Maizefarmer

Same family of plants

Cattle eat the plant - no fodder value from what I can see over other forages, but they like the taste.

No health reason per say why you can't apply citronella oil to your cattle to keep the insects/mozzies off - just seems a little impractical to apply it to a herd of cattle every night. Lot more practical ways - e.g. out mosquito netting on the barn door and windows.

Hate to think how much time I would have to spend collecting/extracting citronella oil if it was what I used on my cattle.

Tim

Lemon grass oil - is that correct Chownah.

Negative - not on cattle but it is used as a mozzie repellant by rural Thai households, as well as a fragrance in incense sticks. It aslo has some good anti-bacterial properties on cuts and grazes.

Cattle will eat it though and water buffalo love it.

Tim

CNXPAT - got your PM

I’m going to put this on the open forum – for all to see.

Once you’ve got your 1st rai up and running – and you’re happy with how its all going, it’ll be time to expand slightly (perhaps another rai, or 2 or more).

My suggestion is you plant one rai at a time, and space out the planting periods about 3 weeks to 1 month. Why?

Well, there are a number of reasons:

1) You want to ensure that you have Makua at different stages of growth – and by spacing out the plantings on a rai by rai basis, you will be ensuring that the flowering periods are also spread out – and therefore the growth stages of the fruit.

2) This methodology also ensures that some of the disese vectors (e.g. insects) which have a liking for makua at different stages of growth don’t catch your whole crop at the same time – it will give you a few weeks to tackle the problem without having to worry about the whole crop been damaged.

3) It also ensures that when it comes to pruning (yup, they will have to be pruned after about 18months) you are not lumbered with the task of pruning the whole lot at the same time, and therefore having no makua for market while they regrow.

But now is the time to consider a small “investment” – you want to start collecting every single old bucket/container (e.g. 15 – 20 litre type paint pails – you know the disposable ones). Wether you decide to buy them new- and you can get them new for about Baht 60 -80 each, or just keep your eyes open for old ones that have been thrown out, is entirely up to you. What I will tell you though, is if you decide to invest in new ones – make sure they have a “plastisizer” in the compound that is used to mold them – this stops them from becoming brittle in the sunlight – which they otherwise will do. If they are 2nd hand ones you pick up cheap from wherever – don’t worry about this caution.

So whats the big idea with these buckets?

To plant your Makua plants in. You will know now where on your land the good soil is and this is the soil you will use to fill the containers – along with some cow manure from the local dairy/beef farm (dried manure not wet – about 20 -25% manure and 80 -75% soil is fine).

Two advantages are derived from this method.

1) You will use even less water as a) it will be confined to the container – it won’t seep away to feed the weeds – which is the second advantage,

2) You isolate the Makua plants totally from grass and weeds growing in the field – which makes it real easy for your labourer to walk around the field with a shoulder slung petrol powered grass cutter. He now just has to cut the grass around the buckets – this will save a ton and half in terms of labour and work, and the last advantage is – there will be no damage to the Makua plant stem from the grass cutter as they will be isolated in the containers - which leads to the last advantage: by running the dripper line down the row on top of each container, you have raised the line off the ground which will reduce damage to it in the long run from the cutter and people walking up & down and around the plants each day to pick the fruit. Also easy to spot any leaks quickly - it can other wise take hours walking up & down rows of Makua, lifting the dripper line out from undergrowth to find out where a leak is. This way, raised above ground level you'll see it straight away.

This works – because its exactly how I have my 20 odd rai laid out. Lastly it also enable you to move the plants around if ever you need to.

In summary: they are a load easier to maintain, water, fertilise and isolate from soil bourne deises (the big problem for Makua grown on large scale).

You’re now in the big league, and it will increase your plant yield by about 20 – 25% .

At some time you are going to have prune your plants, but that won’t be for at least 18months – we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Which variety – I grow the “Tiger” variety – stripped – see picture below.

They are not the hardiest variety, but they are popular and picked at the right time and size (earlier morning at around 4cm in diameter) have a great flavour which are one of Thai’s first choices. Check this with your other half –she may think that there are better options for your area.

