Vines on the way

I received confirmation today that the vines are on the way. This past week, the starter came in at the local tractor shop, and it fit just fine. The one I ordered online was not the correct one, even though the sales person at the other end said it should work. The interesting part is both places sourced their starters from the same place, Dixie Electric. I get the feeling that the IH 574 had several different starter combinations, and without the serial number and a good cross reference, it will be hit or miss. The part number from Dixie Electric that fit was TS-1262. It installed with some minor issues (it is very easy to cross thread a copper bolt). The tractor starts very nicely now, and it is obvious that the old starter did not have much life left in it.

We got a lot done this Saturday, despite the fact we uncovered a rather large rock, and we broke the shear pins on the auger when it was completely in the ground. Both of these problems were rectified with a sufficient amount of manual labor. There is one of the H-brace posts to be dug, and 18 holes for the line posts were dug. A dead tree that was just waiting for the deer fence to go up, so it could fall on it was pulled down as well.

The weather for this coming weekend looks very promising, but the deer fence needs to go up before any vines can be planted. The remaining post holes need to be dug, the horizontal portions of the bracing need to be placed, and the deer fence needs to go up this weekend. Sometime this week, I need to find 60 more 4″ diameter treated wood posts. The local Tractor Supply is essentially out of stock. There are a few misshapen stragglers left over from the last pallet, none of which are suitable for the vineyard.

The email for the spring planting party went out today, so please check it out, and let me know.