[Diana in Wisconsin]

“Has anyone here used a broadfork?”

I know it is a favorite tool of Elliot Coleman and wife Barbara Damrosh. (All of their books are great, BTW.)

Hobby Farms says:

https://www.hobbyfarms.com/broadfork-farm-uses-ways/

[Qiviut]

Nope .... not me. I’ve seen someone use one in a video ... if the soil is soft, maybe I’d think about it. The guy in the article says he’s “plowed” a quarter of an acre with one ... it was “work” & he was nine years younger ... LOL! Twenty years ago, maybe I would have tried it.

Found fencing at the local Tractor Supply store - exactly the kind I need to refurbish my garden plastic mesh fencing that’s starting to come apart. They also have 15 rolls of the stuff in stock, so I don’t think they’ll run out before tomorrow when I can pick it up. Now I just need to find the metal “zip ties” (Amazon has them, but would like to find them ‘local’). Whew - big project coming up!!

[Qiviut]

BTW, I found a question for the girls in Sunflower Houses - what is a difference between damselflies and dragonflies? (Hint: wings). Got some interesting, cute answers LOL. I don’t know who is going to enjoy the two Lovejoy books more - me or the girls. :-) I did tell their mom to save some garden space for them next Spring.

[Pollard]

All the no-till market gardeners use broadforks. They're made for their standard 30 inch bed which I think is also something Elliot came up with. Walk behind tractors have attachments for 30 inch beds. Most of Johnny's tools are set up for them. Neversink farms came up with a rolling bed marker he calls a gridder for 30 inch beds. Roll it down the bed and it marks a grid for planting.

Since I'm a metal fabricator, I plan to make a broadfork and gridders.

No-Till Growers channel, broadfork videos; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLhu5JoRWPgEGDoUFfQHTPQ/search?query=broadfork

One other thing pretty much all of these no-till market gardeners do is use copious amounts of compost. The soil is always covered. They buy a couple of dump truck loads every year and it costs them a 4 digit price but they also grow in areas where trendy people will pay $6-8/lb for veggies. They do use a tiller once for setting up new beds and then they might till lightly again every several years. They also might use a "tilther" which is basically a tiny tiller that runs off a cordless drill and only goes down 1-2 inches to mix amendments in.

If I left my heavy soil bare, a broadfork wouldn't cut it. If I cover it with wood mulch, straw/hay or even chopped up leaves, the gridder won't work but broadfork would if it wasn't wood chips. Since I'm not growing for market, I could probably make enough compost to cover beds or at least beds where I'd want to use a gridder. Don't need it for maters etc. Just the small stuff like carrots, onions, baby greens.

During our nearly two months of 100 degree temps this Summer, having mulch made a huge difference. My neighbor was watering every evening while I watered every week or two. I watered the plants, not the garden. Just had a hose on low and moved it from plant to plant. His plants in bare soil were stunted. Maters got 1 1/2 foot tall. I had cherry mater vines 10-12 foot long.

IF this little area I gardened wasn't rocky, I could use a broadfork on it next Spring because it's still covered with mulch. When I get back to gardening out back where it's rock free, I'll definitely be able to mulch and broadfork.

I think it's the way to go. Nice and quiet. Get a little excersize. Improve soil tilth and biology. Don't have to design around maneuvering a tractor. No machine maintenance. No fuel cost. No smelling/inhaling exhaust.