Hi deep south...we have 16+acres so I know exactly what you are talking about. One side of ours was already fenced by a neighbor, he had horses. On the other side we have some really nasty neighbors who were using our land any old time they wanted...storing their junk, driving over it, stealing my pecans, hung a swing in one of our trees...soooo, we have started fencing that side. Since we can't afford to do it all at once, we are doing it in pieces. The first parts are so they can't cross the property line and just help themselves. Forgot to say that she ran her lawnmower over the line & mowed off a pampas grass I had planted a couple of months before...it was 5' from the line! One little deteriant I have been using for deer seems to be working. We fenced our garden patch last spring...with posts that were about 12-18" taller than the fence wire. My DH then ran a heavy wire on the tops of the posts all the way around. I use 2 old (or blank) CDs, shiny side out, tied together with fishing line. I tie a fishing line swivel on above the CDs and more line above that. Then I tied them to that wire strung on the fence posts. They twirl in the wind & swivel all directions. Since my area has NO light sources at night to make them shiny...I bought several of those solar sidewalk lights & put all around the perimiter...so far it is working.

The 2300/2310 MF or 2210/2310 JD, either would do all you'll need and probably more. Lot of good used units for sale on tractorhouse.com. Another thing to think about, is there a dealer near you? I'd favor a brand that had a dealer near me. Kubota makes some good little tractors too, I'm just not familar enough with them to know which one. For four acres those tractors are maybe a little over kill but darn they should last forever. And a post hole diggers hooks right up, just don't do like my neighbor did trying out his new 2520JD, he caught the chain link fence in the auger---took out about thirty feet before he got her stopped!

Oh boy! My head is going nuts making this decision! :) I had my neighbor bush hog again (tax refund check FINALLY coming this week..that's how I'm paying for this thing..yeah, yeah, I know, I need to tweak my exemptions so I get my money much earlier, the crazy thing is my federal we had to pay and state we got twice as much back...go figure)....luckily my neighbor did it in exchange for me letting him use my well water on his corn...I LOVE neighbors!! :) I did bake him a batch of cookies, though. I agree I could use a 3 point hitch tractor but I don't really want one. There's just too much, attachments, size, bulk, and they intimidate the heck out of me..their under carriage decks don't have any higher cutting than the Kubota zero turns..and I want to avoid getting a finishing deck for my front yard...I have vinyl fencing all around and don't want to maneuver those tractors..yes, ideally, I'd have both a tractor/ZRT..but I want a pool! Yes, the crazy lady coming out in me. We've worked hard to get to this point, have had two house payments for 10 months, UGH...hard to save for these things and when that house sells I want to jump into a pool not a bigger 3 point hitch tractor! :) Sure, one day, when I'm hauling 50 pound bags of fertilizer around I might regret it, but nah. So, here I go, check is in the mail from the state, it's burning a hole in my pocket and I'm going to go check out that scag and see if I can't talk the Kubota team down on price....that John Deere 727A...it's got 23 hp and they will put a hitch on it (not 3 point just a drop in which I could use on the rare occasion)...I'm not sure if that's the right model but I know it had 23hp and a 54 inch deck with 7 gauge steel welded deck..I'll need to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples. Y'all have given me great direction and suggestions..I'm going into this much more informed and able to choose a mower that will atleast give me 10 years..by then I may make that tractor purchase...I've got a friend down the road that has 150 acres and is selling it all..hoping I might score a little tractor off him! :) I'll post a pic of what I get next week! Thanks! Tara

Well, what you have there is a link to a Powerpoint presentation by Doug O'Brien at Cabrillo College. Sadly, all it proves is that Doug O'Brien of Cabrillo College doesn't know what he is talking about if he thinks you get a downward pH adjustment of 0.1 every time you put a ton of lime on an acre of soil. Neither calcium nor sulfate has a direct effect on soil pH and that's all that gypsum is...calcium and sulfate. The only time you will have a downward shift in the pH due to gypsum application is when it is applied to a sodic soil (i.e. SAR greater than 15) which has an elevated pH due to that sodium imbalance. (On a side note, very often the text book rise in pH does not accompany sodic soil conditions) Only when sodicity causes an elevation of the pH does gypsum help decrease that pH. And even in those cases the effect is indirect and has to do with improved soil structure allowing for the leaching of sodium rather than any reactions that calcium goes into. If you need to lower your soil pH, elemental sulfur is your better bet. As far as why it is important...it is primarily a nutrient availability issue. If the pH is too high or too low, fewer nutrients will be available for a number of reasons. Also, if it gets really low you can start having toxicity issues. I guess if you want to get into it more we can start a new thread.