permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 1/23/2012 4:01 PM, John D'hondt wrote:

> You are of course right Lawrence, You are the only one to know what system
> is most useful for you.

I could make good use of a one wheeled wheelbarrow; anything that works, 
the right tool for the job. The Jackson contractor's wheelbarrow, all 
steel with all components replaceable: I have worn out three over the 
years moving rock, concrete, cement, dirt, rubble, yard waste and a 
variety of other things. During my lifetime, second to sleeping, I have 
spent more time using a shovel, and a few other garden tools, than on 
anything else.

> Years ago we got the loan of a two wheeled barrow and it proved completely
> useless on our uneven ground. Unless you have hard and even pathways of at
> least the width between the two wheels it becomes impossible to move it with
> just one person.

Two wheels required for loads like this...maybe a dog team or two as well:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cZcoT3oeLW8/Tx3dKBRNo9I/AAAAAAAAAEM/d2itCVgA5dw/w402/2wheeledcart.jpg

https://plus.google.com/photos/116100117925365792988/albums/5700259890779141377

Amazing to think of the coordination required of the man and the dog team.

Beautiful forest in the background, BTW.

> With a one wheel we can even maneuver between the trees in
> the woods.
> Where we can use a two wheel system we tend to use a horse drawn cart on
> which we can move about half a ton (500 kg) at a time.
> The Chinese "one wheel" barrow was developed because of deterioration of the
> road system due to social upheaval and the fact that it is much easier to
> maintain a narrow track than a wide road. In fact the wheels were recycled
> from two wheeled carts when these became hard to keep going.
> The rule is that the more wheels there are on a cart the more space you need
> for turning and maneuvering. The disadvantage of fewer wheels is that you
> generally have to use more power to keep the thing in balance and lift more
> of the weight.
> The Chinese barrow seems like an ideal compromise between these two.
> john