Garden Time, JINMAN ??????

[jinman]

Bird, I am still working for a living, but I have taken quite a few vacation days lately. If you could see my deck that needs to be waterproofed and my flowerbeds that need to be planted, you'd know I'm not magically coming up with time.

The weeds I have seem to be slow to start. I was looking at the tomatoes this weekend and thinking I should take out the little weeds between plants, but I'm sure I can wait a week before running my little tiller around to knock down the weeds. I don't think weed control was that big a problem last year either. How I can grow veggies and not weeds is a mystery to me.

Don:I have 2-1/2 years and I can retire. Actually, if they "show me the door" before then, I wouldn't shed a tear. I want to find out what it feels like on Monday morning to not have to start another 5-day work week.

I used my little tiller on Saturday between the rows of beans and peas. I loosened the soil around the turnips carefully with a cultvator fork and also carefully cut down lambsquarter coming up the potatoes with a hoe. That's all the weed control and cultivating I did and that only took about 1 hour. I think your sandy soil is more prone to weeds. I sure remember having plenty of them in the sandy soil we had when I was a kid.

 

[MadDogDriver]

I hope you weren't hit by the hail storms in TX that I saw on the news yesterday. Can ruin your whole year.

 

[Egon]

feels like on Monday morning to not have to start another 5-day work week.

There is a very distinct difference. On Monday morning you awake to face a "seven day work week" with few coffee breaks, a slave driver for a boss and no vacation time!

 

[txdon]

Yep Egon, I really miss that vacation time.

Jim, here are some pictures of a first year "wannabe like Jim's garden" pictures. (you can laugh)

 

[jinman]

Yep Egon, I really miss that vacation time.

Jim, here are some pictures of a first year "wannabe like Jim's garden" pictures. (you can laugh)

Don, I won't laugh at all. You are suffering from sandy soil. It grows things very well and weeds are no exception. You will have to add organic material and fertilize in the off-season to help reduce weeds or they will be a problem every year. In a small garden you can do things with the soil that you can't do with a huge acreage. I feel sorry for you because I don't have nearly the problem with weeds. Mine start slowly and give me time to catch my breath between weeding sessions.

Your okra looks great. It looks like every seed you planted came up. The same thing is happening with our replanted peas and cucumbers. I'd show you a picture of my peas, but the row looks like I killed off a fifth before I planted. Hey! You can get more plants in a crooked row... Right?

Egon: I'm familiar with that 7-day workweek. I just don't like the five day portion I have to spend doing work for someone else. The 140 mile-per-day commute is also costly and time wasted. When I retire, I'll spend a lot less time on the road, I hope.

 

[snoiger01]

Well since everyone agrees not to laugh...here's my little piece of earth. A JD 2305, a chisel plow and a disc...oh yea and ALOT of diesel fuel and seat time

 

[jinman]

Well since everyone agrees not to laugh...here's my little piece of earth. A JD 2305, a chisel plow and a disc...oh yea and ALOT of diesel fuel and seat time

Nothin' to laugh at there...that's a thing of beauty. Very nice!

 

[Dozernut]

Jim that sure is a nice looking garden you have, I am retired and mine doesn't ever look that good, guess I am produce challenged. We were able to plow the garden Sunday (it finally quit freezing) and planted a few tomato plants and some beans before it started raining.

 

[hudlow]

What kind of tools do you guys use in your gardens?

I'm talking hoes and rakes and stuff like that. Is there a particular kind you like?

We've been using these hoes for a couple of years and I'd have to fight before I'd give one up.

Swan Neck Hoe


We ordered one a couple of years ago and my wife and I started fighting over who got to use it so we bought another.

I know they're pricey for a hoe. But you can stand straight up when you use this hoe and it's got a long reach. It's lightweight and the sharp points can easily dig out a weed without disturbing too much soil around it.

I'm convinced it has saved my back many hours of pain and I get a lot more weeding done and it's not a dreaded chore.

I'm not a company representative and I don't get a penny for the sales of these hoes. I know they're a little costly compared to what you can buy at WalMart but I'm considering buying a couple more just to put away in case something happens to the ones we are currently using.

If you won't buy one for yourself ask someone to give one to you for a birthday or father's day or something.

I guarantee you'll like it.

Do any of you have such a tool that you consider the perfect tool for your needs in the garden?

I'd like to hear about them.

hud

 

[schmism]

What kind of tools do you guys use in your gardens?

I'm talking hoes and rakes and stuff like that. Is there a particular kind you like?

We've been using these hoes for a couple of years and I'd have to fight before I'd give one up.

so why isnt that just a regular $8 hoe at your local box store with the bottom cut off?

so tweek the kneck, and take a die grinder to the blade to cut it off just after the top "sweep" and you have a fancy $49 version right?

for the record i also have a simular hoe that was either cut down or wore down over time to be about 2" wide which serves the same pourpous.... light weight and cuts much more easy than regular hoes.

 

[hudlow]

so why isnt that just a regular $8 hoe at your local box store with the bottom cut off?

so tweek the kneck, and take a die grinder to the blade to cut it off just after the top "sweep" and you have a fancy $49 version right?

for the record i also have a simular hoe that was either cut down or wore down over time to be about 2" wide which serves the same pourpous.... light weight and cuts much more easy than regular hoes.

