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.
PLOWING OUR WAY THROUGH.
Yesterday Hannah and I finished a massive project, even if it looks amusingly small. We plowed enough area for our potatoes and onions which we'll likely plant some time late next week (weather permitting). When I say we plowed, however, I don't mean that we got out the tractor, put on the plow implement and tore through the soil. Hannah and I flipped the dirt by hand, with the help of a small broad fork and shovel. I've never liked plowing, and especially using tractors - it feels too impersonal - so this has been an exciting alternative. The broad fork is a clever tool that, by slamming its five tines into the ground and leaning all of your weight on the two handles, you can loosen the soil enough to slip a shovel underneath. Once the soil was propped on the shovel, we would flip it by hand.Is this insane? Almost definitely. Will we be able to do our entire garden this way? Probably not. But will it make good potatoes and onions? Let's just say that if it doesn't, we had fun trying. It's a special part of the job, being this involved with the growing process, and we're happy to take on a little extra labor in order to know our land and vegetables are that much better. Yes, we are epically sore today, but in all the best ways. A lot of conventional farmers will get into air conditioned tractors, turn on the radio and go to work. When they're done plowing, they'll seed from the tractor, harvest from the tractor and barely get dirty. For us, what we do is not work: farming is a lifestyle for curious people, not a job. Plowing the dirt by hand is a history lesson, a biology class, a study of geology, a workout and a bad tan all wrapped up into one. We're moving and examining every inch (ok, most inches) of the dirt, pulling out bits of arrowheads and busting open geodes; unearthing ants nests and earth worms and toads––it often feels like our job is to simply remain kids and dig in the dirt. Fine by us. It was hard, it took two days, but we had a great time––your potatoes should tell you all about it.- Jesse.
