2008 Garden Vlog 2 Rototilling

[robertdeuce]

your hat says voisey's bay, is that nfld?

[fishtankbank]

its not as smooth gowing as i imagined one of those things would make tilling.

[565Customz]

thats a big azz garden....

im doing my first big one this year at 35-25...im scared of how much harvesting im gonna have...i can only immagine what your gonna be picking lol

[TheSaladBoy]

How much did the rototiller cost you? thats an impressive piece of equipment

[Blinkazoid]

I got it from Sears about 5 years ago. As well as I can remember it was around $500. It's been a great tiller and never fails to start within a couple of pulls. I always make sure I put stabilizer in the gas before wintertime to the old gas won't gum up the carburator.

[dumb7890]

the more of your videos i watch the bigger my garden gets what part of the world do you live in

[Blinkazoid]

North Carolina

[atsdj2004]

I love your videos! We just tilled our first garden today. It was tilled about 10 years ago, but has since grown out. We tilled the grass (short with lots of clovers) into the soil. Now I am concerned how to get the grass out. What did you do with the grass when you tilled our okra bed on this video? Does it just die out? We have about 3 weeks until we plant.

[Blinkazoid]

Thanks:) I usually like to wait a full day so the ground is dried out a little (assuming it doesn't rain during that day) and then take a good rake and rake through where I've tilled and remove the larger clunks of grass which still have lots of roots attached. If you don't do that then some of it will start growing again. If you wait more than a couple of days do rake it then it will re-root and be pretty hard to remove by raking. Glad you enjoy my vids:)

[MsGirlee]

Suzy the camo cat!! purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... How do you tell Carly and Babs apart?

[Blinkazoid]

Mainly Babs has a white spot on her chin. Also she has a smaller frame and is more rotund, and she doesn't have as much white on her feet. Ya, I'm not sure if I've ever done a garden vlog where at least one of my cats didn't make an appearance:)))

[cooksterz]

Im so glad you planted more. I was unable to meet a garden this year. So ill live thru yours! Onto 4 garden vlogs in a row!! And i didnt even get dirt under my nails! HI BLINKY!! im home now

[Blinkazoid]

Glad to hear you're back home safe and sound. That's probably no small feat after a road trip in which Furnifur and Whonerz were involved, LOL. Looks like you had a great time from all the videos I saw. You've got your work cut out for you if you're going to watch all these garden vids, LOL. But as you say no dirt under your nails. Ahhh, but you know you miss the dirt under your nails!!! Maybe you can plant one next year!

[petuniabelle650]

I meant to ask you the other day, Blink, are

Babs and Carly sisters? They looked alike to me with the white chests and the white whiskers. (I guess you can tell I have cats since I'm always interested in yours and Curt's cats and I know their names!)

I hope you get enough rain this year for the garden. We're not anywhere near as dry this year so far here in East Tennessee, and I sincerely hope we won't have such a horrible drought as last summer.

[Blinkazoid]

Carly is Bab's daughter. Unfortunately they don't get along very well together in spite of that fact. Ya, we've had ample rain here in Western N.C. this season too. I might have to buy and extra length of hose so I can water my okra if need be.

[twister7boy]

good god 18 minutes. this is just crazy. what the heck is okra? doing all that work i wouldnt call you lazy.

~ ~

. . ^

,O

peace. gregg

[Blinkazoid]

Just do a google search on "Okra" and it'll explain it better than I can. It's just a plant which *can* get very tall and produces long edible ribbed green pods. You can fry them or put them into soups or gumbo. I've never made gumbo myself.

[twister7boy]

thanks. yeah ive never even had gumbo but want to try some from different cultures.

peace. gregg

[nanciesweb]

I don't think any gardener plans on going overboard.

I haven't - yet, but I still have to go to the local greenhouse. :D

*I* don't have to rototill. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyahhhh, nyaaaaahhhhh!

[Blinkazoid]

:P Ahhh yes, but I will have all sorts of veggies to eat the summer for my efforts though.... well, hopefully anyway.

[NaturalTwentyFilms]

And I thought you said you were gonna go "gardening light" this year. It'll be fun to see the okra come in and I see you're gonna do the beans again, too. You've got your work cut out for you and you still find time to make 18-minute vids. You're the best, Blinkazoid! It was very nice of Suzy to do some tilling of her own for you at the end, too - and nice socks.

[Blinkazoid]

Yep, I did say that, LOL. That was during a low energy day of mine I guess:) The mesh came in for the beans today so I'm going out right now to do a little filming of me putting that up. I'm not sure when I'll get it posted though. Hopefully within a few days. I have lots of socks with dirt ingrained so much it'll never come out, LOL.

