onto your crops as would be done if traipsing backward and forward with a watering can. When buying a hose, look for a better-quality one that does not kink, and store it on a specially made reel, as it will then also last longer.
Small holes allow the soaker hose to continually release droplets of water.
Soaker Hoses and Drip Irrigation
Soaker hoses or drip irrigation are essential for many short-term as well as long-term crops. You can lay a soaker hose on the ground next to the crop and attach it to a hose that runs to the water faucet. As long as the water is turned on, the hose will constantly drip water exactly where it is required. Soaker hoses are often made from recycled rubber, and the tiny openings in it allow water to easily seep out of the hose. Therefore, not much pressure is needed to force the water droplets out and into the soil. The great advantage of this is that it can be run from a rain barrel and does not need to be attached to a faucet. Drip irrigation is slightly different in that you can bury the pipe just under the ground next to the desired crop. I like to have a pipe running right next to each row of green beans.
Pot Maker
The need to be more environmentally friendly is not going away, and recycling paper is one of the easiest things we can do. With a simple pot maker, you can use surplus newspaper by transforming it into small biodegradable pots that are ideal for starting seedlings. Then, when you are ready, you can transplant the seedlings directly, paper pots and all!
Firming Board
Firming boards are used for firming the soil when sowing into seed trays. You can buy them, but they are so easy to make. (See Chapter 6 for instructions.)
Sprayer
Most organic gardeners will find a small hand sprayer sufficient, although some handheld pump-action types are worth considering for ease of use. You need only one sprayer—provided you clean it well after each use—because you will use it only for organically permissible insecticides or fungicides.
Chipper/Shredder
A chipper/shredder is an absolute must for the vegetable, herb, and fruit grower. All types of waste can be passed through a chipper/shredder and recycled into one part of the garden or the other. Tough vegetable and herb waste needs to be shredded before going onto the compost heap, while fruit bush and tree prunings can be shredded and then used as mulch. Do not be seduced by very cheap machines that will manage only to squash most of the material. With a chipper/shredder, you do definitely get what you pay for.
A chipper/shredder is a big help in preparing materials for the compost heap.
Lawn Mower
If you have grass paths on the vegetable plot or fruit trees growing in a grassed area, then a lawn mower is an essential piece of equipment for keeping this grass under control. I find that reel mowers work well at Barnsdale, although many different rotary mowers have rear rollers to leave lovely stripes after mowing. We do like to use a rotary mulching mower on certain areas; this chops the grass up so finely that it is not collected, but rather deposited back onto the ground to rot down. This piece of machinery is very much like the spade, in that all gardeners seem to have their own personal preference, for no other reason than they like and get along well with the mower they have.
String Trimmer
String trimmers (commonly known as “weed whackers”) are used for tidying up around fruit trees and those areas that mowers cannot reach. It is important always to wear sturdy boots when using one of these, as well as a pair of goggles, to protect against the inevitable flying objects. The bulkier gas string trimmers will come with a string head, used for clearing long grass, weeds, and the like, and a blade head for tougher materials such as brambles. For gardeners who cannot cope with the weight of gas string trimmers, there is a range of excellent lightweight alternatives. It is also possible to buy a string trimmer with a revolving handle that will cut the lawn edges as well.
The rapid action of the string chops weeds and long grass.
Seed Sowers
Many gardeners sow seed with their fairly nimble fingers. Unfortunately, this seed-sowing method, which is taken for granted by most, is not possible for all gardeners, so having a piece of equipment to do the job easily and fairly accurately is important for some. A ball sower uses the suction from a rubber ball to suck the seeds up a needle-like tube, so that they can then be released in the appropriate place. This is an excellent device for all seed sizes, as there are different sizes of tubes for the varying seed sizes.
For gardeners who do not have the use of their hands for sowing, there is also a mouth-operated seed sower available. It looks like a pen connected by a tube to the mouthpiece, and it is the suction created from the mouth that enables the seeds to be picked up and easily dropped on the surface of the soil. A filter is provided to prevent inhalation of any dust particles and seed.
Easy-Grip Add-On Handle
For gardeners with hand or wrist problems, this piece of equipment can make their work easier. It fits onto tools with handles up to 16 inches (40 cm) long. It is attached with a finger-operated wing nut and comes with an optional arm support.
Optional Equipment
Electric Tiller
An electric tiller, or rototiller, is a handy piece of machinery. Whether you own, borrow, or rent one, it will cultivate land and also prepare areas down to a fine tilth suitable for direct seed sowing. They can be rear-wheel-driven or powered by the rotary blades at the front that churn the soil.
Electric tillers can be used regularly on light soils, but beware of using too often on heavy clay soils because the blades will smear the clay soil into an almost impenetrable barrier to water (called a pan), which will drastically impair drainage. Most modern machines will cultivate to a depth of between 6 and 9 inches (15 and 23 cm), so digging is required in most years. On our clay soils, an electric mechanical cultivator is very useful, but we use it only if we haven’t had enough time to dig the area manually.
Rototillers vary in size; this is a compact model.
Interchangeable Garden Tool Set
If space is limited for tool storage, or you have problems bending down, then an interchangeable garden tool set can be very helpful to you. These sets come in various sizes with varying handle lengths to suit gardeners of all heights. The vast range of tool heads available includes forks, trowels, rakes, hoes, tillers, edgers, rakes, loppers, shears, pruning saws, and more.
DIY Tools
Gardeners who prefer to make instead of buy garden structures (e.g., compost bins, hoophouses) will find equipment such as handsaws and screwdrivers very useful.
Sledgehammer/Club Hammer
Although you can dig holes and refill the soil around supporting stakes or fruit trees and soft fruit supports, I find that knocking them into the ground using a sledgehammer or smaller club hammer will give a much firmer hold in the ground. Although these hammers are ideal for specific jobs,
