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Before I start building or adapting a machine, I turn to Practical Farm Ideas. I don't know how many times I have flicked though my copies!

Robin Benbow, Welshpool

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Controlling weeds in the veg patch

Used dumpers by Winget, Bomford, Twaites and others go for knock-down prices and are not hard to find. You're looking for a machine with some life in its engine, a clutch that still goes in and out, a gearbox which works. If the tyres are poor, the price needs to be close to the floor. If the brakes are no good, allow time to fix them.

When you use this machine, the upside is the fact that you can actually see what you're doing, so much better than when driving a tractor with the hoe in front, and a million times better than when it's on the back. There, it's a job of real concentration to prevent the hoe from devastating the crop you have planted a few weeks before. On this Bomford you are literally within a foot or two of the hoe, you can smell the weeds and earth. You know where you're going.

The converted dumper can carry tools other than a hoe. The 3-pt linkage on the front makes it possible to mount mower units, cultivators and even something like a sprayer. The machine is of course very light weight in comparison to a tractor, and so gentle on the soil. The engine weight is over the rear wheels.

Hoeing or mowing with this machine you converted in your workshop provides street-cred as well as low cost mechanisation. Great idea for the bigger garden, and also for farmers in the developing world. It's a huge talking point.

There are, of course, downsides. No air-con or stereo, and engine that's raucous rather than dulcet. Older dumpers have crank start, but no electrics to go wrong, and most are air cooled. Tiller steering is addictive, but takes five minutes to get used to.

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