. Got this set of tires for $400 and if I bought them from a tire shop, it would be $6-700 installed.
Last tire shop I used had a dim helper and I had to redo the torque on the rim he tightened up. Two lug nuts weren't tight enough and the other three I had to put 4 foot of leverage on them to break them loose. Came loose with a big snap. Would have been screwed if I was on the side of the road with a flat and didn't have a four foot pipe with me.
Bought the truck before the tires and tire machine of course so there has been no extra money for a while.
I missed out on that 3 foot PTO tiller due to vehicle issues. Probably be years before I find another used one but at least I know they exist. I thought 4 foot was the smallest which is really too big for my tractor but Kubota makes a 3 foot. The ad for the $1000 used one said $2000-2200 new.
A good rear tine walk behind is $900 and up but I don't want to wrestle with one of those or have another small engine to deal with. Time for my little old self to remove manual labor. I'm getting a pneumatic jack too, Moving a 3 1/2 ton floor jack around that weighs 80 lbs isn't fun on gravel. Doesn't roll very well.
I'll be able to buy pipe and lumber for the high tunnel before the end of February. Then I need gutter stuff and more IBC tanks. Fresh drip setup.
Gonna venture out there today and see what the ground is like, look at things for motivation. Probably frozen now but once it's warmed up, see if it's moist/wet throughout under the film. Should be with the snow melt.
The magic drip fitting
They're called push-to-connect fittings. Push 1/4" plastic tubing in and it locks and seals.(I tested on 1/4" drip) Push the orange part in and you can pull the tubing back out. They have plugs that will push in to cap off the flow. Since they go on the outside, they don't restrict the flow like a barbed fitting, plus you don't have to cut the tubing off with a utility knife. The end will get worn after being inserted and removed enough times so then you cut a little off the end. Safer than trying to cut tubing off a barbed fitting while trying to save the fitting.
Since they're mainly used indoors, I don't know about UV rating. The white with orange release rings were best for show and tell here. They do make black ones and black plastic tends to hold up to UV better. They also make chrome plated brass, unplated brass, stainless steel, with plastic or metal release rings etc but those get pricey. They're also made with pipe threads on one end and in different shapes like Tees, 4 way, 45/90 elbows, reducers. Anything that has threads is also a swivel fitting
Those steel pipe brackets are used for laundry services for racks to hang clothes on. Large uniform companies use them as a custom built rack system hanging from above. They also put small rolling racks in work places to hang this week's clean uniforms on which is where I spied them.