Tim

CNXPAT - Growing Makua (มะเขือ)

The first thing to do – as always - drive around your area and see who is growing them and which variety they are growing.

The seeds can be purchased from any local seed shop – where you’re likely to find several varieties. Find out which grows best in your area – and choose that variety.

The other things you want to do this job properly are some seed trays and a bag of premixed compost of some sort – again, both available from the local agriculture cum seed cum insecticide/herbicide shop.

They are best propagated as single seeds (i.e. one seed to each pod on the seed tray) – fill the seed tray up with compost mix, level it off, stick your finger into the centre of each pod about halfway down, drop a seed in, cover it up and spray some water on gently.

Put the seed tray some where warm to cool – and if possible throw netting over the seed trays to keep the bugs off the seedlings as they grow.

Water twice daily – in the morning and the evening – not at midday.

They’ll be up in about 5 – 7 days. Leave them in the seed tray for about 2 to 3 weeks from the time they stick through the surface soil– buy which time they’ll be as much as 30 cm tall, if not more. From the 2 week onwards you may water them as much as 3 times a day – the leaves will be big enough now and will not be damaged by water droplets acting as a magnifying glass for sunlight. But keep them covered with netting to stop leaf damage.

While all this is happening getting your field ready – I would suggest you start with about 1 rai (1600 square meters – laid out as 40m x 40m or 20m x80m).

Get the local tractor driver to come along with his old Ford and a disc plough on the back, or better still a rotor-vator if he’s got. You want the top soil turned over. Let it settle and then spray it with herbicide to kill whatever is growing – now is a good time to do it because things will be growing well.

Decide how you are going to lay out the rows of makua plants and decide how you are going to irrigate.

Drippers will be the best and cheapest – they will use the least water and least energy.

Space the rows 1.5 meters apart and the plants in each row should be about the same distance apart. A lot of Thai’s will plant a lot closer than that but it ought to be borne in mind that a lot of them do not irrigate and therefore do not have good growth rates.

I good ideas just before the tractor comes along would be spread out lime – about 200kg p/rai – it’s great stuff for killing a lot of the funguses that Makua are susceptible to (I’ll come back to this in a moment – it’s a big issue with Makua).

Remember – you only want the top 5 – 7cm turned over – no more than.

Okay – so your lime is down, your tractor has come and gone, you have sprayed the herbicide and you have laid out your line black plastic tubing in rows 1.5m apart and have stuck drippers into the tubing at 1.5m spacing.

Everything is ready: You plants are 20 – 30 cm high – and you’re ready to get them out the seed trays and into the field.

Dig a little hole next to each dripper about 10cm deep – clear that hole out well. Take the seedling and push it out from the bottom of the seed tray – DO NOT PULL IT OUT from the stem – you stand a good chance of tearing all the fine roots. Place it into the hole, place the excavated soil back in/around it and press down GENTLY. Take a tin of water and throw that on as well to help settle everything.

This whole process must be done with care – why? Because the route into Makua plants for fungus is through broken roots – and if there is one thing that will wipe out a young makua field it is fungus spores in the soil.

How do you recognise plants suffering from some or other fungus attack?

They loose there form, they wither and eventually die – but long before this, you will notice the stem of the plant (where it comes out of the soil) will begin to rot – it will become wet sticky, soft and mushy – and it will start to smell. Get that plant out carefully and put it into a plastic bag – do not just carry it of the field in your hand – dropping spores as you walk off. Throw some lime into the hole where the plant came out, and don’t plant there again – the same thing will happen.

This is all another good reason for using drippers – no mist to carry the spores to other plants.

Water everyday twice – about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, for the first month using drippers that deliver 4 – 6 litres of water an hour.

That’s the great thing about drippers – you do not need a big powerful pump and will not have huge fuel bills. They can also be used to deliver liquid fertiliser and root absorbed liquid insecticide (will come back to that in a moment).

