A Little Progress - Very Little

Summer is here. I don't care what the calendar says.

A few weeks ago, I pulled the tiller out of the shed to fire it up and use it to prepare the soil in the only garden that is not a raised bed now. My plan for it this year is for larger plants such as the squashes, maybe some beans or something along those lines. I never really have a solid plan because I would likely just change it anyway. What I try not to do is plant the same stuff in the same place each year.

Well, the tiller would not start. I used ether, I took apart the carburetor, I drained and added to gas. Still nothing. Several days in a row I fought with it, finally giving up and leaving the parts I had removed in a pile on the floor. Add to that, my old DR trimmer mower will start, but not stay running, especially when using the trimmer.

My small engine repair guy is out of service due to a bum shoulder so I was left with a bit of a dilemma and decided I would either leave the garden alone this year, or turn the soil by hand.

This morning, I got up and headed out to feed the pony and let the chickens out. I looked across the yard at the garden becoming overgrown with lamb's quarters and other plants. A glance at the shed where the broken tiller is and I had found new motivation to do something with the tiller. There is no way I would let it win today.

I was certain this was a carburetor problem because the engine would fire, briefly, when it was burning off the starter fluid. I did not think it was an old gas issue and I cold not recall if I had let the gas run out of it earlier this year. There are a couple schools of thought on how to leave the equipment year to year. I usually leave some gas in and try to run the various pieces now and then over the winter. Running the gas out for the winter is another option, but I am told that running a tank completely dry can draw all of the sediment and contaminants at the bottom of the gas tank into the fuel line and to the carburetor. Probably the better option is to drain the gas and replace it with fresh in the spring.

I wasn't really dressed for this sort of thing, but I did not care. I backed the tiller out of the shed and took apart the carburetor once again. I cleaned the bits out of the little bell and started playing with the float. To my amazement, gas began flowing. I quickly reassembled it, hoping that I had just solved the problem, hit the filter with some starter fluid, and tugged on the pull cord. The tiller fired immediately, and did not stop. I was not prepared for tilling - still in my flip flops - so I ran into the house, swigged some coffee, jumped into my boots and went over the garden three time with the Horse. Excellent!

Don't you just love this fashion statement???

The garden is already extremely dry and dusty, so whatever makes it into the ground this season will be heavily mulched. I am just pleased to have the soil turned over and the tiller running, for now.

I'm still working on Arizona posts. I may be breaking them up rather than jamming a weeks worth of vacation and hundreds of digital images into one post.