I can’t believe how much I love this golf cart. I first heard of farmers using golf carts when visiting another farm. I came home saying how neat it was, and inexpensive, but my DH trounced the idea saying it wouldn’t be powerful enough. Then he went to hunting camp and one of his friends had a souped up golf cart. He decided we should have one, but I trounced the idea since it would no longer be inexpensive.
Well, we have friends who just retired and are moving, and Tony came home from helping them with this golf cart. What is so wonderful, you ask?????
First, it is almost silent. And when you take your foot off the pedal, it is off. No motor idling while you do something “quickly”.
Second, it is really easy to get in and out of from both sides.
Third, it REALLY saves time and energy. I am still walking up and down the hill if I don’t have heavy things to carry or am not in a real hurry, but this goes a lot faster than I walk. The first few years I was pulling a hand cart loaded with veggies up the hill. Sometimes it took two of us to pull it up when it was loaded with tomatoes. I finally gave in and started driving the Subaru up and down (or around via the road). We also have an old pickup truck, but I hate its fumes. So, I can load the back of this up and come up to wash and pack. Note there is a trailer hitch, so when I have a light weight trailer I can be even more efficient. But I can fit 6 milk crates in the back, plus two up front.
I plant as much as I can fairly close together, rows 12 to 18 inches apart. But some things are planted 4 feet apart. And at this time of year there are bare areas. Sooooooo, with this I can drive right along the tomato row and put tomatoes right into crates in the back. Or fill a crate and put it right in, rather than carrying it to the end of the row. Ditto for zucchini and squash, potatoes, and other heavy things.
Fourth, it has headlights. The evening I found we had our first frost warning, I drove it along the winter squash rows looking for squash that would not be sheltered from a light frost. I used a flashlight also, but the headlights were great, and of course helped for not running over plants and for getting back up the hill to the house.
Fifth, Tony will actually do more chores if he can ride the golf cart.
I’m sure we can come up with more reasons, but after using it a couple of weeks, we love it. I have mentioned before that I realize what a different life we lead by the things that please me so much. This is another one of those things.
