Hoeing is hard

[underpants]

I hoed in the backyard for two hours today
Backbreaking work on a 13X19 patch of dirt
Lots of people drove by as I was hoeing
THEN I really started digging deep. Real deep. Really turning it over.
Hoeing in the hot summer sun.
I figured that last year we made at least $500 from my hoeing.
Tough work that hoeing but it pays off.
I will really feel it, the hoeing, a couple of days from now.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. yep

I am going to have tomatoes coming out of my ears in about 90 days :D

[trof]

2. Hoeing as opposed to spading?

Is it 'new ground'?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. yes --

new house, new yard, started some plants in a bed and put others in large pots...we will see.

[trof]

4. Well, both are labor intensive.

But spading is usually better for turning new ground and a bit easier than hacking with a hoe.
Just my 2 cents.
Good luck with it, anyway.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

5. actually, I used a maddock and a shovel

It is a special kind of shovel, can't think what is called off-hand (brain fart)

[pscot]

13. I buried the haddock in the paddock

with a mattock.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. lol

silly :D

[david13]

6. Well, it's easy with a giant John Deere, several hundred thousand

dollar machine. And now you know why it's only the giant corporate farms that make money.
Ah, $500 you made. Now, however, that is gross, right. The net on that would be, first, after deducting for the cost of the land, ah, ah, ah ...
No, I understand. If I lived out there in the country I would do the same, put in my own garden. Not ever to sell, just to give away. And to eat myself. I know that they taste better when you grow them yourself.
And I will do it someday, too. If I can ever give up the amenities of the city. And if I can ever afford to move to the country.
dc

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Well, you don't have to live in the country

to grow veggies. I don't know where you do live, or if you have a yard, but I plant my veggies in with my flower bed. They do well. I personally don't think it looks too bad, greenery is greenery. Finally after doing it for years, it has become more trendy. If I were in an apartment/condo, I would grow some veggies in pots (I do some of mine in pots now). Innovate.

[david13]

12. I know. But I don't have time to do the things I want to do now. So

I'm not going to dive into agriculture.
Unless I get out there with a few acres.
And even then, riding my motorcycle is my greatest joy, of my top ten great joys. Ergo ...
However, as soon as those tomatoes are ready, let me know and I'll come over and help you eat them. Yes, I will pay.
dc

[Chan790]

7. Well, you know, pimpin' ain't easy either. n/t

[Luciferous]

9. :)

[kentauros]

8. Hoeing doesn't have to be hard.

Some modern hoes are just plain crap, because they're cheaply made and designed. My father has this ancient hoe that I think he got from his father, and I always liked using it over the other kind of hoe. It would slice through those weeds with ease. Just kept it sharp with a file and you were good to go.

The shape is important, too. The one described above looks more like an adze. As I recall, it was like a grub hoe only with a smaller blade on the opposite end. (The link is for a blog-entry called "Hoe Collection" and there are many I've never seen before! :))

[Curmudgeoness]

11. Whenever I do this for a couple of hours, or even a couple of days,

I think of the people who have had to do this day in and day out for 12-14 hours a day. We are wimps.

And yes, you will really feel it.

[XemaSab]

15. I've been digging up Bermuda grass with my hori-hori knife

You got the hoe, I got the horis.

Not backbreaking but monotonous.