What Tools Do I need For Producing My Own Food?:
This bit seems so hard but it is quite easy. Some people use tools of different kinds all day long in their work and know which brands are the good ones and which brands of tools are made shall we say....not so good. So how do you know what to buy if you are new to this work? Well ask around and if you don't know anybody then just take a walk to your local Tool Hire shop and purchase the brands that they "HIRE" out. Because they wont buy tools to hire out if they cant stand up to the jobs they will have to do, so this is a way of finding out exactly what tools are worth buying. They wont be cheap and maybe twice the cost of a similar make in a chain store, but the odds are on that it will last so will be money well spent. If you don't agree, well how can you be at any level of being self sufficient if you are spending all your time finding money to replace equipment that doesn't stand up the job? You get what you pay for.
You do not have to purchase every tool to do every job, there is no point. For example a good high powered rotavator is an asset to any home producer, but what's the point of spending a couple of grand if you are going to only use it one week per year? Hire it for a fraction of the cost and try to do all that work in one long day or maybe two.
There are some tools where you will have no choice but to buy, but very few of them will be high cost items, most of the high cost items can be got around by hiring and your money will be better spent on production like fencing equipment and processing equipment.
Hand Tools For Growing Your Own Vegetables:
Good quality hand tools are something which can be purchased and they wont cost huge amounts, a few hundred euro would get the lot. Hand tools require no more energy than your own when using them, so they keep you fit and healthy, they are ecological and sustainable and energy efficient. But there is some pure crap out there which is totally useless and wont last five minutes. Nothing is worse than trying to do an emergency repair and your tools that you have to hand cant stand up to the job and let you down. Simple rule applies here ..... Don't buy the cheapest shiny junk, go for a reputable make that has been around for years and pay that little extra for quality and reliability.
Electric Fencing For Livestock Enclosures:
Building/Installing an Electric Fence:
Mains energisers for electric fencing are far superior to battery types and are far more cost effective over time as well, but make sure you purchase lightening protection, that little extra expense can save you hundreds if you ever get a strike nearby. Again buy a recognised well sought after make, not the new surprisingly cheap model that has just arrived on the market. When purchasing energisers and electrical fencing there is important associated equipment that you MUST purchase with them, and that is the heavy duty earthing rods and connections and also the "lightening" protection equipment.
Unless you use the heavy duty earthing rods and connections and install them correctly, your electrical fencing will not function efficiently and could be next to useless no matter how powerful it is. Your electric fencing is only as good as the installation and as good as the earthing equipment and this earthing equipments installation.
Lightening protection devices are essential as any electric fencing in a field is a great attraction for lightening, and one strike even if not direct can find it's way back to your energiser and completely destroy it. The lightening protectors redirect the strike harmlessly away from your energiser so saving the day and huge expense. Again the quality and installation of this protection will most certainly determine how good your lightening protection is.
Your electrical connections and the fence post connections are equally important as bad or poor quality connections can impair your electric fences effectiveness.
Your fencing wire is very important and you will be thinking of purchasing the white electric tape for your fencing because it is so cheap. "DONT" It is almost useless except for horses and not suitable for any other livestock. You will need high strength wire for a proper electric fence set up which is a lot more expensive. There is a cheaper alternative but it is harder to work with but lasts much longer and that is "builders tieing wire" which construction workers use for holding steel reinforcing rods together ready for concreting. This wire is galvanized, thicker than normal electric fencing wire and is very cheap in comparison. It comes in large rolls and can easily be cut and connected but makes a fantastic heavy duty permanent electric fence set up. The draw back is it requires at least two people to work with it on installation due to the heavier duty wire. So it's up to your own personal choice.
Fencing For Producing Your Own Food:
Fence posts...dont buy the cheapest split ones, buy the heaviest 4" they last many times longer, if you are lucky you could even get 10 years from a 4" post, and buy them in bulk they work out far cheaper that way.
Timber fencing etc. Treated timber for outside work (not used for food production) Buy the treated timber because it will last far longer and is only pennies extra over non-treated timber, so will work out far cheaper over time.
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