The Two-Wheel Tractor Handbook

214 pages. Temps de lecture estimé 2h40min.
Small but mighty — a comprehensive guide to the use of two-wheel tractors for highly productive gardens, landscapes, and farms TWO-WHEEL TRACTORS are multifunctional, economical, practical, maneuverable, portable, and low impact. Yet choosing the equipment is only half of it; the other half is integrating the right machine and implements into your land-based enterprise and coupling it with innovative high-efficiency techniques. Coverage includes: Why you need a two-wheel tractor Two-wheel tractor essentials including tractor implement options and functions Equipment decision-making to suit your scale, context, enterprises, and budget Safety equipment, operation, and basic maintenance Innovative use strategies including micro-plowing, making "Permabeds," in situ mulching, the "Compost-a-path Method," crop guilds, scaling up, and diversified crop management How to start from scratch, clearing new land, scaling up your enterprises, and more Case studies and rich examples from suburban landscaping to commercial market gardens from Europe and North America "Pro tips," "design boxes," and other sidebars for rapidly elevating your skills. The Two-Wheel Tractor Handbook shows small-scale growers how to leverage walk-behind tractors to maximize the productivity and profitability of their enterprises. This full-color, highly illustrated guide is a must-have tool for urban farmers, suburban gardeners, rural homesteaders, orchardists, landscapers, and market gardeners looking to boost production.Liability Statement Cover & Inside Material Praise Preamble Introduction This Book's Format About This Book Small-Scale Profit Resilience Chapter 1: A Story About a Horse The Horse and His Boy The Origin of Two-Wheel Tractors Honoring the Two-Wheel Tractor The Italian Two-Wheel Renaissance Chapter 2: Two-Wheel Tractor Essentials The Definitive Two-Wheel Tractor Eleven Two-Wheel Tractor Benefits The Types of Two-Wheel Tractors Row Crop Tractor with High Clearance Row Crop Tractor Features Tractor Components: Form and Function Powersafe Clutch and Transmission Tractor Operation: Getting Started Steps to Get Operating Steps to Begin Implement Operation A Bit of Tractor Safety Chapter 3: Implements and Their Uses Types of Implements Selected Equipment Profiles Chapter 4: Equipment Decision-Making Scale-Suitable Equipment Scale Phases Equipment Guilds and Operation Cycles Guild Enterprise Production Guild Enterprise Brainstorming Template Budgeting for Tractors and Equipment Chapter 5: Selected Enterprise Examples The Backyard Gardener (.25–5 APA) Suburban Homesteader (1–3 APA) Market Grower (1–3 APA) Row Crop Farmer (3–6 APA) Back-to-the-Lander (3–15 APA) Groundskeeper and Landscaper (Various APA) Grassland Farmer (8–13 APA) Tree Nursery (3–6 APA) Edible Ecosystem Management Chapter 6: Permabed System for Two-Wheel Tractors Permabed System 101 Permabed Architecture Permaplot Design Permaplot Layout Compost-a-Path Principles Permabed Soil Design Using Equipment for Crop Rotation Management Chapter 7: Growing from Scratch 1. Clearing New Land (or Reclaiming) 2. Garden Plot Layout 3. Micro-Plowing a Field 4. Permabed Layout and Bed Building Options 5. Building Beds with a Power Ridger 6. Refining Your Rough Permabeds 7. Seasonal Bed Preparation Operations 8. Succession Planting and Crop Guild Design 9. Other Seasonal Management Chapter 8: Tractor Maintenance and Care Tractor Maintenance Simplified Essential Tools for Maintenance Essential Maintenance Supplies Maintenance Tips Checking and Changing Honda Engine Oil Two-Wheeling into the Future Glossary of Common Terms and Jargon Index About the Author About New Society Publishers