[ShadeC4]

Oh man, I SWEAR I could smell your sock at the end there... Stankay. x.x And it looked like Suzy was going after the crickets. ;3 I also adore how huge your back yard is there. I'd love to just go into the grass, lay down and relax...

[Blinkazoid]

I remember relaxing.... That was before gardening season though:) I'll relax during eating season, LOL.

[ShadeC4]

Rofl x) And you will in turn get fat during eating season. ;P

[Blinkazoid]

Maybe a little:) I'm far too vain to get overly fat though, LOL.

[ShadeC4]

Rofl x3 Yeah, I'm actually about only 20 pounds overweight. ^^; Nit that bad, all things considered. Most of it is thanks to me getting something of a better diet... And even more is due to my whole lack of eating, as well. <<;

[MissTruly]

Man, it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was bugging you for updates on last year's garden!

[Blinkazoid]

Yep, time marches on, LOL. I resolve to try and keep everyone updated a little better this year on my garden. Well, that's the plan anyway!!!

[UFGatorJenn]

Yes..it's garden time!!!!

[Blinkazoid]

Let the photosynthesis begin!!!

[1DRock37167]

My brother uses the same tiller on his garden, its a pretty good model.

I have had okra just about any way you could imagine and Im still not a fan. Hope your new patch works out well for ya.

Now those were some funky workin in the garden socks!

Loved the vid, I guess Im one of those die hard gardners you were talking about.

Daryl

[Blinkazoid]

I really like it. I've always been impressed with how easily it starts. I've always used a gasoline additive in it which keeps gas stable for long periods of time so it doesn't gum up the fuel system. I'm sure that's probably helped some because it sometimes sits for many months unused. I guess there's no convincing some people of the many virtues of okra, LOL. I'm the same way with broccoli.... YUCK!!!

[anniehiggy]

Those felines should apply for the next Survivor - Gabon! :)

Now THAT'S a rototiller!

[Blinkazoid]

Suzy and Babs might form an alliance, but Babs and Carly I'm sure would try to undermine each other, LOL. I've had the tiller for about 5 years I guess. Before that I did quite a bit more with just a spading fork which *really* was a lot of work. I really don't plant enough any more to be worth hiring someone to come and plow things up with a tractor. Even when I used to do that I would still do additional spading because I'm so anal retentive when it comes to doing almost anything, LOL.

[UpDownMostly]

WAY too much work. :)

[Blinkazoid]

Yep!!! I'll bet I burned up 500 calories though. That makes up for the 2 candy bars I ate today, LOL.

[hallbe]

How the heck did you upload such a huge vid file? I thought 10 minutes or 100 mb was the limit.

I did watch the whole thing though, and quite enjoyed it!

[Blinkazoid]

As far as I know 100 mb is the limit for everyone. This one was 98.6 mb. Actually I lucked out and it had a higher quality look to it than a lot of shorter vids I've uploaded even though I had to compress it down from nearly 300 mb with Windows Moviemaker. When I signed up on YouTube in September 2006 I got a Directors account which allowed the uploading of unlimited length videos at the time. Later they limited length to 10 minutes for everyone but they grandfathered in the original Directors.

[debbiez112]

You really do need a nice tractor. I bet you are so sore. Them tillers will kick your butt....lol

[Blinkazoid]

I probably do a little bit of overkill as far as how deep I go with the tiller, but I've always done it this way so it's always in the back of my mind that my veggies won't do as well if I till at a lesser depth. I've been working out/exercising some so I'm really not very sore except for my finger joints hurting which is bad enough.

[dorotwhy]

Are you sore today?

[Blinkazoid]

Just barely. I've been working out/exercising so I'm in pretty good shape. My finger/thumb joints will take a week to fully recover though. I always have a little trouble with them.

[dorotwhy]

I have a problem with my thumb joints as well. Pulling weeds made mine sore tis past weekend.

[dorotwhy]

WOW cool! Suzie IS quite camouflaged! Now we know how you stay in shape! That is heavy work! Good sized garden! No rocks? Never had okra. Inspiring video :O)

[Blinkazoid]

I thought it was funny that Suzy started off and ended up right around that same patch of grass. Okra rules! I have very few rocks. I've planted here for so long that I've long since removed *most* of them. I still gather up about a 5 gallon bucket full of small and medium sized ones per summer though.

[dorotwhy]

My garden GROWS rocks! I swear. Every year I fin as many as the year before. Now I know why there are so many old rock walls. The farmers put all the rocks to good use.

[askmisscris]

You are giving me the hankerin' to make a tiny lil garden in my city backyard :P I haven't grown a garden in YEARS so I'd be back to basics :P

[Chivalryaintdead]

You outta hook up a plow those Cats! that would save you money on Gas!!

