Wheel Hoe Day
Finally, the new wheel hoe arrived today! This simple and amazing garden tool is so little known in these parts, I had to order it from another country… I hadn’t used one before, but I had a very clear idea of how it should work, and it didn’t disappoint. You walk it along, pushing with minimal force, and the blade slices through the soil, beheading all weeds in its path. With ease. A slight arm adjustment translates into precise depth control, and the double-edged 8″ blade works on a back-pull as well. Even fist-sized rocks (a constant feature in this field) don’t phase it, they simply slip through the hoop. It’s at least 3-4 times faster than hand hoeing, and it matches the Horse walking rototiller for path clearing, minus the noise and gas. Amazing! (In the numerous shipping documents, I liked the note to Customs from the toolmaker, an organic veggie farmer himself: “Please let this package be delivered ASAP. There is a farmer awaiting his new tool.”)
Somewhat related posts: • Horse back in action… • Hand tools • Thinning and weeding • After the rain… • Onions and potatoes go in
Sara said,
May 30, 2007 @ 2:27 am
Where did you get this fabulous tool? - it looks like it will make work alot easier.
I thought the toolmakers note was great - made me chuckle.
Sara from farmingfriends
Kevin said,
May 30, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
Looks like a tool I could use too! Let us know where to get it.
Kevin
Mike said,
May 31, 2007 @ 1:23 am
This fine tool (even sweeter after day two!) is from Valley Oak, in California, USA. There are other wheel hoes available from the US, but too expensive to ship (export) to where I am. You can search the web for…”wheel hoe”. And there’s a whole wheel hoe system from Glaser, which I think is from Europe (Switzerland?). Valley Oak came recommended in Growing for Market, and I talked to toolmaker/farmer David and he’s cool!
marci said,
October 25, 2007 @ 9:57 am
Looks/sounds wonderful, but three hundred bucks?
For a tiny farmer? Zowie!
Mike (tfb) said,
October 25, 2007 @ 1:41 pm
Hey marci: It’s expensive and a luxury, or even unnecessary, for a smaller home garden, but if you’re microfarming, probably from a quarter acre (1,000 sq m) up , it pays for itself in no time. On my two acres or so, I can easily spend, say, 10 hours a week hand weeding, for at least 15 weeks, a total of 150 hours. If I save half that time, that’s 75 extra hours to harvest, plant more stuff, whatever, and I’ve gotta be worth at least $5 an hour. With those really conservative figures, that’s $375 in the first season! (Sorry for rolling out the arithmetic, but it often comes down to that! :) Plus, wheel hoeing is fun!
Robin said,
October 25, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
I love my wheel hoe. I can turn my 14 year old daughter loose in the 15′ x 30′ garden and 20 minutes later she’s done. It’s a huge labor saver.