Butterbeans, Squash and @(!)# Tillers

My boss turned me loose a little early today.  I rushed home, slapped a roast in the oven, put on my gardening duds, and headed for the garden with the intent to crank the little black tiller and prepare some rows for planting seeds.  I dragged it out of the shed, topped off the gas, and yanked the cord until I plumb gave out, but it wouldn't start.  I took its spongy-thing-in-the-metal-can off the front and sprayed some starter fluid down its throat.  On the third squirt, it fired off one time, but did not continue to run.  Nanny, who had joined the fray, suggested it might need a new spark plug.  I happened to have one on the bookshelf at my house.  On the trip back to my house, it occurred to me that the little black tiller uses a gas/oil mixture, not the straight gas I'd used.  When I got back to the shop with the spark plug and some oil, I drained the gas into a KFC cup, splashed some oil in it, and poured it back in the tank.  When I finally got all the parts back on the tiller, I yanked the cord once and it fired right off.  Yeah, it sputtered a tad - I guess my gas/oil mixture wasn't quite right - but I rolled him right out to the garden and got to work.

I did one whole 75-ft-long row and was working on the second row when the tines stopped turning.  Motor would run, but the tines wouldn't turn.  I abandoned it in the row and dragged out the big tiller to finish that row and do a few more.

Nanny and I planted Ford Hook butterbeans, 5 hills of yellow squash, and 4 hills of zucchini.  Nanny's church has a food pantry and gives food to the needy once a month.  Other churches do the same.  We designated the squash and zucchini row as the "church" row, and we will give it's produce to the church food pantries.  I told Nanny, "If God's going to make anything out here grow, this row ought to grow." 

I had intended to get some okra and green beans in the ground today, but the rows where the green beans are to go were a little too wet to work, and I plain forgot to buy okra seeds.  Need some cucumber seeds, too.

I came home and searched online for tillers.  Little Black ain't going to make it much longer.  He's 10 years old and has been used like a rented mule.  He is notoriously difficult to crank, especially for the first time each season.  It would probably cost more than he's worth to repair him even if I knew how to repair him, and so I shall be shopping for a replacement in the next few days. 

Does it make me a geek that I'm excited about the prospect of a new tiller?   ;)