Any 2 -3 hp centrifugal pump will be fine for 2 – 3 rai – you don’t need big pressure – 1 – 1.5 bar is more than enough – just check how litres per hour it will deliver and divide that by the flow rate per dripper to get the amount of plants it will service. As said, I can’t see you needing more than a 2 -3 hp single phase single stage centrifugal pump – or similar sized Honda petrol unit.

The other good thing about drippers is that they don’t throw water all over the place – so you are not going to have to spend as much time/money of labour clearing up weeds.

Things to watch out for:

Insects: check your plants every day. At the first sign of insect problems get some or other root absorbable insecticide introduced into the daily irrigation programme – use the drippers to feed it to each plant – and spread the whole dosage out across the full irrigation period for one day. It’s easily done – mix up the insecticide and introduce it before the pump using a homemade venture system – so it gets slowly sucked into the irrigation flow and mixed in thoroughly by the pump. As said, you want the whole dosage spread out over as much time as possible to ensure the plants at the end of the irrigation lines also get their fair share of insecticide. This same method can be used to introduce liquid fertilizer efficiently – saves on having to pay someone to spend a day or so walking around with a few bags and a tin, and this same system can be used to introduce grass type herbicides to control grass growth around the plants.

Monitor plant growth, give them as much water as they want and keep them healthy. Remove any sick, wilted or otherwise looking plants and do not replant on that patch – leave it bare.

In about 2 – 3months you’ll get flowers starting to grow – that’s the sign your first crop is on the way, and from then onwards you’ll be up every morning nice and earlier to pick them.

What size to pick at: best you ask you other half - she’ll know best what size the locals like them to be at for soups and other dishes but generally they are referred small (about 3 – 5cm diameter max).

Exercise care when picking them – the Thais like to have a short stem on the fruit when they buy it at market and they can be fussy about insect marks, scratches and tears in the fruit – which quickly go brown and discolour the soft flesh inside the makua.

How much will you get daily from a 1 rai field. Well, if your crop is been looked after and is growing well you can get 20kg a day which at Baht 25 p/kg will give you a Bht 3500 p/week or Bht14 000 p/month p/rai. Do your clacs – 4rai is worth Bht56k p/month.

I have seen the price as high as Bht 60 p/kg in the dry season and as low as Bht 8-9 in the wet season when there are loads around - Bht 15 - 20 is a fairly average price.

But I emphasize – this won’t just happen, you are going to have to put some effort into it – keep your fields in good condition, watch for insect infestation and pick the fruit at the right time and get it to market early in the morning.

Don’t be surprised if someone turns up at your farm one day to offer you a contract – it will then be up to you to ensure that although there may be an advantage to having someone who’s wiling to buy your entire daily crop, the chances are they are doing that to offer your crop on the market at a fairly inflated price – which you should do in any event to get the best price. I assure you – its going to happen.

Good luck – and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Tim

See how subjects move on and take on a life of their own.... I still need to give you an answer on this , dont I. Will chase up the othe rhalf this evening at dinner.

I think we are all in agreement that the "black tops" are dried blood and tissue as the wound heals - no prob's with that - the question was, what insect/bug was causing them in the first place, and I went off "yes yes - no prob's - will find out" - and anyone who held their breath waiting for an answer is now dead.

You can try the old rope and diesel trick - and smoke trick. I know a lot of rural farmers do it and have done so for years and do have a certain amount of success.

Personally, I dont like the idea of smoldering fire in my barn all night (or even near to it - wet season maybe - dry season absolute no no), full of cows whose heads are covered in diesel residue - and a doorway with stringy old ropes covered in diesel (just where any spark is going to blow in) - recipe for a lot of "fun & trouble" that is!

Does keep the bugs off, they hate anyting petroluem and smoky - but so do the cows - next thing you'll be giving them cough mixture (ha ha)

Tim

You can purchase drippers that will "drip" volumes as low as 2 or 3 litres an hour to drippers that will drip volumes as high as 200 - 300 litres an hour - and anything inbetween.

The idea is to select one that gives as much as possible - but so much that you start getting surface runoff.

