There are people out there, like my dad, who believed “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He used his grandfather’s pitchfork for a number of duties on our little four-beefer operation, and despite its age, it worked wonderfully.
There are others that like to jump on the latest technology, those “early adopters” who will give anything a shot if it might make their lives or their work easier. That includes farm and garden tech too.
There is an awesome YouTube channel out there, Quantum Tech HD, that features “the most incredible gadgets and inventions, tips and hacks for your projects, super satisfying machines and workers who make their job so perfectly you won’t believe they are real.” You can go deep down some rabbit holes exploring all the machinery they’ve played with.
We’d like to highlight some of their recent videos, including:
- Amazing Tree Falling Technique with a Hydraulic Jack
- Modern Agriculture Machines That Are at Another Level (there’s an entire series of these!)
- Amazing Tools That Are on Another Level (another cool series)
There is also some really handy machinery out there right now that’s easy to find and to use. For example, I recently had the opportunity to play around with a BCS walk-behind tractor. The tractor serves as the power source that operates a good range of attachments suited to your needs and circumstance. I tried out the Model 852. According to the website, “Powered by a Honda GX390 engine, the 852’s transport speed is for front-mount use only. This makes it ideal for users who will primarily be operating front-mount attachments, like mowers, snow throwers and sweepers.” I tried out a mower attachment and easily handled some tall brush and grass.
For the smaller projects, we’d like to mention our friends at Gardinnovations again. They literally invent tools to make growing and gardening easier. Have you seen the Garden Groomer? Who doesn’t love a four-in-one tool? It’s like celebrity chef Alton Brown’s disdain of what he calls “unitaskers” – no one wants a gadget that can only perform one very specialized function.
The real key to what tools you do keep around is simply finding what works for you. If you can put together something yourself, even better! (And if you have any examples of something you’ve invented on your farm or homestead, we’d love to see it. Email us!)
by Courtney Llewellyn
