[condor]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Hi,
I am looking to buy a weed cutter to trim the lawns around my house. .

Since it is around the house, Check for battery operated or electric weed cutters. Approx cost 3k. No worries about petrol etc.

[Passatman]

Originally Posted by condor

Since it is around the house, Check for battery operated or electric weed cutters. Approx cost 3k. No worries about petrol etc.

Hi,
Thanks for suggestion, but can't trim hedges, bushes etc with an electric weed cutter. So ruled out, I am afraid! Plus the area will mean the gizmo will run out of juice
Looking only for inputs on which petrol 2S weedcutter to buy.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Hi,
I am looking to buy a weed cutter to trim the lawns around my house.

Could you post a link of the model you are looking for?

[jalex77]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Hi,
Thanks for suggestion, but can't trim hedges, bushes etc with an electric weed cutter. So ruled out, I am afraid! Plus the area will mean the gizmo will run out of juice
Looking only for inputs on which petrol 2S weedcutter to buy.

Stihl makes some great two stroke brush cutters. I've used them, they are reliable and the most common ones used here in Kerala.

[PGA]

Originally Posted by Passatman

Has anybody here used these weedcutters ? Any advice to point me to the right one? Area of lawn is around 1200 st+600+ 300 + 150 odd sft.

Lawns are best mowed by mowers only and brush cutter cannot do that job. The cut is uneven and you would need to broom the lawn after cutting to collate the cut grass. Also depending on the type of grass you have in your lawn, it is not effective on Korean or Nilgiri. It may work on selection no 1 or Bermuda or TIF varieties.
In your situation I would recommend an electric one to manage just the corners and other narrow passages or pathways.
Two stroke brush cutters are maintenance heavy, no matter if it is Stihl or any other Chinese make we get here. If you still feel the need for it, go for a four stroke, back pack type. It will give more even cut to the lawn, provided you have the grass variety I mentioned above.

[Sk8r]

On the topic of brush cutters, am in the market for a 2 stroke petrol powered unit to maintain weeds in a 50 cent land. Honda seems to be the only "branded" unit and is priced around INR 35,000.

The next set of options are all in the range of 15 to 20,000 and are from unknown brands like Stihl, RBD, Balwaan Krishi and so on.

Would like to hear your experiences with either of these brands including Honda.

If it helps to share any location specific brands, the land is based in Marthandam (Kerala / TN border).

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

On the topic of brush cutters, am in the market for a 2 stroke petrol powered unit to maintain weeds in a 50 cent land. Honda seems to be the only "branded" unit and is priced around INR 35,000.

The next set of options are all in the range of 15 to 20,000 and are from unknown brands like Stihl, RBD, Balwaan Krishi and so on.

Would like to hear your experiences with either of these brands including Honda.

If it helps to share any location specific brands, the land is based in Marthandam (Kerala / TN border).

In my view, Stihl brush cutters are superior to Honda ones. Stihl is one of the leading manufacturers in this field. Additionally, as far as I know, Honda 2-stroke cutters aren't available in our market. At a recent mini agri-expo, I came across a relatively small capacity Stihl machine that looks tailor-made for your needs. The machine I checked was quite light and handy, and importantly, it was priced at around INR 12-13k. Unfortunately, I don’t have the model number to share with you.

[tomthump]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

On the topic of brush cutters, am in the market for a 2 stroke petrol powered unit to maintain weeds in a 50 cent land. …are from unknown brands like Stihl, RBD, Balwaan Krishi and so on.

Would like to hear your experiences …

If it helps to share any location specific brands, the land is based in Marthandam (Kerala / TN border).

I am also a Servicing Dealer for Stihl. ( Stihl is a German manufacturer of outdoor power tools, who now also manufactures indoor, and along with petrol, they offer electric and battery powered tools)

To help understand a bit about how you can consider your tool, from my experience with selling Stihl since 1997 ( we were the first to sell Stihl in Kerala and Tamilnadu), they cater three broad segments:
1. Home owners
2. Commercial Users
3. Professionals

Stihl was and still is, primarily a professional tool manufacturer, so even their products for other segments are manufactured with the same concept and features as with the professional products.

The difference is in the BUILD. A home owner would not use with the frequency and intensity of a professional, and a home owner would often prefer a comfortable and light weight tool. There are also other parameters, which are applicable as differential equations in the case of Commercial users.

There are various models offered to cater the needs of these three segments.

You mentioned 50 cents of land. For this purpose, if you wish to consider Stihl, have a look at FS 55, or FS 120. The FS 55 is a homeowner tool. The FS 120 is an entry level property maintenance tool, which can be good for upto 5 acres on regular use, or 10 acres for infrequent use.

There are battery powered Brushcutters too, but the entry point pricing can be rather high compared to petrol engines. If you will be personally using the tool, and frequently a look at Cordless may help. If staff will be using, a petrol will do.

One last point. An important factor which needs to considered is availability of after sales service, spare parts, and accessories. Also the cost of ownership of the tool. What are the parts we need to replace? Why ? How frequently? How much will it cost us?
And other questions such as How will my tool get damaged? What happens in that case ? How much will it cost me to repair it ? How much time will it take ? How transparent will you as a seller, be with me after I have bought the tool from you, and come back to you for help on a future date ?

These are normal questions we as consumers would have in our mind. Due diligence is required on all these when we make our first purchase, because after that we become familiar and complacent.

