My dream hoe

Corona diamond hoe

I never really expected to fall in love with a hoe.
This bitch knows just what to do and how I like it - a real pro.  Sometimes we think we've seen it all, that we know all there is to know about hoes but this just goes to show, me at least, that you can always learn more, can always be surprised by something new.  My new how may just make me a better man, if not a better farmer...

Slides right below the soil surface, you
push and pull and it slices the weeds
off at the root.  I love this hoe

In other news: I mulched the most heavily weed infested areas with newspaper and 4-6" of straw.  Not only will it hopefully kill off the weeds but it looks good and it's nicer to kneel on and walk on.  Here's some progress photos in case you are too unimaginative to visualize for yourself.

Lay it down thick, the point is to block
the light to the weeds

Wet the newspaper so it doesn't blow
away or slide around on you

Add straw, enjoy

I miss my truck

The weed situation near beds EW4 and EW5 has reached ridiculousness and required drastic measures.  It's tempting to use chemicals which would make quick work of the invaders but I've worked too hard avoiding chemicals to start now.  Decided that a thick layer of newspaper topped with straw would be the best bet to smother and lightstarve the peskiest of the weeds.  Loading straw into the T4R is less than ideal, I miss my truck.

¡Frijoles!

Pulled the straggler carrots (and ate them) from NS1, prepped the bed and planted some provider bush beans, just 6-8 plants and then will succession sow over the next 2-3 weeks.  This is a real experiment as the liquid amber shades this bed significantly, only allowing 4-5 hours of direct sun.

Firing up the compost machine

Once again I've left the compost pile to go cold and generally neglected.  I caught the farm bug again just before Seanna came down and it's stuck so I figured I better get the compost going.  I love my chipper.  I love taking a Vicodin, putting on my ipod and chipping stuff for a couple hours.

I needed greens so I went around and pruned some offending far reaching branches from the Chinese flame (Koelreuteria bipinnata).  This type of material is great for composting as it's just about the right mix of browns-n-greens.