Tim

Yes RDC thats right VERY IMPORTANT POINT -

GET YOUR BOREHOLE (or well) DUG AT THE END OF THE DRY SEASON.

Thats when the water table will be at its lowest (i.e. get to the water then,is pretty much an insurance that you will have it all year round)

- had to leave someting out

Tim

TeleTiger

Sorry mate - I have to stop for now - the cows are coming in (milking starts 4am) - I'll follow up on this after all the mroning work is done and I've had me breakfast. I' ll catch up with again around 11am

Tim

Understood.....

You,re lucky to have soil conditions that are suitable for both for Ruzzi and Stylo.

Establishing a forage pasture is a big invetsment for something that is only a year on year contract, but anyway, in reply to your answers:

Firstly it sounds as if most of the crop from this land will be sold to other farmers. I am making the assumption that that this is the case - as otherwise, how are you currently supporting your livestock if you dont already have enough pasture land?

Anyway - back to the matter in hand:

1) The first thing to bare in mind is that the land you have at the moment is irrigated - and that is what sustains your Stylo and Ruzzi mix. Stylo as you will know (like Ruzzi) prefers a sandy drained soil. The point is this:sandy drained soils require irrigation to support the crops that like those soils. So we have a conflict - you want to grow a forage crop mix that requires irrigation.

Without irrigation you are going to get a greatly reduced yield. that isnot to say you shouldn't do it, and i have to be careful here because not everyone has the setup I have - so the issue is not so much don't do it because that is not how I would do it, but - how can you make the best of the opputunty you have.

Okay - no irrigation. Fine, so you are not going to get the yield on this land that you get on the land you have that is irrigated, but it may still be worth it. If thats the way you wish to go then this is how I would proceed.

I would shallow disc that land right now - within the next coupl of weeks - ASAP.

Then prayer for a bit of rain. As soon as the native grasses start to regrow spray with a herbicide at about 2" - 3", give it a week to die back, and then get your seeds down quick quick. You will have enough time to get at least one full cut before the end of the wet season this year,, and possibly a 2nd cut.

Then you'll have to tolerate the slow growth rate this coming dry season, but the advantage is you'll have an established root system for when the rain comes next year, and instead of having to do this all next year, it will all be done, the forage will regenerate and you can get straight on with using the pasture.

That is how I would do it.

Tim

The hoops & hurdles you have to jump through, the amount of money you have to invest, the ongoing paperwork you have to do to satisfy accounting reg's, the staff you have to employ.

You will be running a corporation in the true sense of the word... like Monsanto in Thailand and to justfy it and be succefull (profitable) - which you will have to be - thats the sort of company you will be competing with.

BOI ... the hoops and hurdles you have to overcome - in other words: the theory and practise of BOI investments make it impractical for all except the largest of capital investments such as those that multi national organisations committ themselves to - which is exactly what the BOI is looking for within the context of those policies.

Tim

Aah - now I see where you are coming from on this subject....

Negative - if you're renting, no I personall can't see the economics adding up to justify the purchase of a min-till unit for 100rai.

Tell me - you say partially invaded by Ruzzi - er...... in terms of percentage how much would you think is covered by Ruzzi at the moment, and whats the rest consist of?

Have water or not - and can you irrigate?

Let me make sure I understand - your plan is to eventually get rid of the Ruzzi and use Stylo Verano, or is the plan to develope a mixed forage field with both the Ruzzi and the Stylo?

Tim

That's some great stuff there Tim. Thank-you.

Now.....how about a no-till grass seed drill?

regards

No till/ Min-till grass seed drill - sure, its a great "methodology" but its use is subject to your conditions.

Do you mean ABSOLUTELY ZERO TILL - JUST DRILL or are you meaning true min- till and drill?

I wouldn't have thought many guys would practise min-till in Thailand, and there are very few drills in Thailand because the average Thai farmer hasn't got a tracor big enough to drive the drill vacums and airpumps, or the skills to maintain them. But anyhow, what would you like to know - quite happy to write something up about it.

I use a 2nd hand Simba C06 to drill grass seed, and a 2nd hand 10row foldable Kinze (mechanical) for maize seed - everything has to be 2nd hand, the cost of both the units in Thailand new would be astronomical.

