In this article, you are going to learn what a garden tractor can be used for, and why it will help lower your work load and keep you safer.
A Garden Tractor is more than just a riding lawn mower.
A garden tractor has the ability to operate attachments for:
- Digging
- Plowing snow
- Blowing snow
- Disc harrows
- Spring tooth harrows
- Front loader
- Small backhoe
- Splitting firewood
- Rototilling larger areas
- Seeders
- Brush cutters
- Lawn mowing
- Maintaining dirt/gravel roads and ditches
- Dirt auger
- More
A Lawn tractor will mow the lawn and pull a wagon for some landscaping tools and materials. When it comes to maintaining your small scale farm or garden, there truly is no comparison. While taking care of a private island, we used a garden tractor. We purchased our tractor for just over $3,000 used. It was serviced prior to us purchasing it and came these items:
- Front end loader
- Drag blade
- Spring tooth harrow
- Brush hog
- Box blade
- Owners and technical manual
I had been using a small lawn tractor to mow the lawn at our house and the community properties. The problem that I ran into with mowing our lawn with a riding lawn mower, was the brakes. The brakes were not that efficient.
As you can see from this picture, our lawn was very steep.
On the second time that I started mowing the hill, the brakes had gotten wet. While coming down the hill, instead of slowing down, the riding lawn mower started picking up speed with the brake pedal fully pushed in! Before I went over the cliff and into the bay, I turned the steering wheel hard left. I was going about 15 miles per hour, but the mower overturned and stopped on top of me, but short of the drop off point.
It was also at this time that I found out that the automatic shut off switched didn’t work either. The mower blades were still turning, the engine was running. I had to turn the ignition switch off by hand, and when the blades quit turning, I was able to push the mower off of me.
I know, not too smart on my part, but that is when we started using the garden tractor instead. The tractor has a manual transmission. Controlling speed with the transmission is a huge benefit of a garden tractor. Here are some more benefits that will save you time and back ache:
- Power control
- Dig with the front bucket
- Move heavy objects
- Load trucks and trailers
- Dig fence post holes
- Auger out holes for planting trees
- Dig footings for your buildings/lean-to
- Low gear, low speed for loading/unloading a trailer while walking beside the tractor
You have learned many of the benefits of owning a garden tractor, and how it will not only save your back. You have also learned some of the ways to keep you safe because of the way it operates.
When you decide on which garden tractor to purchase, do not overlook the used ones. As they are maintained properly, they will last for decades.
Take action, and get to work! Using a good garden tractor with all of the attachments that you need will make work more enjoyable and rewarding.
Turning Your Dreams into the Life of Your Dreams
Founder hisfarm.org and Ambassador of Natural News and Sustainable Living on How to Live on Purpose.com
