Hello market gardeners

Having been in horticulture all my life [now 73] I've collected almost every hand tool imaginable and have had the time to give them each a through testing. Also, as a market market gardener, weeding is more than just a pleasure. It's serious business that pays off on the bottom line and maintains the independent lifestyle we've been enjoying over the last several years since I retired from teaching.

When heading to the garden for an assault on weeds, one is best off carrying a single tool that does it all and allows for hand pulling as well as cutting. And a tool is needed that can be used on feet as well as knees and at the same time provide support for moving from knees to feet as a cane might do.

Our situation is a bit out of the ordinary in that we practice what could be called the "deep mulch method" pioneered by Ruth Stout in the 60s and 70s. In deep mulch the conventonal chop hoe is near useless as it will not penetrate the mulch. Better is the scuffle hoe that once under the mulch can be kept cutting at the cusp. I also have one of those with a short handle.

In California the short handle hoe was made illegal for use on farms [with hired workers] for humanitarian reasons. But self-employed farmers have nothing to fear from state inspectors. They can treat their backs however they will but an interesting observation I've made is that we can give our backs a real treat by bending over frequently and getting up and down a lot. This makes for supple backs and joints which can come in handy for doing a lot of things a senior gentleman or lady might otherwise give up on.

The "deep mulch method" in gardening has a lot in common with the "deep litter method" in small scale poultry production which we also practice. You can find out about the latter with a search and the former with a visit to our website at http://www.wholesystemsag.org.

Good growing all,

John

Here is a link that might be useful: Whole Systems Agriculture