But I don't always min - till - you can't round here, you have to turn the soil at least once every 2 or 3 years, between wihich time yes - min-till saves a load in fuel costs.

This should be chased up on its own thread - Soil Prep - the Right Way & Wrong Way.

What made you think of that - wa sit because you have read in one of my first posts that I use a Simba Solo? The Thai's stand a stare at the machine - they do not understand how you can plant without ploughing.

Tim

SOLENT 01

Well, you comprehensively answered the questions…….. but I want to know why you use sprinklers?

Would it not be an option to use high flow drippers – laid out in a circular pattern around each tree?

This is what I have in mind – main feed line running down the length of the orchid, off which branches smaller tubes to feed each row of trees. From these smaller tubes are even smaller tubes which feed a pattern of drippers laid out in a circle around each tree (the reason for each circle pattern around each tree would be to ensure water distribution to the spread out roots).

Why this idea – well, you could gravity feed such a system (you can purchase drippers in Thailand that are “self-regulated” – i.e. a dripper located 200meters from the main water feed will still output the same amount of water p/hour as the dripper located right at the start of the main feed – the idea is that irrespective of the differance in water pressure from the start of the irrigation system to the end, the volume of water that is fed to each tree remains the same across the orchid).

What’s the big advantage – you use less water (11 - 16 % of water delivered by sprinklers evaporates either in the air or on the ground before it soaks in), but most importantly – you do not need high pressure and therefore do not need a pump – and no pump running each day means no diesel fuel bill!

The materials for this system last much longer than sprinklers, and secondly, actually cost less to layout for any given area of land.

Overall it is cheaper and more efficient, it saves time, it delivers the water more accuartely, it uses less water, uses less maintanance labour, can be used to supply liquid fertiliser, nd most importantly of all - you won't have to maitain a pump or pay for diesel any more - and thats a big saving.

You already have the main feed lines in - so all you would have purchase now would be the small feed lines and the individual self - regulated drippers.

Now – having said all that, I may have missed something relivant i.e. perhaps there is a reason why sprinklers have to be used(?) - but if not, give this some thought – I’ll be happy to give you further info – and the components for everything to set something up like this are avalible off-the-shelf in Thailand (i.e. there is stock in Bangkok).

Tim

Baht10K = No No - not likely, but Baht360K - thats high but it was the 30 meters of granite that pushed that price high.

Look at around Bht50K for a 20 - 30m hole and Bht 100k for 50 - 100m.

Those are very rough figures - which are influenced a lot by what has to be bored through.

Just by way of interest that 30 meters thorugh granite - would I be correct in assuming it was bored through using not a mechanical drill but high pressure water jet (i.e. truck with very big compressor on the back)?

Tim

That price shift over 7 weeks………… from Bht45 p/kg down to Bht5 p/kg!!...... scary, scary. Is that simply “supply & demand”, or are there other factors that influence market price?

Water….mmmmm, not to bad, how do you irrigate – large drippers or small sprinklers?

Tangerines don’t like the heat but do like sunlight……which explains why places like the hilly regions of Chang Mai have loads of orchids. But how that would work in Isaan (North East) I don’t know. Yes, it does get cool here, in fact it can get cold (Loei for example has the coldest temperatures in winter of anywhere in Thailand getting down to 0degree Celcius happens), but that’s only for the evenings and early mornings in winter – the rest of the time its blazing hot.

What’s going to happen when “everyone” jumps on the bandwagon and is growing Tangerines – will the price drop or is the market big enough to absorb all production (what is the export potential like?)?

My big concern is this:

Climate – the climate in South East Asia (including Thailand) is going to change over the next 10 – 15 years, make no mistake about that. We are going to see huge shifts in precipertation patterns with more periods of drought followed by brief but very heavy & short flood type rainfall, but more significantly – average temperatures are going to rise. The Central Plains and North & North East parts of Thailand will feel that climatic change in a very real way……. worrying. Climatic change which is only just now been accepted will happen – and for us in Thailand that change will be influenced by China;s economic development and the pollution it pours out – which is going to exceed the USA’s very shortly (a new coal fired power station every week!).

