TORN.
This week I attended a seminar with Jean-Martin Fortier, the author of The Market Gardener. My impetus for going was that JM makes over $100,000 a year per acre growing organic veggies, and it piqued my curiosity. Because to put that in perspective, we thought we were killing it by making $25,000 per acre.But there are several differences between what JM does and what we do, not the least of which is the equipment he uses. In the garden behind our house, Hannah and I don't use equipment. We use mulch to do our tilling, and a combination of rakes, broad forks and shovels to work up the soil if need be. In the big gardens that we farm with our neighbors, we use two different tractors. All JM uses is a small, but specific walking tractor which he utilizes to prepare, weed, and cultivate 30" permanent beds, growing almost as much food on one acre as we do on three. It's pretty impressive how productive this small machine can be, and it left at least 150 farmers at that seminar wanting one of these walking tractors. Honestly, I was not immune.More than anything, though, this left me torn. I want desperately to farm like JM. It speaks to me on an ineffable level to be that productive. Then there's the closet prepper side of me who wants to prepare myself and my family and my farm for a post-petroleum world, and not invest in oil-based machinery. Even if it looks really, really fun and really, really profitable. I want to be spending my time one day soon learning to use draft animals. Or figuring out a version of his system that can be done by hand. I may be able to talk Eric and Cher into implementing some of his practices in the big gardens, but really, without the specific machinery, it doesn't work the same. And I feel I want to start working away from more machinery, not towards it.Truth be told, his book and that seminar has put me at a sort of crossroads. Because it's not just about the money. That dude feeds an unreal amount of people, and I want that, too. He builds soil. He increases organic matter and sequesters carbon, he doesn't honestly use very much fuel, but still. He does use fuel.So, what's the answer? Is the answer to stay the course, work ourselves to death making a quarter of the money, feeding a quarter of the amount of people per acre? Or is it to implement some of his methods and make it work, fossil fuel dependance be dammed? I honestly have no idea, but I do know this, my idealism has officially met it's match.- Jesse.
WAY COOL TOOLS BROADFORK.
Tools are truly lifesavers (and back savers) in this business and I perhaps love no tool more than the broadfork. This is a large, full-body implement that can be used for anything from plowing fresh sod to harvesting root crops. It's a very physical tool that, if you don't have a tractor, is an intensive gardening must.Last month I bought a Diamond Point Spade from Way Cool Tools, a company I've admired for some time for their commitment to American made, long-lasting products, as well as their supply of more esoteric farming tools. The next day I received a call from the owner of the company, Charles, who wondered if I would like to try out one of their broadforks and give him some feedback.You see, a couple years ago I reviewed some other broadforks and remarked that, though I loved my Meadow Creature Broadfork, I would still love to possess a lighter, more all-around version. The Meadow Creature is my moldboard plow, I needed a re-breaker, too. Charles saw this post, and was hearing similar things from many broadfork enthusiasts, so he designed one and hoped I would try it out.To get an idea of its full potential, I used the Five Tines Model Broadfork from Way Cool Tools for just about everything I could think of. At first I plowed with it, the task for which I originally fell in love with the broadfork, and the 10" long tines did an excellent job of flipping the sod without going too deep. Next, I used it to "rip" some ground from which I had just pulled crops and needed to prepare for re-planting. I enjoyed the lightness of the tool, which weighs 14 lbs––several pounds lighter than many other all-steel broadforks––and does not exhaust you in long projects, or projects in which you hope to accomplish quickly. I even found I could till slightly with the Way Cool Tools Broadfork by piercing the flipped clods and twisting the tool in the soil. For carrot harvesting, again it was the weight that came in most handy, and the tines slid nicely underneath the carrots allowing me to pop them up and pull them out with ease. For comparison in this task, I used our neighbor's broadfork which has thinner tines and wooden handles, and one of the handles immediately snapped, which would have left us without a tool in which to finish the project. I have nothing against the wood handles, per se, but I was glad to have the steel in that moment.Lastly, I want to point out that the Way Cool Tools Broadfork is the type of tool you will be passing on to your grandchildren and an unreal value at $185. Made with heat-treated steel, it's not only strong, but durable, and will last a lifetime or three. And like I told Charles over the phone, Hannah and I would never boast on our site about any tool, or a company, we weren't one-hundred percent behind. But in this age of planned obsolescence, Way Cool Tools is exactly the type of refreshing, quality-over-quantity company we should all get behind. If not in the market for a new broadfork, look through their tool catalog and expect the quality I described with this tool to translate to every one of their products.Five Tines Broadfork Specs:23" wide Cross Bar10" tines (2.5" tapering to a point)19.5" Handle Spacing14 lbs$185
EASY DIGGING.
