Old McDonald
Member
- Location
- Harray, Orkney
Basically recommend me some useful veg kit to look out for that is in the hundreds of pounds bracket please!
I think the faun is a bit big for what you want. I have never used one personally, but I believe they need a big headland for turning. We used to grow up to about 10 acres and used a single row harvester (sorry cannot remember the name but there are several makes) that simply lifted the whole drill and took it up a plastics covered elevator so that the soil fell through and the potatoes and haulms were dropped off the back. When I was in my teens father and I used to dig an acre a year by hand.
A seed drill that will handle the crops you intend to grow would be good. A Ferguson two row potato planter is an excellent machine, and worthwhile on even a few hundred square yards. Weeding is tricky with a cultivator type. Hand hoeing is good, but slow. Depends on how much time you will have available - and whether you will receive any help. Hand harvesting of most veg is preferable if you are direct selling - potatoes in particular are knocked about on a bigger scale, and quality always sells easily when dealing direct with the customer.
Any equipment you have to buy is going to have a long pay-back time on one hectare, and you obviously already know that.