In Praise of the Wheel Hoe
There is something quintessentially “farmy” about using a wheel hoe to cultivate your produce rows.
I have an old wheel hoe (well, an ancient wheel hoe to be a little more precise). It belonged to my great-grandfather, so I guess you could say it’s an antique. While it’s certainly a beautiful tool of days gone by, it’s not just sitting pretty collecting dust. As a friend of mine says, antiques are meant to be used, not just stared at.
I absolutely love that old wheel hoe. While a gas-powered rototiller is certainly faster, the wheel hoe gives me something a conventional rototiller can’t: peace and quiet. Walking my wheel hoe up and down my rows is a calm, relaxing way to spend an afternoon without the incessant drone a rototiller would bring. Aside from the joy of the quiet, there are a couple other benefits I love about the wheel hoe.
I don’t have to worry about taking out a row of produce every time my wheel hoe hits a rock, as it doesn’t have the kickback that a rototiller has. Also it’s an environmentally friendly way to care for my produce. A rototiller requires gas, a wheel hoe just requires me. I still have to use a rototiller at times when the weeds get too far out of control, but short of that, I’d rather use the wheel hoe.
Last summer at the Cheshire Union Farm Market, a man came out of the Cheshire Union antique shop pushing a wheel hoe. As he walked by us vendors, he smiled and proudly announced “And I’m gonna use it.” I smiled back and replied, “me too,” happy to have found another person who shared my love of wheel hoes.
Copyright © Amber Reifsteck ~ The Woodland Elf
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