Getting the Digger in Knots | Hitachi EX60 and Kubota M4062 doing field work

[@conormac2010]

One of the best diggers ever made, have a -5 myself

[@GubbFarm]

Hello Conor. They are a great digger. The first tracked digger I used was a Hymac when a kid. They have come a long way!

[@gravity-arbor]

The drone creates really helpful perspective of scale, too.

[@GubbFarm]

Thank you. The drone footage is getting nicer as we move into the summer and life is returning to the land. It was a bit grey during the winter!

[@gravity-arbor]

@@GubbFarm Also lovely to hear the birds when you’re doing the planting , after fixing that nasty digger problem

[@GubbFarm]

@@gravity-arborthey are lovely to listen to this time of the year.

[@laoislumberjack8232]

Excellent video the trees and the interplanting.. 👍👍

[@GubbFarm]

Thank you. I hope all is well.

[@Bob1Mack]

Well done with the digger! It looked like a proper mare's nest. Hard enough to figure out where things were supposed to be, much less get them there. I'll remember the trick of marking them with cable ties; I've never seen a system to address that issue. Of course, this must have been a pain to do it basically one-handed. (How is the shoulder coming on, by the way?) Your point about forcing designers to do repairs, or to actually use the systems they design is absolutely valid. In various tech fields, it has been well known, and strenuously resisted, for some decades now. Good luck with the cages!

[@GubbFarm]

Bob, it was the sort of job that required a very deep breath before getting stuck into. It probably took about 6 to 8 hours in total to get the digger back up and running. Having to work with my arms at full reach, stuck through a small hole, was excruciating at times.. but oddly I think it helped my shoulder stretch out. As for the shoulder it is getting stronger by the day and I can now use it to lift objects such as fence posts. Thank you asking and I hope all is well with you. 👍

[@stevefromthegarden1135]

The digger makes short work of pushing the posts into the ground. Looks like your shoulder is doing better.

[@GubbFarm]

Hello Steve and hope you (and your garden!) are doing well. The shoulder is going from strength to strength every day. As for driving posts, I tapped down a couple of hundred when I first lined out the posts and quickly decided I needed a better way! I hope all is well.

[@HenriGooch]

Nice one Dary! Good to see the M4062! Question when you planted the blackcurrant tree why did you put the cardboard down? Does this help protect it? Sorry im fairly new too it all!

[@GubbFarm]

Hello Henri and thank you. I put down the cardboard to help suppress the grass to give the blackcurrant a chance to get established. The inspiration for this was watching Charles Dowding's no dig approach. All the best.

[@jordanwanberg753]

not to be a doubter but aren't the picking costs for raspberries kind of high?

[@GubbFarm]

Hello Jordan. Yes picking anything by hand will be expensive. My primary focus is on developing a permaculture to try and create a good outcome for the hazelnut trees. If I can find a way to make a profit for the berries, that is a plus. I am looking at pick your own and jams from what is left. All the best.

[@GubbFarm]

I was just reflecting on your question and a key point that I missed is that I will be planting a very diverse selection of soft fruit that will yield over a four month window so I should be able to stay on top of harvesting it myself. The reason this comes to mind, is that I was reflecting on how farming does not scale well. For example soft fruit, as you rightly pointed out, becomes unprofitable to hand pick if paying for labour, then if you do scale, you need to buy more land and purchase expensive machines, which is why there are very few soft fruit farms in Ireland. It is similar for other farming sectors. I have been watching videos of farmers with thousands of acres, thinking they have made it big, but most appear to be struggling to achieve profitability, with many running at a loss most years. Part of the problem is the cost of the increasingly expensive machines required to manage large scale operations, plus fuel and labour. The other issue is the supply chain. It looks like the bigger farms get, the less profitable they become. Rather than "get big or get out", maybe the new farming moto should be "get small to stay in".

[@jordanwanberg753]

With few soft fruit farms it woulf allow you to sell your product at a premium.

[@jonassas4383]

Great video

[@GubbFarm]

Thanks Jonas.