Organic Hobby Farming. Andy Tomolonis
and moisture supply needed to produce sustained high yields of crops in an economic manner if it is treated and managed according to acceptable farming methods.”
Land that has been classified as prime farmland must meet the following conditions:
• It has an adequate and dependable water supply from precipitation or irrigation.
• It has a favorable temperature and growing season.
• It has an acceptable soil pH: (acidity or alkalinity), acceptable content of salt or sodium, and few or no rocks.
• It’s permeable to water and air.
• The land is not excessively eroded or saturated with water for long periods of time, and it doesn’t flood during the growing season.
• The land can’t be built up in an urban area.
Planting Trees for Energy Savings
Windbreaks or shelterbelts that separate fields can help control erosion by interrupting and reducing the wind speed. In small growing areas, trees should be kept far enough from the growing areas to prevent unwanted shade. Carefully planted windbreaks around your home and buildings can help cut energy costs and create a more comfortable living space, too.
One energy-saving landscape design is to plant deciduous trees on the south side of your home and evergreens on the north. In summer, when the deciduous trees are covered with leaves, they will shade your home from the hot sun. And during the winter months, when you want the sun to shine in and warm your home, the leafless trees will let the sun through. Meanwhile, the thick evergreens on the north side of your home will keep their foliage all winter long, blocking the icy gales.
Since the very first farmers planted grains in the Fertile Crescent 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, mankind has witnessed an evolution in agricultural hardware. Stones were lashed to sticks to make primitive digging tools. Metal was forged into blades for plowing and slicing. Larger equipment harnessed the brawn of horses and oxen. Eventually, the internal combustion engine brought the power of fossil fuels into the farming equation. Today, you’ll find far more specialized tools in the world than there are farmers to use them.
Choosing and Using the Right Tool
From clearing land and starting seeds to harvesting, cleaning, and packing produce, the tool and farm-equipment trades have responded to every imaginable task with an array of hand tools, better hand tools, machines that make the hand tools seem archaic, and newer machines that render the old machines obsolete.
Beyond the tools are structures—greenhouses, cold frames, hoop houses, root cellars, packing sheds, raised beds, trellises, henhouses, barns, pole barns, stables, and storage sheds (to name more than a few). There are also myriad mechanic’s tools for repairing farm machinery as well as carpentry tools for building, fixing, and modifying those many structures just mentioned.
There’s a balancing act to follow when buying tools for a small-scale organic farm. It’s not complicated, but it meanders delicately between two very sensible rules:
1 1. Always use the right tool for the job.
2 2. Never buy a tool that you don’t need.
So how do you figure out which tools you really need and which ones you can covet now and buy later?
Start with rule number one: Always use the right tool for the job. Not following this rule will cost you more in the long run. For example, if you use a shovel to pry 90-lb. (40 kg) boulders from a future corn field, the handle is likely to snap off at the fulcrum point, dropping the rock back into its hole with the shovel blade stuck underneath. (Here’s where the fence installer would say, “I told you so.”) Likewise, you wouldn’t use a shovel to unearth potatoes; chances are you’ll slice through some tubers and damage the crop. A digging fork is a much better option. The list goes on.
To avoid misusing tools—and possibly breaking them, ruining your crops, or injuring yourself—you will need a well-selected array of high-purpose implements that perform all the basic farming functions. Once you have these starter tools, consider each new piece of specialized equipment on its individual merits, carefully weighing the cost against the amount of time and money it will save.
For small-scale vegetable growers, the basic tasks include digging, moving, and shaping earth; planting; watering; and weeding—with a strong emphasis on digging and weeding. Fortunately, you can perform most of these chores with a reasonable assortment of manual tools. Some are available at hardware stores and mass-market garden centers; others you’ll have to order from specialty catalogs. You might be able to craft or copy a few with your own hands.
I consider most of the following hand tools as must-have items in my shed. Together, they do 90 percent of my work. While hand tools are not as fast as machinery, the effort I put into using them gives me my daily exercise. (After all, what’s the point of eating healthily if you don’t follow it up with a little exercise?)
Small hand weeders and forks are helpful tools for small-scale growers, complementing the array of shovels, rakes, and full-sized hoes used for larger jobs.
Organics and Hand Tools: Peas in a Pod
A synergy forms between manual tools and organic farmers. Hand rakes and shovels don’t consume fossil fuels or pollute the air, and they don’t leak gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, or hydraulic fluid onto the soil. Once you cradle a well-made digging fork or grub hoe in a calloused palm, it becomes an extension of your own arms, hands, body, and mind. I feel a kinship with my hand tools every time they help me strip away sod, carry compost from bins to beds, and smooth out soil to prepare for seeding. I’d be lost without them. Try using hand tools before bolting for the heavy-machinery. You won’t regret it.
The Diggers
Shovels, spades, forks, and mattocks do the digging, scooping, and earth-moving chores, shaping the earth for growing and keeping beds in shape for years to come. They are the first tools to reach for when looking to expand your planting area.
A good shovel, fork, pick mattock, rake, and hoe will cover most of the basic chores in your small farm or garden. Power equipment will be a time-saver for larger properties.
Long-Handled Round-Point Shovel
Long-handled round-point shovels are specifically designed for digging and swinging a load of soil from one side of your body to the other without putting too much strain on your back. The spoon-shaped blade holds a heavy mound of soil, and the handle—usually at least 4 ft. (1.2 m) long—allows leverage for flipping the dirt a short distance. The longer handle also helps when digging a deep hole, providing easy reach with minimum stooping. This tool is well suited for planting fruit trees and blueberry bushes, making raised beds, cutting compacted soil, transferring finished compost into the sifter, and filling those holes after transplanting. It’s one of the most useful small-farm tools you’ll buy.
It’s always good to have at least one high-quality shovel on hand. Look for one with a 14-gauge forged-steel blade and a sturdy-but-lightweight handle made of ash or fiberglass. This is the tool for heavy jobs, such as digging through new soil that sometimes involves cutting through compacted earth, rocks, and tree roots. Cheaper shovels with thinner pressed-steel blades can loosen on the handle after continued use in hard or rocky soil. I have one high-quality shovel that is sturdy, dependable, and built to last.
But the good shovel isn’t enough. Whenever it’s time for digging loose soil or piling compost into a wheelbarrow, I often reach for the cheaper shovel with the thinner blade and lightweight fiberglass