One time I went over to my grampas house to visit for father's day. I was in my sandles and he made me rototill his garden, lol. He loved his tomatoes.

[Blinkazoid]

Hehehe, now *that* would make a good video. You're right, it's about time my cats started pulling their weight a little more around here. They certainly eat enough and generate enough vet bills, LOL. I wear sandals 90% of the time. The kind I like are discontinued so when I'm doing something I think will be hard on them I wear something else to save my sandals from undue wear. It would be easy to pop a strap rototilling with them.

[TimberGeek]

OMG... You and I live on totally different planets. I'd have spent 2 days and pulled 1000lbs of rock to get a complete first pass that size with my tiller. I've got a mid-70s Craftsman front tine buck and bruise special, so I'll be putting off the garden another year. ;-)

[Blinkazoid]

I've used the front tine tillers before and they are a BEAR to control. This rear tine is a dream to work with in comparison. My main garden unfortunately is on a slope so that makes it a little harder because the tiller always tries to slip downhill a little further than I'd like. I had LOTS of rocks to start with but I've got *most* of them removed after so many years. Even the *new* ground has been plowed & planted many times, but not in the last 20 years so lots of rocks have been removed.

[OhCurt]

Wow, you worked clear into the wee hours. Even the cats looked like they were asking each other, "When is he going inside already??"

The dirt on those socks is a sign of success.

:-)

[Blinkazoid]

Babs was certainly ready to come in. She was just hanging around out there out there so long to be polite, LOL. She came in the door with me. I filmed it but it was so dark I cut it out. I'll have to break out the "Spray N Wash" for those socks:) I've always preferred not starting any work outside until about 6 pm, so I'm often out doing something until dark.

[Ravensinger]

Well, from one diehard gardener to another, I'm here and I'm watching and I am going to continue to make garden vids too!...hehe Love seeing your cats outside. Wish mine could but it's not safe here. Thanks for the education on tilling...I'd love to have enough land to do that! Yeah, for okra! Try steaming them when they are about 1-1/2 inches long...YUM! You all are certainly getting rain now aren't ya?

[Blinkazoid]

Yep, I know you love your garden! I'm hoping my okra will get about 7 feet tall, but mostly I'm hoping I don't lose more than a dozen plants to the early wilting it's prone to. Actually it's the same disease that tomatoes used to get (verticillium and fusarium wilt) before they developed tomato hybrids which were resistant to it. The okra has no resistance to it. Never tried steamed okra before. Just fried and once a year I make homemade soup (if I have enough tomatoes) with a little okra in it.

[LilCav68]

I love Okra. I will be down when it's ready.

I don't have a large vegetable garden this year but I have lots of perennials. My dog runs at the site of the vacuum and broom. I remember you garden last year... again, pack me a bushel when things come up. :0)

[Blinkazoid]

I hope my okra does well. I totally love the stuff. I have a neighbor who has a tiny little dog and I've actually seen him out on his riding lawn mower with the dog walking nearby and the dog will go up to the mower when he stops it and it's jump up in his lap and stay there while he mows the grass, LOL. Now that's a brave little doggie! It's too bad I don't have a few YouTuber's around here. I'd give them all sorts of excess produce!

[cinnamon125]

love these videos by the way!!!

[Blinkazoid]

Thanks Natasha!!! I'll be showing my garden's progress off and on this summer:)

[popebenadict16]

fuck man you need a tractor not a rotivater.thats some garden you got there,yes i got thro the vid bro.how much land you got there blink.

[Blinkazoid]

Yeah, a tractor would be great!!! I don't want to spend that kind of money though. Plus this is good exercise:) All the land here belongs to my dad. Originally there was 3 acres but he recently bought the parcel where I planted the okra which is an additional 2.8 acres.

[petuniabelle650]

Blink, do you plant by the signs? My grandmother swore by planting by the moon signs. She had a garden every year til she was way up in her 80's. I hope your garden turns out really good. With food prices as high as they are, you're going to need to eat out of the garden as much as you can! It sure looked like a lot of work. And very nice to see Carly, along with Babs and Suzy. I'll enjoy seeing the garden's progress. Thanks for posting.

[Blinkazoid]

I know a lot of people do plant by the signs. I never do though. Basically I just plant by the calender with an eye towards the 7 day weather forcast and ignore the signs. I plan on eating *LOTS* of garden veggies this year. To tell the truth for the rest of the year I don't eat as healthy as I should so it's good for at least a few months out of the year to eat right.

