Glaser wheel hoes

Wheel hoes are excellent! I started using one last season, though I’d been reading about them for a while—what took me so long?! They cut major time from straight cultivating, weeding between-row and paths where you’d usually use some type of hand hoe. Mine is from Valley Oak, and I’m absolutely happy with it. I use the standard 8″ blade, and that’s it. I haven’t tried the Glaser wheel hoes, but they’re no doubt fine as well. They come with a five implement attachments, including blades in various widths, a hiller/furrower, and a 3-tine cultivator. There’s a two-wheel/two-blade attachment for the heavier pro model that allows straddling a row. The handles can be offset for working from the side.

The three models of wheel hoe are No. 500 (the Berg), 600, and 700.

In North America, at least, the EarthWay Precision Seeder is in a class of its own. This is in good part due to the fact that it’s also the only seeder in its price range… Inexpensive at around $100US, it’s widely used in market gardens and nurseries, and probably larger home gardens as well. I’ve used one for five seasons (with no breakdowns, no repairs!). For direct seeding, for me it’s either the Earthway or by hand.

It certainly works well enough to get the job done, but it also has its drawbacks and requires quite a lot of getting used to. It can be a huge seed-waster, dropping more seed than necessary. It’s also prone to clogging and skipping depending on the type of seed. And you have to get used to it. For example, for bigger seed, I listen for the regular click of the seed going down the chute, and for all seed, I watch to see the seed hit the ground (you get used to it, you can even spot tiny carrot seed! :). So, it takes a fair bit of familiarity to use efficiently.

For a long while, a couple of decades at least, it was the only inexpensive seeder around that could take on bigger tasks. In recent years (maybe the last five), other single-row push seeders have appeared. They’re apparently more accurat, also, more expensive, but in the $500-1,000 range that makes economic sense for the market grower on probably half an acre or more, paying back through savings in seed and thinning time.

All that said, it’s still a useful machine at a great price.

Tips »

Gilmour hose menders

These Gilmour hose menders and couplers are absolutely brilliant. I discovered them last season, after messing around for years with regular brass fittings and hose clamps. Made of nylon, with stainless steel screws, they’re light, durable, and feel like precision parts. Inserting and screwing tight are both smooth and straightforward. They’re no more expensive than brass couplers, and they eliminate having to use a separate clamp. I use mainly the couplers, to make up custom pieces of hose (the top row is for 5/8″-3/4″ hose, the bottom for 1/2″), while the menders can be lifesavers if you accidentally slice a hose. I’ve yet to install a full drip irrigation system, so my small-scale irrigation is intimately connected with regular garden hoses. I suspect even with a fully installed irrigation set-up, hoses on the tiny farm will still play a part, and these will come in handy. I have tried one other plastic connector of similar design, but it broke. I’d recommend this particular brand since it’s the one I’ve field-tested with great success.

Bag holders

Simple and effective, these folding bag holders are great, except in anything more than a light breeze. Here, I was using them to fill large leaf bags with grass mulch. This has been my only use for them so far, and they’re worth it just for that. But they’d come in handy for any sort of collection, including leafy greens harvest. They’re also reversible: stand them on one end or the other for large or regular size bags. These were under $15 at the local hardware store.

Tiny Farm Gear