Finally, The Veggie Gardens Are Ploughed

I was disappointed to find my three year old Tractor Supply battery with a two-year warranty would not charge up to capacity. I tried charging the battery a few times but all I would get was errruh, click click click. So I looked online for a six volt battery at a good price. It seems that all were the same price, around $80.00 including a new one from Tractor Supply; of course there was no way I was going back to Tractor Supply to buy a new battery when mine hardly made it a year pass the warranty. However, I found that Advance Auto had a coupon good for $30.00 off of $75.00 or more. I ended up paying $55.24 with sales tax.

The Old Girl, A Good Friend

I installed the new battery in the Old Girl and check the spark; a fairly hot spark jumped the test spark plug I used instead of removing a spark plug from the engine. I filled the tank with fuel, climbed aboard, turn the ignition on, pulled the choke, hit the starter switch and after only a couple of spins the Old Girl came to life. A lot of people convert their 8N tractors to 12 volt systems; however, that means making a lot of other changes including installing a new 12 volt alternator and new wiring. As long as the six volt system is working and the tractor starts easily, there really is no need to covert to a 12 volt system unless you just want to share a battery from another vehicle. They probably won't quit making six volt batteries any time soon.

The Back Veggie Garden

The Garden In The Little Valley

With the Old Girl back to life, I set to work ploughing the veggie gardens to get them ready for planting. It is a job keeping the plants in the flats watered with the high heat we have had lately; especially the tomato plants as they really take up the water. I would hate to think about trying to get the gardens ready by hand; a tractor really does make a difference. The photos above are from last year; the gardens look the same this year ploughed as they did last year so I saw no need to take a new photo for this article.