Cleaning My Equipment Barn

March 7, 2024

Here at my Bedford, New York farm, even rainy days can be extremely productive.

Whenever it's stormy outside and my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are unable to work in the woods or gardens, I encourage them to take stock of the equipment, clean everything, and then organize all the tools and supplies. My Equipment Barn is about 40 by 120 feet, with a substantial amount of height. It is where we keep our mowers, blowers, tractors, tools, and other pieces of important machinery. Over the last two rainy days, my crew cleared the entire space, power washed the floors, and then inspected and organized every item before returning it neatly to its place, so everything is in good order and ready to use. Keeping things well maintained and properly stored will always save time in the long run.

Enjoy these photos.

: It’s always very refreshing to see a clean and well-organized space. This is one side of my large Equipment Barn where we store all of our farming machinery and tools.

: I built this structure shortly after I purchased the farm. I wanted the Equipment Barn to be an attractive outbuilding in an easy-to-access location. The first step in cleaning is to remove all the equipment.

: The hand tools are also taken off their hooks, inspected, and grouped with other like pieces.

: Chhiring makes sure each piece of equipment is in perfect working order. Here he is checking the tires of a generator.

: The floors are blown, power washed, and left bare to dry for several hours.

: Meanwhile, all of the garden tools are rinsed clean.

: The Equipment Barn is well lit with these big overhead lamps. I use very utilitarian lighting and fans where I can on the farm.

: In the back corner, we have a bank of lockers for the crew. Everyone has their own set of lockers where they can store safety equipment, extra shoes, clothing, and other personal items.

: Among the power tools we use and depend on all year long are those from STIHL. This company is a global leader in outdoor power equipment and offers more than 80 different tools including professional-grade chainsaws, blowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, brush cutters, pruners, saws, and so much more. All of our STIHL long handled hedge trimmers, and weed-whackers are hung in this section, ready to use.

: Nearby are the STIHL blowers. These blowers are powerful, easy to handle, and fuel-efficient.

: Fernando organizes the tools by type and hangs them near one end of the Barn for quick access.

: We use industrial hooks that can hold up to 50-pounds each. We keep like items together, so we know where to find them and how many we have in supply. Here are some of our shovels and spades. Do you know the difference between a shovel and a spade? A shovel is longer, angled, and its blade is curved into more of a scoop with a pointed tip. Shovels are better for digging up, breaking apart, and lifting soil as well as for scooping and moving loose materials. A spade has a relatively flat blade with straight edges and the blade tends to be in line with the shaft, rather than angled forward. Spades are good for edging and cutting.

: Rakes, forks, edgers, hoes, and other tools are also hung in the same area.

: Ladders of various sizes rest against one wall close to one set of large barn doors.

: This is our wood chipper – an important piece of equipment at the farm. I am fortunate to have this machinery to chip fallen or cut branches and then return them to the woodland for top dressing. It has a special parking spot in one corner of the space.

: I keep this vintage Allis-Chalmers tractor from the 1940s in this barn also. It reminds us how much these farm pieces have evolved over the years.

: Our dependable wheelbarrows from Scenic Road are washed, and stored upright to save space.

: All the smaller tools, such as these large combination wrenches are also organized and hung over the workbench.

: We have a fleet of Kubota mowers. They are used almost daily during the warmer months. Here, they are parked in a designated spot, where they can easily be driven out when needed.