[dwljk]

oh how I wish I had a tiller...but then again I would need to have a good landscape to do it with

look at that rich dirt - have you ever put anything in it to get it that wonderful?

I've always heard okra was hard to grown, but didn't know that about it.

aww blink and his girls :)

how the heck did you get a staple in your sock?

[Blinkazoid]

I've planted a garden in this same spot for at least 20 years and every single year I've added *something* to the soil. Lots of leaves and grass clippings every year, and bags of manure/organic humus from Wal-mart on a lot of those years but not this year. It's a lot better than when I started but still not where I'd like it to be. It still develops a very hard crust on the top layer after a rain and sunshine the next day, and cont.

[Blinkazoid]

I still have to press down pretty hard with the tiller to get it to go do a decent depth. That was just a piece of dead grass on my sock which was shaped like a staple.

[randomwritings]

We just planted our tomatoes out today grown from seed. Well when I say grown from seed I mean purchased from the car boot sale this morning. But I did plant some chilli pepper seeds and they are coming up and we have assorted herbs from seed too. What with the flowering plants and a few shrubs we have transformed our garden since we moved here when it had absolutely nothing growing. Will film in a week or so when the wall repairs are done and the place is cleaned up.

[randomwritings]

Those gardening sandals look a bit uncomfortable by the way! They need more ventilation - I would run the rototiller over them a couple of times - that should do it!

[Blinkazoid]

Yeah, you're right. This was a very poor pair of sandals, LOL. Whenever I get finished with the digging part of raising a garden I usually work in it barefoot. The ultimate in ventilation.

[Blinkazoid]

I'll look forward to seeing your garden video!!! Sounds like you and Les have been busy:)

[AnneMarie96]

Your soil looks really good. We have clay & rock. I plan on rototilling soon. I may do a video response. Good video, okay, it was a little long but what the heck.

[Blinkazoid]

It's better than it used to be. I've added a large amount of grass clippings, leaves and manure through the years. It's still not as good as I'd like for it to be though.

[RoobyJuice]

Looking forward to see things start growing.

Your cats are so cute, they look happy. x

[Blinkazoid]

Yep, they pretty much love it when I do anything outside, but they especially love the garden. I planted squash and cucumbers a couple of days ago. They should be up soon:)

[nbwulf]

Cheers my friend...  =)

[Blinkazoid]

Cheers Jason!!!

[BradThunder]

Now that's was one advanced rototiller with all those speed settings especially that Keystone Cops setting!

Will have to try that Okra if it's available over here.

Loved that sun hitting the building in the background at the end of the day. Nothing beats a whole day in the garden followed by a long hot bath/shower and then surveying your toils with beer/wine in hand... and then the cats reappear... when all the work is done. Sensible.

[Blinkazoid]

The Keystone Cops setting is a real timesaver, LOL. I'm not 100% certain but I think the building in the background was being lit by lights from within. That's part of a medicinal herb farm where they process herbs all the way from seed to plant to drying the plant to pill or capsule. I'd be surprised if you have enough warmth and sunshine to grow okra where you live but with global warming who knows. My cats are always great comany out in the garden. Especially when I'm not rototilling, LOL.

[Blinkazoid]

Except for this time a year I don't run my rototiller a whole lot. I always add a gas stabilizer to the gas so it doesn't gum things up if I go many months without using it.

[scottytoohottie123]

your garden kitties rock,there is nothing more satisfying than growing your own vegetables,love and respect scotty and libby:0)

[3CoolKats]

Thanks Scotty and Libby:) I came close to not planting anything but tomatoes but I do love the taste of my own veggies. I probably don't eat enough veggies *except* when I do plant a garden so this is good for me. Although it can be a lot fo work, LOL. Okra in particular is *VERY* hard to come by if you don't plant it. In the stores it's low quality and expensive.

[TouchaPedia]

awsome video :)

[Blinkazoid]

Thanks Dominic!!!

[ladypn]

I love your garden kitties! They're all beautiful! I don't have any good location on my lot for a veggie garden. Send me some of your green beans, will you please? :)

[Blinkazoid]

Garden kitties are the best! Much better than Gnomes, LOL. I hope to have plenty of beans. I can eat a ton of them. I plant "Mountain Half Runners". Cyber beans headed your way. The shipping on them is very reasonable:)))

[ladypn]

There is NOTHING finer in my mind, than home grown green beans - cooked for a LONG time with slices of bacon... hmmm hmmmm hmmmm. :)

[Blinkazoid]

Usually I use olive oil for health reasons. When I'm feeling really decadent I'll use strips of bacon, LOL. They *are* better with the bacon. I cook them in a pressure cooker initially and then remove the lid and let much of the excess liquid boil away.