The other way of looking at this – is that it is going to effect the whole agricultural industry, not just tangerine growers.

You gave 2 extremes of price, Bht 45 and Bht 5 – but is there an average price and what would it be?

Tim

Yes - I have and stock the parts you are looking (especialy sprayers) but you'll have to be a little more descriptive regards what you want _ I can't help but feel English is not your first language - what language do you speak? - or should I be replying to you in Thai.

Tim

Yes - things would be fine without the engineering. It accounts for about 25% of nett income and about 1/3 of total turnover.

The engineering started because I am an ag engineer by profession, and it proved to be the best legit way of getting a work permitt that was associated with the agriculture industry.

Rototillers / Rotovators - them tings you latch behind the tractor with blades on that spn and mix the soil up. Some PM@d and asked where to buy:

The same place you buy small tractors - i.e.coming out of Bangkok heading North East to Saravuri and Korat. Just at the end of the raised motorway going past the airport, as you come back down to ground level - for the next 15kms on the right hand side of the road you will see loads of tractor dealers. The guys with all the small orange and blue Kubotas and Iseki usually have piles of rotorr tillers on the forecourt as well. They all come from Japan, wher the Japs bin them every 300 or 400 hours - damage or no damage (thats just the way the business works there) - so most of them are in good nick. You can get one in good condition for Baht10K most for a small medium Kubota or Iseki.

What to look out for:

1) Check the blades and amke sure the dealer can offer you new blades - take a new set with you

back North - they all eventualy wearout or break and they don't cost much - so buy a set when

you buy the tiller.

2) Check it has a sticker on it that has a figure on it that says 540rpm or 560 rpm or 1000rpm -

thats the pto input speed and make sure or tractor pto output speed corrosponds with the tiller

rpm required speed (driving a 540 or 560rpm tiller at 1000rpm is not a good idea - things will go

wrong, you either mess it up or some curious youngster is going to get hurt).

3) you 2 types - one is driven by a 90 degree drop down gearbox mounted in the centre of the tiller

and the other has the gear box mounted sideways with a shaft attached to one end of the tiller

and then a pully system to drive the tube to which all the blades are mounted under the tinwork

covers.

4) I prefer the type with the centre drop down gearbox - if thats what you buy you must turn it over

and check that the 2 half shafts which the blades are attached too are not bent i.e. check when

you turn it by hand that the blade tubes DO NOT rotate of centre but that they rotate they

maintain the same centre line. If eith er side rotates off the tube centreline it means it is bent.

It will shake like hel_l when you use it - move on and look for another one. This is not so common

with the type that is driven from one side as it has mounting points at both ends of the tube to

which the blades are attached, where as the type that is driven in its centre has no end supports.

Still I prefer this latter type and as long as the tubes are not bent then they are the type to go for

first..

5) If you do not have a PTO extention shaft get one included in the tiller purchase - uou will need it to drive the tiller from the pto output stub at the rear of the tractor (good bargining point).

6) Check that the splines on the tractor pto stub match the splines on the extention shaft and these

these in turn match the splines on the tiller gearbox stub - otherwise you will not be able to

connect the 3 parts together. Generally all the small Jap tractors have the same spline

configuration - but just check in any case.

Also - if poss look for a tiller that has a sticker on the tin work that shows the various ways the blades can be arranged. On a lot of the tillers you can re arrange the blades to create a trough with the soil tilled to th sides, or by changing the way the blades are set up, youc an get the soild to collet in the centre so that the centre is raised like a seedbed - it be be flat topped or rounded - or you can even get some that will allow you the till the soil into 2 furrows with a raised ridge at each end and in the centre.

They are great machines, cheap and will do the work of a dozen dozy Thai labourers in less than a quater of the time it would take them to do the same - and it will be done consistantly from start to finish.

Tim

LANNAREBIRTH

I thought I had answered your question and posted it - but now cant see it anywhere.

