By: David Durstewitz and Annie Sholar

Getting ready for warmer, sunnier days!

As we move closer and closer to the start of Spring, it’s a great time to start thinking about the tools you’ll be using this growing season! In this edition of Practical Self Sufficiency, NOFA/Mass staff share some of their favorite tools and tips for maintenance.

Work Sharper, Not Harder!

David Dursetwitz, Conference Workshop Coordinator at NOFA/Mass and Director at Gather Farm in Rhode Island, says his favorite tool is a pocket sharpener.

As David explains, “Have you ever replaced your harvest knife mid-season and realized you might as well have been using a butter knife on all that broccoli?”

Knives aside, a lot of farm tools are meant to stay sharp, and they work faster, more effectively and more ergonomically when kept well-maintained.

Hoes work best when kept sharp, and can dull faster than you realize. Many hoes – like stirrup hoes and wheel hoes – are basically some version of a knife on a stick, and are meant to slice weeds just below the surface where root meets stem. No matter the state of the soil you work with, something in it will dull your knife blade eventually, making it less impactful and more exhausting.

But just because you don’t have a grinding wheel doesn’t mean you have to put up with dull tools! Just straightening a bent edge with pliers or taking the burrs out with a rasp can work wonders on your efficiency and save your back.

First, check your edges – if you’re working with dull hoes, start with a grinding wheel, a rasp or file to restore a basic edge. Right now as the soil is thinking about waking up is a great time for this!

Then, keep a pocket sharpener on you all season in the field, and keep checking that blade. Whether it takes 25 feet of dense amaranth roots or 500 feet of chickweed sprouts in fine loam, eventually you’ll find yourself slowing down, see the hoe stop cutting, start pushing and get clogged.  That’s how you know it’s time to wipe the blade and take half a minute to put an edge back on it.

Maybe you’re thinking “Really, stop and sharpen the blade every 25 feet??”

But as David says, “I’ve tried sharpening and not sharpening side by side – no matter the soil conditions and the weeds you’re tackling, if a cutting hoe is the right tool from the job, you’ll save so much more in time, efficiency, and wear and tear on the tool and your body than you’ll spend in maintenance.” He recommends checking out videos on YouTube for the best in-field sharpening tips for your needs.

Dull Knives Have Their Place, Too

But don’t go throwing your dulled, no-longer-sharpen-able knives out just yet. Lisa Gilardi, NOFA/Mass Interim Communications Director and farmer at Big Yellow Sun Farm in Port Jervis, NY, recommends keeping old, dull butter knives on hand.

She uses them for potting up seedlings, planting, and weeding carrots.

No-fear No-till

Laura Davis, NOFA/Mass Certification Assistance and Technical Service Provider, and former farmer at Long Life Farm in Hopkinton, MA, recommends the Meadow Creature.

Laura explains, “When our farm decided to transition away from our tiller, we dreaded using the broadfork that had been rusting in the barn. It seemed to just poke on top of the soil no matter how hard you tried to drive it in. We could not imagine taking the time and energy to stab a 300 sq ft bed, let alone 160 beds.”

Then someone recommended she replace her old broadfork with the Meadow Creature.

Laura says that even in her rocky soil, the tool “penetrates even hard soil like butter.” In fact, they found it so useful and versatile that they ended up buying a second “so that more than one person could enjoy the fun at the same time.”

Laura says their bed prep always involves aerating with the Meadow Creature ahead of the first planting of the season, broadcasting whatever amendments they’re using on the bed either before or after the aeration as needed.

Speaking of Tools…

NOFA/Mass Equity Director and farmer at Global Village, Ulum Pixan Athoh’il Suk’il, reminds us the language we use and the way we communicate are the most important tools that any farmer or gardener will use.

Ulum Pixan recommends taking the time to maintain your communication practices just like you would your physical tools. As you get ready for the growing season, now’s a great time to think about the ways that you and your crew communicate. (This is true even if you’re a crew of 1. Ever find yourself stuck with a stash of unlabeled seeds?) She recommends reading this article by Katie Spring, of Good Heart Farmstead, to get you started.

Do you have any favorite tools or tips to share for maintaining your tools? Let us know!