JOHNNY'S COLLINEAR HOE REVIEW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqVV5i8f-_c
Since we pretty much only use hand tools in our garden (plowing with a broad fork and grubbing hoe and cultivating/weeding either by hand or hoes), our tools are very important to us. Over the last few years, we've bought a few tools from Johnny's Selected Seeds, but none that we've enjoyed more than our latest purchase: the 3 3/4" fixed-blade collinear hoe. Our soil is tough and rocky at times so having a fixed-blade collinear hoe is a necessity for us. We also own a 7" "replaceable blade" collinear hoe from Johnny's that we beat the fire out of in our soil. That replaceable blade collinear is a hoe I would recommend for softer, cleaner soils than we can accomplish here in Bugtussle. For everything else, go with the fixed blade.It should be said that although I would not necessarily recommend the 3 3/4" hoe for extensive cultivation as, well, the blade is small and you will wear yourself out. It's great, however, for precision cultivation, getting between carrots and beets, cut lettuce and arugula. In other words, this is an ideal spring and fall and small garden hoe, when you are not having to get around rows and rows of potato, tomato, or pepper plants. For the bigger jobs, we prefer to employ a larger blade, something 6" - 8".Designed by famed farmer Eliot Coleman, another notable perk to this hoe is the long Maine Ashwood handle coupled with the blade which does not sit perpendicular to the handle like most hoes, but rather at a slight angle. This gives the gardener the unique ability to stand straight up while they cultivate, not only saving one's back, but a significant amount of energy to boot.As our farming mentor Eric says, you just can't beat hand cultivating (as opposed to tractor cultivation) when it comes to effectiveness. And for us, I would say you can't beat using this 3 3/4", long-handled, fixed-blade collinear hoe for that hand cultivation.Sharpen the blade yearly, and make sure to keep the handle treated with linseed oil to extend its life.- Jesse.
COOKED: A REVIEW.
"We are the only species that depends on fire to maintain our body heat, and the only species that can't get along without cooking its food. By now, the control of fire is folded into our genes, a matter not merely of human culture but of our very biology."-Michael Pollan, Cooked
I enjoy Michael Pollan's work and have read all but one of his books, but when I heard about his new endeavor, "Cooked" (published by The Penguin Press), I was skeptical. I was skeptical because of the name—which sounded to me like the title of a bad chef memoir—and I was skeptical because of the premise. In "Cooked," Pollan apprentices himself to "a succession of culinary masters," in sections themed Fire, Water, Air and Earth. But that wasn't necessarily the source of my skepticism. Where I became dubious, was at the focus of the first section: barbecue.It's not that I didn't care about barbecue—quite the opposite when offered a good plate of the stuff—it's that I didn't know if I really cared to read about it. I thought we simply didn't eat enough meat to necessitate an education on the subject. In my mind, barbecue was a rare and decadent event where, more often than not, we put aside our ethical leanings, dump sauce over some factory-farmed pulled pork and make a mess of our beards, ideals and shirts, respectfully. And to some extent, my definition wasn't far off. But what I hadn't considered before reading "Cooked" was that my relationship to barbecue wasn't just some moral confusion and a few ruined items of clothing, but that I actually cared a lot more about barbecue than I realized.If Hannah and I don't start a fire, we don't eat hot food. And I would say it's this necessity that's rendered me downright obsessed with starting fires. Every day, I watch each fire burn, transfixed by the magic like a child at a puppet show. I observe carefully how different woods burn and smell, how the fire dances, drunk on oxygen, gorging on carbon. I relish the flavor of a squash licked by flames, cooked by the hot coals of oak. I enjoy this act in some sort of primordial fashion that I'd never questioned until "Cooked", until barbecue.And it didn't end at barbecue. Pollan goes on to explain our need and love for wood-cooked food, for food cooked in pots, bread and, my personal favorite, fermentation. "Cooked" turned out to be precisely the kind of book I wanted it to be (title notwithstanding). It was a book that connected me, biologically, to the act of cooking food, which is all I ever ask for in a book. I love to know why. Why do we cook? Why salt? Why cheese? Why beer? I could read books that simply answer "why" indefinitely, and the more of them written by Michael Pollan, the better.You can find "Cooked" online, but all books read better when picked up at your local bookstore (except for mine, which is paradoxically only online).- Jesse.
PROMISED LAND.
Hannah and I don't often go to the movies unless there's something we really need or want to see––it is simply an expense too hard for us to usually justify. (Seriously, $10.50 for a matinee??). Last night, however, we saw a film we've been looking forward to for a while now: Promised Land.Although panned critically, we'd become increasingly interested in the fracking debate and thus increasingly interested in seeing this movie. "Fracking," or "hydraulic fracturing" is the method by which natural gas companies obtain their product. It involves sending a drill a mile into the earth with a bunch of water and chemicals to release natural gas up from the shale––in a nutshell––and has become increasingly more controversial over the last few years. You see, the side-effects of this procedure have been known to frequently contaminate water aquifers and wells, poison people, and kill wildlife. In other words, if your neighbor decides to let them drill, you can pretty much kiss your water source goodbye, thus the controversy and our interest.Promised Land is the story of a man (Matt Damon) who works for a giant, "9 billion dollar" natural gas company. His job is to go to small towns and lease land from farmers for his company to be able to drill, selling them the prospect of riches. And what the movie does really well is humanize a person capable of doing this; although you might (or might not) disagree with him, you empathize. However, he finds himself battling a young, charming environmentalist (played by John Krasinski) and a few outspoken townspeople over the possible issues with bringing fracking into their town.It's a clever story, and it's an important issue. There are cleaner sources of energy available than natural gas–-wind, solar, etc.––and moreover, there is nothing more important than protecting our ground water. We do not need gas to live, but we need clean water. This is why we want you to see this movie, why everyone should. Or if you're not as inherently charmed by Matt and John as Hannah and I are (guilty), Gasland by Josh Fox is an excellent documentary.The reason we wanted to see this movie, and the reason we are interested in the fracking debate, is because it affects us very directly. The small agricultural community portrayed in the film could easily be Bugtussle. The people of the town, poor and struggling to make ends meet as they destroy their family farms with corn and tobacco - those are our neighbors, and the neighbors of all small farms. We could and probably will see these types of companies come knocking on the doors of Bugtussle one day, promising millions of dollars to people who are desperate, if only they will sign on the dotted line. And this is what bothers us the most, because you can argue about the environmental side effects, that you don't believe in the tap water lighting on fire or the polluted ground water killing off livestock, but it's pretty hard to deny the fact that poor people in small towns are being taken advantage of and manipulated by giant corporations. People without a leg to stand on are signing away the only possession they have, their land. It is so sad and so upsetting and ultimately, so complex.Clearly, fracking isn't just an issue for farmers––it affects everyone. If you don't have time to go see the movie or watch the documentary, this Colbert Report clip is amazing as always, and The Sky is Pink is a short film about drilling in New York.What do you guys think? Like I said, this is complicated issue, especially here in Kentucky. We would love to hear other opinions on the matter.- Jesse.
Photo Source: Focus Features/Scott Green.
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.