Anyway......... okay I know what your'e looking for: you are talking about the 2 section fronted model (later model) that has both a surround around the square front lights and a seperate grill located higher up - with either some writing or a badge centered init. THis top part is made of silver greyish plastic.

Yes - have got spare. The genuine article is Baht 2964, and the cheap Chinese copy is about Baht 375 - and if you want the truth - the copy is as good as the original (it goes on the Chinese made models of your tractor - which was made both in Japan and in China under the Zenoha brandname if I recall correctly - all the parts are interchangable except gearbox cogs.

Decals - nope, I have none. I can order them from Japan for you but they'll cost severa thousand Baht. You could altetrnatively use photos and take them to a graphics shop where some Thai student will proberbly be able to knock some stickers up for you in a day or so at a fraction of the cost.

The manual is an English Kubota workshop manual for the whole rnge of series 26 tractors- with diagrams, yes, parts and part numbers - its what the official dealers used in their workshops (I say used because these tractors are no longer made). For what it worth, it was almost certainly imported from Japan - broken down into parts and stuffed into a container.

Anyone else looking for a small tractor - as you come out of Bangkok heading North East towards Saraburi and Korat, just at the end of the raised motorway section, you will see for the next 20km's or so along the right hand side of the road loads of Ford, Kubota and Iseka deleares - some with literally hundreds of these small tractors parked up on their forecourts

Bargin Bargin Bargin - they will overquote you first time round by as much as 70%

Its also the place to go for rotor tillers - which are from Japan and are usually binned by the japanese farmers as soon as they have done 200/300 hours (irrespective of whether they are damaged or not) hence most are in good condition and can be picked up for around Baht10K

The rule with rotor tillers: check the blades and check you are buying a model which the dealer can offer you replacement blades for - and if you're up North/North East take a new set with you (they not expensive).

Also check you are getting a pto shaft with the tiller (bargin for one to be included if not) - and check that the splines on the tuller output haft from the gearbox match the spline on the pto shaft and that they match the splines on the pto stub located at the rear of your tractor - else you wont be able to use your new toy! Genrally for the small tractors they are all the same and match- but check in any case.

Turn the universal joint by hand - it should be stiff but will turn - a bit of slack is normal but you do not want the Universal joint turning more than about 1/3 of a turn freely (ie. until lthe blades start turning underneath) - if that is the case move on and look for another one (means the gears in the 90degree gearbox are badly worn.

Two types of small rotor tillers: some are driven from the centre, and some are driven from one end of the balde bar via a shaft that extends to a gear or pully system at one end of the tiller. The ones with a centre gearbox that drives the balde bar from a drop down gear box in the centre, are the more reliable types.

Then get on the net when you get home and find the webpage of the tiller model you have - you will see that the baldes can be removed, repositioned, turned round ect ect .... each blade configuration giving you a different tilled land profile (e.g. ridged, troughed, raised and flat, raised and rounded....). A lot of the tillers you find there even have a sticker on showing you how to lay the blades out to get various soil profiles.

Have fun.

Tim

CNXPAT- got your PM - so you like the Makua idea - you've just got to be able to get yourself and your labour out of bed early in the morning - everyday!

By the way - ask your other half what the price currently is for Makua in the local market (they sell by the Kg, or part thereof). Also ask her the highest she has ever known themm to sell for, and the lowest, and the average? They can fluctuate a lot.

I'll write up some "how to grow Makua" notes and post them here later today for the benefit of all.

Tim

I've just got a PM telling me to add that my situation is a little different because I am a Permanent Resident, have a registered company and a work permitt, pay tax ect ect......

True - but residancy, company and work permitt strictly speaking gives me management & consultancy "rights" - no right to milk the cows or drive the tractor to plough the land myself - that should be done by my employees.

Tim

I,m not going to comment on the legal side of it other than say whats written above is in principal a fairly accurate representation of the legal side of it, but I will say this.