Hannah and I farm with our hands, almost literally. We don't own a tractor, and likely never will. We use a broad fork to plow, cut the grass with a scythe and farm with pretty much whatever crude object is laying around and will do the job. But sometimes, when Wendell isn't enough help, we need a hand. Or more specifically, a tool.The growing season is fast approaching and it is time to start thinking about preparing a garden spot. For those of you who are looking for the kind of tools we use on our farm, easydigging.com is a great place to find them. We love what they're doing and what they stand for. We love that the owner, Greg, is an engineer who cares about the utility, design and ergonomics of every tool his site carries. We love that all of the handles and the majority of the tools are made in the USA. We love that many of the reviews on their site are from other farmers and we love that it's the perfect place for people who like to do it all by hand––like us––to find what they need: broad forks, picks, wheel hoes, seeders, hand cultivators, grubbing hoes, etc..And in the name of full disclosure, Easy Digging did not pay for this post, nor ask for it. Our relationship to them––besides loving their catalog––has been that they use our review of the Meadow Creature Broad Fork (which we continue to love, use regularly, and will forever shamelessly support), and sent us a 6" Grub Hoe as a thank you. We're greatly appreciative of, and honored by, their generosity, and glad we've been able to help them sell their broad forks. But we didn't put this post up for any reason other than we simply love what they're doing and would love for more people to utilize these tools and this site.It's very satisfying work, both environmentally and personally, to get down on your hands and knees and farm. Stores like Easy Digging make that possible.- Jesse.
HUMAN DRAFT: A BROADFORK REVIEW.
VIDEO HERE.
This post is about plowing with a Broadfork. For a more comprehensive look at broadforks, click here. Or read both. We're cool with that, too.
By putting the word "Draft" in the middle of our farm name, Hannah and I thought it would be a constant reminder of our holistic goals, to one day farm with draft animals. But until we're set up and ready for them, we've had to step in and fill that role ourselves. Right now, we make up the draft in Rough Draft, and to be quite honest with you, we're rather enjoying the responsibility. I know it goes for both of us, but I like being in the dirt, and the physicality it takes to reach it. I make a study of the different ants, worms and bugs we uncover––it's the vitality of our garden, and it's fascinating. Being a draft animal has provided a lot of insight as to the workings of our garden and all the things that create it. The broadfork is the tool that has made this possible, so in a two-part post, I'm going to explain how it works, then give a review of the two we've used for anyone interested in being an insane person.
Part 1: HOW TO PLOW WITH A BROADFORK. The broad fork is a crude, simple tool which requires more energy than intelligence, but ultimately...it's a safe and effective way to plow your soil. Fair warning: it's not easy, in fact, it's very hard at first but gets easier as you build the muscles it requires. Be mindful of your back, and drink lots of water, but that goes for doing anything always.To start, stab the instrument in the ground (making sure to avoid piercing your feet!) then stand on the cross bar and work the tines into the soil. This takes a little practice, but it's a pretty simple procedure and you can pretty much leave it up to muscle memory to nail it down for you. Next, while holding on to the handles, lean back and work the instrument towards the ground, bringing up a big hunk of soil in the process. When the handles near the ground step on them, reach up and flip the clod of soil over and slip it back into the gap you removed it from upside down so the sod will break down underneath the soil. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat...
From there you can determine how you want to till, either by hand, rototiller, or by mulch. We've used all three, and all three work great. The longer the turned-over soil sits, the more it will break down naturally, which can help with the tilling no matter how you do it.
Part 2: BROADFORK REVIEW.
Before we'd moved to Danville, we ordered a broadfork from Johnny's Seeds, designed by famed farmer, Eliot Coleman. It's a lighter-weight instrument which we effectively destroyed in about a month. However, as our papa farmer, Eric, told us: by plowing with it, we were abusing it. The broadfork from Johnny's is not meant to plow. It's meant to cultivate already worked soil, aerate subsoil, or dig up root crops such as carrots and parsnips. If your garden is already worked up, I imagine this is a wonderful instrument to have around. I personally enjoyed the lightweight quality, and the wooden handles which had a lot of flexibility, but I found the tines far too lightweight for most jobs. They bent almost instantly, compromising the integrity of the steel until it eventually broke, but again, we were plowing. Find it HERE. Specs:•5 10 1/2" long curved tines spaced every 4"•20" wide base (also available in 15" or 27")$189.00
After we lost two tines and one handle on Johnny's broadfork, and since we still needed and wanted one, we got online and found a more heavy duty instrument from a maker in Oregon called Meadow Creature. It's entirely made of steel, and though considerably heavier, it's designed to handle plowing. For the last week or so we've been using this instrument and the results have been ideal. The weight can be a little taxing, but it does not require a second person with a shovel as Johnny's Broadfork had. The tines are thicker and slightly longer (at 14" compared to 10 1/2") than Johnny's, but the base is about the same width. Between the two, I would have to say this is undoubtedly the better broadfork for the human draft animal. Find it HERE. Specs:• 4 14" tines (also available with 16")• 21 1/2" base• 22lbs$195 (plus shipping, which was around $50 for us in KY).
If I had my druthers, and a lot more money, I would actually prefer two broadforks, one for plowing and one for digging and aerating. For the plowing, I would to stick with the Meadow Creature broadfork and for digging, I would like the exact same design, only slightly thinner tines, and wooden handles in lieu of the all steel design for a lighter-weight tool. Johnny's Broadfork is decent, but simply more novelty than practical and I don't really recommend it for serious use. Until Meadow Creature designs a lighter weight one, however, we'll just stick with the one we got, their original model. And fine by us.- Jesse.
HERE is a more recent broadfork roundup.