I want a wheel hoe !

want

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/the-wheel-hoe-a-modern-weed-slayer.aspx

Wheel hoes are nice if you have really good tilth, and you plant in rows.

I want, too. Never seen a row straddling version like that--PERFECT for corn.

I use this: http://roguehoe.com/scufflehoes/scufflehoes.html

Works around hills, too.

My other half has one of those!



He wanted one when he was a teenager, but had to wait fifty years till he found one in an auction just before we emigrated. It's brilliant, has loads of different attachments, and is his all-time favourite toy. It's also the major reason I've been totally unable to persuade him to go no-till and stop planting in rows because he loves playing with it too much.

I'm working on him though - that bit at the far end of those rows is now being converted into a hugel-bed. Heheheh...

Eliot coleman (in ' the new organic grower') has a pretty strong preference for the smaller wheel, not the high wheel hoe... he talks about the biomechanics of it being much better with a lower center of effort. I haven't tried either.

Lehman's has three different wheel hoes for sale, i am thinking of the small wheel with the scuffle / knife attachment..

small wheel hoe



I also use a single-horse walk behind cultivator which fills a similar role, but i think a wheel hoe will have it's place when the spacing starts to get tighter..

There's still a time and a place for planting in rows on my place, but we've all got different contexts to work within..

pretty easy to build one out of a small bicycle ....

Bought one of these recently - http://www.valleyoaktools.com/wheelhoe.html - chose it because the handles are adjustable, since people of various heights will be using it. Very impressed with the quality, and it works a treat. I too cannot convince my partner in crime to abandon rows...

As Lloyd mentioned, you can use an old bicycle to build one. Here are a couple different designs:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1984-05-01/The-Burkholder-Cultivator.aspx

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1981-07-01/The-Fabulous-Bullwinkle-Garden-Cultivator.aspx

I have two very old Planet Jr wheel hoes and Hoss Tools in GA http://store.hosstools.com/ Their parts fit perfectly. I use them for corn and other row crops. They have a scuffle hoe attachment that is far superior to the Swiss made ones sold by Johnny's seeds. Made in the USA to a proven pattern, the new stuff is as good as the old ones made here and in France (I think).

RobBob

Robob, have you tried the Hoss seeder attachment for those wheel hoes? Is it better than the Earthway?

Kari Gunnlaugsson wrote:Robob, have you tried the Hoss seeder attachment for those wheel hoes? Is it better than the Earthway?

No I have not, they are suppose to be just like the old Planet Jr planters. I have modified my Earthway for corn by putting duct tape over every other hole on the plate. I learned this on a tractor forum and it helps spread out the seed better. Since I use organic methods, I do not plant the corn with fertilizer in the row but do side dress and foliar feed it.