I have farmed for nearly 20 years on a commercial scale in Thailand. I drive my tractor on public roads to get from field to field, I even plough other peoples land for them. My farm is used by foreign & Thai students from KK Uni time to time and I have the odd Government livestock inspector turn up.I weld in my workshop, I use the lathe & milling machine, I sell parts - but never has that issue ever been raised with me.

Treat your neighbours with respect pay your hardware store bills (and other suppliers) on time and if anything, and you will earn the respect of the community for your effort to be one of them.

Oh - and make a big effort to learn to learn to speak, read & write the language.

Things work very differently in the rural communities.

Tim

Another idea under "Farming"............. Boreholes.

Lots of guys want boreholes or get roped into getting a borehole sunk by their other half.

Problem is - as is evident on the forum, there is no shortage of cowboys in the borehole sinking business, and a lot of people have problems with their wells - sometimes soon afterwards, sometimes much later. The average guy does not know one borehole from another - untill the problems start i.e. meaning: after the guys' been paid and hes' long gone - try getting him back to fix the problem or do the job properly.

A borehole thread with "What to look out for", and "how to evaluate" what you are been offered would be a good subject.

Tim

CNXPAT

Hers another option to discuss this with your other half - "Makua", those small hard green tomatoes you see in Thai soups and other dishes.

If you do it properly they will take 3 months to start producing and from 3 or 4 rai you'll be able to pick daily and generate around Baht 1000 - 2000 per day - yup, you pick them daily.

The Thai's love them (i.e. you will have no problems selling them at any market).

They're a tough hardy plant which are easy to grow (if done carefully are a commericaly vaiable - I have 21 rai) and will be a cheap introduction to farming, rom which you can easily get out of without lossing anything, should you change your mind or circumstances change.

Discuss it with your other half, and if the idea sounds good I'll fill you in on the fine detail.

It will get you out of bed early every morning ... they are best picked at dawn when still full of moisture.

Tim

CHOWNAH

I didn't have the time to run through both 12Vdc and 24Vdc examples - so I just chose 12 Vdc as an example to illlustrate the point I was making on defining "battery drainage".

For 24Vdc batteries, you start running into problems when the voltage drops below around 18.6Vdc.

I have done a basic cost analysis of their cost versus their benefits - but not a detailed long term analysis. They are absolutely worth it - nothing compares with them power density wise versus what they cost to purchase (especialy in Thailand). So long as you look after them (which in practical terms means: thou shalt not overcharge (difficult in a truck battery and with modern designed control electronics), thous shalt not charge with a sine wave (i.e. rectify the turbine output voltage properly and make sure there is no ac component in it), and lastly - thou shalt allow the voltage to drop (don't sulphate the cell plates - the usual problem in rural Thai systems).

There are several ways of looking at cost versus benefit.

They are the 2nd or 3rd most expensive component in the average alternative power system - the most expensive component been a) the turbine, then the invertor, then c) the storage batteries.

If the comparison is with ac mains - wel, then the cost versus benefit of the whole system nees to be considered. If the comparison is with a diesel generator - its a no brainer (one doesn't even have to do a cost analysis to work that out).

But however you look at it - one thing is for sure - you are going to have to store your power - and power density wise versus cost (at Thailand prices) the truck battery is your best option - unless you want to get on-line and loook for old submarine batteries (which are by far the best - I am using 2nd hand ones I purchased at a defense auction in Australia in the mid-90's and they are still as good today as the day I purchased them), then truck batteries are your best bet).

As said before, I don't mind been challenged on anything I writeup. I am glad you have found some of it useful. We are all in the same position (i.e. farmers in a far off country blah blah, blah blah....), and this forum serves as a good platform for us to share experiances and ideas. I know some of my postings are long winded, but I try to put everything I have to say into a context that that can benefited from and used - nothing else to do at 3 - 4am in the morning while monitering the milking machine!......(have a 2.4 Ghz wireless modem in a laptop with a small mobile phone yagi antenna plugged into the modem pointed towwards the house 130 yards away - works great) and if I don't know a subject (e.g. pigs, rubber, buffalo, vegies & fruit....) I defer to other forum members who do understand those subjects and have had experiance.

Tim