Got an idea i just cant shake

[baymule]

I'm probably not the one to comment on this tread because I'm pro-tiller and apply lime and ammonia nitrate when my garden plants need it.

But we welcome everyone's input and ideas. I HAD to disc up the garden when we got here. But I like not tilling and just adding more manure, cardboard and wood chip mulch. Maybe by the time I run out of mulch, I'll have rich, deep soil.

I make chicken poop (fresh) water and spray it on the garden.

 

[baymule]

If I'm going to building a house next year I would at least like to get it dried in before winter sets in so we could move in and stand up internal walls and finish the inside over the winter.

Would you cut logs and stack them up for a log home? That would be so cool. With your sawmill, you could cut some beautiful wood for the inside that would be unaffordable otherwise.

 

[flowerbug]

Novel approach. BUT... Down side to that is that you are feeding that seed bank for eons to come. Better to go over the area repeatedly, every few days, and get those surface weed sprouts while they are at the thread stage.

I'm toying with the idea of using a flame weeder to see how effective that is. Would require a side by side plot for control comparison. Then, there's the consideration: how much would the flame weeder disrupt soil organisms. Again... side by side comparison with identical sowings of follow up crops would tell the tale.

you've never used a stirrup hoe then? it's specifically for that sort of purpose. it scrapes and cuts off weeds and it does not disturb the soil layers so you are not moving weed seeds around much at all.

and by feeding the weed seed bank for eons. no, this is a method for the extreme times when you want to take an area back from weedy growth to a bare dirt garden. once you've done that then you shouldn't have to do it again if you can keep on top of it. a stirrup hoe will let you do that.

 

[thistlebloom]

Our soil is rocky, gravel size to watermelon and the Rogue gets banged up hitting them, which is totally unavoidable, but a little work with a file and it's good to go.

 

[flowerbug]

I don't use a stirrup hoe. Use a rogue hoe instead. It has a 4" triangular blade that is razor sharp on all sides of the triangle so that you can cut the weeds in a forward, back, motion or side to side. @Beekissed introduced me to the design, and I love it.

thanks for the clarification. So... what you are doing is burying the weeds that have been decapitated by the stirrup hole? basically trench composting. Yes, that is an effective method. I usually go one step further and make weed tea, then dump that into the trench.

no, i'm talking about what i do after i've redone the surface entirely. you will have a very tough time getting a stirrup hoe through sod and it isn't meant to do that anyways. it is a skim the surface to chop off the weeds tool. on hard clay i don't even barely move any soil at all as it is too hard to get the hoe down in there and it works just fine to cut the weeds off. i leave them to dry on the surface. i don't bury them. if the weeds have gotten to the seed head stage i'll pull off the seeds or rake them up and either put them on the weed pile where the animals can peck at them or i will bury those, but it isn't common i have to do that. i much prefer to leave them to dry up where the worms can have at them.

 

[flowerbug]

Every time I see a stirrup hoe, I think, "that looks like the most unwieldly, awkward tool I've ever seen." Even the looks of the Rogue make sense to me. And, it handles very well.

uh, it's just back and forth like a rake or hoe as before. sometimes with the clay i have to push down a little as i go to make sure i'm scraping what i want, but it works fast and isn't a problem. perhaps you're not seeing the tool i'm using?

this is an example that looks about how i use it in decent garden soil, except i'm not usually leaving things for three weeks before getting back to them.

note that is much different than how i use it on clay or harder soil, but it still works fine for me...

 

[flowerbug]

Our soil is rocky, gravel size to watermelon and the Rogue gets banged up hitting them, which is totally unavoidable, but a little work with a file and it's good to go.

yes, if you have rocky soil or too many obstructions to work around a stirrup hoe is not going to work as quickly. that is why i prefer larger gardens and space to plant and work where i'm not up against edges all the time or having to work around rocks.

with very hard clay though in the middle of summer i can skim along and the surface of the soil doesn't even budge. in better soil i can skim along quickly and it is much easier than dealing with mostly clay.

i've not had to sharpen the stirrup hoe since i bought it some years ago. i think i've had it about 10 years. we do have some gravel in the gardens that has migrated from the pathways and such, it's not good when it gets embedded in clay and i can't scrape around it, but one of my usual garden tasks is to take some of that gravel and toss it back into the paths.

it wasn't until this year that Mom finally started using it. things go much better for us when she does (it's quicker and easier on her hands than what she was doing before). we were able to keep after all the gardens and i still had time to work on projects along with dealing with the harvest and putting things up.

 

[thistlebloom]

I will still choose my good Rogue scuffle hoe. I don't think stirrup hoes are meant to hold or even have an edge the way the Rogue does.

 

[flowerbug]

I will still choose my good Rogue scuffle hoe. I don't think stirrup hoes are meant to hold or even have an edge the way the Rogue does.

since it is being used to slice off weeds it has to be sharp enough and it also is sharp enough to slice through soil that is firm enough. the edge on mine is sharp enough for the task. if you have to sharpen yours due to rocks that's probably a good indication a stirrup hoe wouldn't work for you and that's fine. your further claim though is false. after 10 years in decent soil mine still slices off weeds and through the soil as well as it did when i bought it. the blade is a very hard steel and it's not showing much wear yet.

Robot or human?

note in these reviews of my specific brand/item the last comment is saying the blade is too thin and won't hold up with frequent use? wrong... the guy hasn't used one for ten years for hundreds of hours...

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I'm very familiar with what a stirrup hoe looks like. Still looks like an ergonomic nightmare. I'll gladly stick with my Rogue.