For one thing this hoe is almost 5.5 feet long (65") and it allows you to stand straight up when using it, which is something the 48" $8.00 hoes aren't designed to do. The handle is slimmer and lighter and easier to grip for longer periods of time. It's well balanced and really there's no need for chopping, it slices through weeds due to the angle of the neck.

It's not designed for moving dirt or mixing concrete like the $8.00 hoe. It's basically a weeder or cultivator.

I'm sure you could rework a cheaper version and come up with a cheaper version of this hoe but the ones we have are well made and a real pleasure to use compared to the others.

Also when you have a back like mine that gets sore from stooping and chopping like the shorter versions require it's well worth the investment. One visit to the chiropractor or the M.D. with a bad back can easily pay for one of these hoes.

I hope I never have to buy another. But if the time comes I won't hesitate to buy another of these hoes.


I guess it's the same difference between a $2.00 hammer and a $40.00 hammer....they'll both drive nails, but which one do you want to swing all day long?

hud

 

[jinman]

Hud, my favorite type of hoe is my mini gasoline powered tiller, but next is a 4-tine cultivator fork on about a 54" handle. I use the fork to work in close to the plants and the gas tiller to keep the weeds tilled down between rows. I am familiar with your swan neck and I really like them. My grandmother used to have a similar hoe when I was a kid. You could just undercut a weed with a simple twist of the wrist. My favorite hoe as a kid was a big eye-hoe. We had huge weeds that I cold cut with one swing of that hoe rather than having to hack away with a regular hoe.

I might have to look into getting one of those swan neck hoes for my wife because she really tires out with a normal hoe. Frankly, I just wish she would leave the hoeing to me. I hated it when I was a kid and now I love to cultivate and pull the loose dirt in around the stem of young plants. I know that makes me sound like I have a few loose screws, but it's true.

 

[hudlow]

I hated it when I was a kid and now I love to cultivate and pull the loose dirt in around the stem of young plants. I know that makes me sound like I have a few loose screws, but it's true.

I know what you mean. Hoeing is actually a pretty good stress-buster for me.
It wouldn't be nearly as relaxing without good tools to work with. A quick pass through the garden goes a long way in keeping a feller's head cleared out.

Those little tillers are a trick once you get the hang of them.

I'm going to fry out a little bacon here shortly. We're going to have some wilted lettuce and spring onions for supper. If I'm lucky maybe I can talk my wife into fixing a cake of cornbread.

hud

 

[Bird]

Sounds like a good supper, hud. I don't think I've had any wilted lettuce since I was a kid and my mother used to make it.

 

[hudlow]

Sounds like a good supper, hud. I don't think I've had any wilted lettuce since I was a kid and my mother used to make it.

Bird,

It's still good - I want you to know.

If it wasn't for good stuff like wilted lettuce, pinto beans, cornbread and collards, I'd a starved to death a long time ago!!!!

Wilted lettuce is good for a man's riflings in the springtime! Keeps 'em shiney.

hud

 

[PSDStu]

With all the nut grass in my garden I keep plenty busy working a hoe...... seems the nut grass is just about the worst weed I have to deal with.

 

[randy41]

i've been using a collinear hoe for many years....replaced the blade many times.
Johnny's - Product - 9093 - Standard Collinear Hoe
the blade angle allows you to stand straight when using it. its not good for big weeds but is designed to cut the weeds where the foliage meets the roots.
i grow veggies to sell at the farmers market. 2 acres.

 

[jinman]

With all the nut grass in my garden I keep plenty busy working a hoe...... seems the nut grass is just about the worst weed I have to deal with.

Stu, that nut grass is tough stuff. I have it in my garden too. I can't believe how fast that stuff grows or grows back after you cut it. Actually, I try to pull or dig it up root and all. My uncle once dug up some nut grass and hung it on a fence for over three years and then planted it in a flower pot. It popped right up. Three years drying in the Texas sun didn't phase it.

A local gardening talkshow host says there is one sure way to get rid of nut grass. You dig it up, grind it in a grinder, burn it to ashes, and then take the ashes out into the ocean and dump them about 12 miles out. That should do it.

Randy41: I saw some beautiful gardens in Virginia when I was there a couple of years ago out on Hwy 13 along the outer banks peninsula, but I've never been to the most western part of the state. If you get a chance, I'd sure like to see some pictures of your big 2-acre garden.

 

[PSDStu]

Stu, that nut grass is tough stuff. I have it in my garden too. I can't believe how fast that stuff grows or grows back after you cut it. Actually, I try to pull or dig it up root and all. My uncle once dug up some nut grass and hung it on a fence for over three years and then planted it in a flower pot. It popped right up. Three years drying in the Texas sun didn't phase it.

A local gardening talkshow host says there is one sure way to get rid of nut grass. You dig it up, grind it in a grinder, burn it to ashes, and then take the ashes out into the ocean and dump them about 12 miles out. That should do it.

Jim,

A fella here tried to get rid of his nut grass by digging down about 5ft in his garden and hauling off the dirt......didn't work.....nut grass came back...... once you have it...... your stuck with it around these parts.

I do my best like you to just try and pull up what I can.... and give it my best shot! It loves the heat.....and even when it's dry like it has been around here......it just slows it down a little.....and after a little rain.....it's right back!

Your garden looks great! And I'm going to try and get some pictues of my nut grass....err....garden soon!

Stu

 

[billbill1]

I had bind weed in the previous garden, don't know it by any other name. It grows very deep and hard to kill.