Thanks for another recommendation for Rogue hoes. Definitely have to get one some day!

Now, 3 years later, I really don’t much bother to loosen the soil. It’s pretty much loose enough as-is… the plants don’t seem to mind. I can easily take a trowel and push it up to the hilt, where before I could hardly make a dent. (There are interesting reads on Mother Earth news regarding soil health and tilling).

As far as mulch in general… I don’t have slugs. The wood ashes I use might help with that. I do have voles, which will chew on my potatoes. And I have squash bugs in a bad way… although the existing mulch in the forest around us guarantees they will do just fine, mulch or not (trying lemon balm this year to repel). There are more insects in general with the mulch…. thousands of spiders… most don’t harm my crops though. Also, I’ve used plain old oak leaves so far, and on a windy day they can blow around, smothering small seedlings. My plan is to shred them and see how well that works. As far as weeding, it does help a lot to use the mulch. Weeds mainly grow wherever I have bare ground, and once they have a foothold they spread.

I can see where a different climate may make the mulch more of a problem though, depending on what sorts of pests there are.

I’m really getting into these Fergusons too. I really like the fact that I am finding a lot of aftermarket parts that are inexpensive so I can fix mine up. I have a pond scoop that attaches to the 3-pt… my plan is to haul compost that way, straddling my beds… or maybe pulling my utility trailer (4 1/2′ wide) over the beds. Either way… a lot easier than using a wheelbarrow, like I have so far!

Ron

Ron – I have to admit I might be turning into something of a Ferguson-holic. The TO-20 is a pretty easy tractor to find parts for (or whole tractors on Craigslist), but it’s manufacturer is unknown enough to be pretty unique too. I wouldn’t mind having a second one as a backup, perhaps with a front scoop …

I’ve read that the Ruth Stout method doesn’t work well here in Oregon. We don’t get hard long freezes in the winter, so the mulch builds up summer pests and provides a moist nesting site for slugs. Oregon is the land of the slug. My source is Steve Solomon, author of a series of books focused on our specific climate and founder of our local Territorial Seed Company. I’ll probably give it a try anyway on a few trial plots some day. This year we are going to try mulch in the paths and we’ll be watching for slugs.

I’m working my way into no-till, but we need to establish some defined rows and paths where we can sufficiently loosen the soil. Do you use a broadfork? If we get the garden where I want to have it by the end of the year, we’ll probably need to get one for next season.

Lee Valley has great tools and I admired a number of their garden tools before making my purchase. I’ve purchased woodworking hand tools and sharpening equipment from them before, and it has always been top-notch.

Karl – I looked at Rogue as well online. They seemed to have very nice American-made equipment, but I wanted a more traditional shape for these specific tools. Probably a bad reason. I wouldn’t mind having one someday.

I’m going to see how far I can take the no-till route before spending money for a tiller. None of my relatives use this method, so it is something of an experiment to see how it goes. My parents had an old TroyBilt Horse tiller when I was growing up, and I still watch for sales of them on Craigslist. It was a great tiller, all cast steel, with a transmission and PTO drive system like a small tractor. I’m a big fan of sturdy old equipment made from cast steel. (See above comments about TO-20.)

the hoes are very cool.