Today, a tiny farming breakthrough—I found I could securely balance multiple tools on the wheel hoe, and easily wheel the whole setup between the tool shed and the field! When the tiny farm was operating at a larger scale, I’d hitch the flatbed trailer to the John Deere riding mower, load up with everything we could possibly need for a job, and drive on out. That was deluxe! But for a couple of hand tools—here, a hay fork, leaf rake, shovel—plus the wheel hoe, driving is just overkill. It’s not that far a walk. Still…guiding a wheel hoe while carrying tools is a bit of a balancing act, and I usually make two trips. This new way, using the wheel hoe as a tool carrier, flips it from irksome to fun! I figured out how to quickly insert tools so they brace each other and don’t slip out the bottom, and that was it…upgrade complete. (Yes, I could just pick up the not so heavy wheel hoe, but then, that’s what wheels are for! :)
Building & Fixing
Boldly low-tech grass clearing method
An experimental procedure, effectiveness so far unknown. In some spots, sections of tall grass are swallowing the single strand of electric fence that has so far protected the veggie patch from deer. To keep a nicely unpleasant jolt running smoothly, the grass must be cleared! I’ve used various methods in the past. There’s been the 48″ deck mower on the tiny tractor. Running over the strip under the fence line with the same tiny tractor. Or the handy string trimmer, aka weed whacker, that spits out microplastic particles as the nylon cutting line wears down. And the low tech large garden shears. This year, I’m doing things as manually as possible. If I had a scythe… Since I don’t, and the garden shears haven’t been at all as quick and efficient as I’d hoped, I had a new idea. Lay down a plank under the line—here it’s a 2x4x8—to bend the grass, slide it over a bit so the strip of bent bottoms under the plank is exposed, and slice through with a utility knife, using the plank like a ruler. It went pretty quickly, with only 60-70′ (18-21m) in total of sections to do. And the grass is gone! Whether this really works we’ll find out in how long it takes to grow back. Hopefully, the cut grass will dry into a mulch that helps block future growth. I’m modestly optimistic—the minimum expectation for me to try it at all. Stay tuned!
Wire work
Electric fence wire work, snipping 6-foot pieces of 9-gauge wire for hoops to hold up floating row cover in the greenhouse. Hopefully this wire is stiff enough to do the job, supporting up to three layers of row cover, heavy with moisture from humidity and being dripped on by water condensed on the inside of the hoophouse plastic, or weighed down by ice, when the soaked cover freezes at night. This test batch of about 180′ came coiled, in a circle about 2½’ in diameter, and the built in curve is perfect for stretching slightly to span about 4′ of bed. So, no bending required, it’s all about the snipping!
Farm gear repair
Yeah, my bicycle. Since I don’t drive (except for the compact tractor, and the occasional riding mower and ATV), it’s one of the ways I regularly get to the field (from the farm where I live, down the road to the farm where I farm). The bike is a major means of transportation for me, and for that reason, I consider it essential farm equipment. Here, changing a tube and tire took only 10 minutes… Nice!
Working on water
At work on water: Rochelle changes an shutoff valve—a tap!—to the 1″ header pipe that runs from the well through the field. Not exactly a big pipe by irrigation standards, OK for our low volume use. You could call it a hybrid setup, a mix of commercial and home garden gear, with a healthy amount of manual labor thrown in to make it all go (dragging around hoses to where they’re needed and the like, hand watering from 55-gal barrels when necessary). Full drip irrigation has been on the to-do list for years, all the gear has been here, but I’ve never quite got round to it, which sounds odd, I’m sure, but we’ve done well relying on rain, and working with minimal gear when the rains don’t come. Kinda…satisfying! :)