( though we do not sell them, nowadays ‘non branded’ ie., not so famous, models are also available, which can be much cheaper and can deliver good enough results for you. So do not discount such options if you can find such close to you)

Feel free to reach out if you need more information
My main location is in Karavaloor, Kerala. But you’ll find us at Pammam, Marthandam. The location is on Google Maps - THUMPASSERY AGRO

[PGA]

Originally Posted by tomthump

I am also a Servicing Dealer for Stihl.

Hello Tomthump, I have a query with regard to efficacy of rotavator/ deweeding attachments fitted on the brush cutter.

I do vegetable farming over six acres and deweeding is a major headache. The work is manual, slow and fatiguing. I have brush cutters but their use is limited due to potential of damage to the growing plants/ crop. I have normal attachments. I came across rotating deweeding blades attachment, which I think can serve my purpose but am not sure and have burnt money trying to mechanise this, such as getting wolfgarten equipment and some local contraptions as well but has been quite unsuccessful.

Request your advise on it if you have used it. Also please let me know if the back pack type of brush cutters are reliable. I have heard that curving shaft is prone to breaking/ jamming. My use is going to be two/ three hours- 4 days a Something like given in the photo below, the top attachment.

[condor]

Originally Posted by PGA

I do vegetable farming over six acres and deweeding is a major headache.

Six acres is too much even for these hand-held machines, considering their limited capability.

Though manual, One option would be to clear weeds when they are still small regularly. Basically, weeds will re-grow when their seeds ripen and go back to the soil. So the idea is to de-weed on a continuous basis at regular intervals, so the seeds are eliminated from the environment. Do it in sections. It will take some time, but workable.

The other option is to use weedicides. Again, section by section. You would need to do it at certain intervals for may be 3-4 months. However, the weedicide for this type of approach will kill everything in the soil. Have seen this used as a preparation work by people who grow lawns.

Btw, you have not mentioned what type of weeds. There are some which have complex root systems - the roots of these will spread under-ground and keep the weeds pop up every few inches and cover the entire area.

On another note, one point of view is that weeds (esp small grass-type), help shield the soil from the sun, and thus conserve the carbon content in the soil. I dont think you want to go this way.

Suggest consult experts who can check what type of weeds you have and what would be a suitable approach to tackle the situation. Here again, a systematic section by section approach by using the weedicides in regular intervals to eliminate them before you resume vegetable planting may help.

[tomthump]

Originally Posted by PGA

I have a query with regard to efficacy of rotavator/ deweeding attachments fitted on the brush cutter.

I do vegetable farming over six acres and deweeding is a major headache. The work is manual, slow and fatiguing..... such as getting wolfgarten equipment...
please let me know if the back pack type of brush cutters are reliable. .... My use is going to be two/ three hours- 4 days a

1, On six acres, you would preferably be better off hiring a small BobCat or Hitachi to do your work. Because you are actually turning the soil and eradicating what you consider invasive, uninvited folks, freebooting on your hard work. That is what I did, when I scaped some areas.

2. Re: backpacks, I am sorry, I am not qualified to offer am answer. I have not used them. I do have a Stihl backpack, but I never even fitted it up even though it has been 6 years or more since. Could be a silly bias, because i once atempted another model and the unwieldy and heavy tubing was a big turn off for me, the straight shaft brushcutter, if strung up correctly, snugy slings on your waist and is not even noticeable as a weight... or that is my opine. Stihl is designed for comfort.

3. I also stock Wolf Garten tools, and for weeding, the two best tools from their stable, in my humble opinion, are IE-M, the cultiweeder, and the DA-S, their soil crumbler. You can see videos online or I can share from my own field. Both are for beds or small spaces though.

4. I shall share links to two videos which I posted a decade ago. This is a STIHL Multi Engine. It has an FS 55 Engine ( a small chap actually) fitted to a high torque gearhead, which can deliver solutions through a whole plethora of attachments. The engine comes as a single unit, so that the buyer can choose the attachments she/he desires.
The links will show you the machine tilling a bed where i planned to plant ginger. The forward movement is not very exciting, and the the opeartor will stomp all over the tilled space. The backdraw ( the other video), shows the unit behing hauled in reverse. Ideally this is the way to go, because with a forawrd rotating tine, you seek a counter-rotation to get a better tilth.

5. To achieve a similar effect on a larger scale, you can consider the hired unit i mentioned first, and if it is found to be eating too much money, you can consider buying a Cub Cadet RT 65 Tiller... It should be easily available under the SMAM DBT Scheme where you can avail 50% subsidy for farm machinery ( including that tractor and pump you may want to buy )

6. Finally if you are willing to consider a nature friendly way, (apologies in advance for any presumptions, if you are already aware of these)
please read
- One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
- An Agricultural Testament by Sir Albert Howard
- The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
and please watch Ms Suzanne Simard's TED talk on How Trees Talk to Each Other
You could consider walking with Mother Nature instead of the other option.

The two links:
1. Pushing forward:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=grgxbqVtL3k?feature=shared

2. Pulling backwards :

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZM0_XNlItiM?feature=shared

[dailydriver]

What would be a good way of getting rid of snails from a garden? There are a few crawling up on the compound walls on a daily basis: removing them manually is a tedious and unpleasant task.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

What would be a good way of getting rid of snails from a garden? There are a few crawling up on the compound walls on a daily basis: removing them manually is a tedious and unpleasant task.

Keep a few leaves of cabbage around the garden overnight. In the morning the snails should be all focused on that. Sprinkle salt if you want to kill them or throw them away.

I don't mind slugs in my garden but African snails have a voracious appetite and destroy stuff very quickly :(

I have started sprinkling rock salt around my succulent garden area.