Most of us have a limited amount of garden space. In order to maximize that space, it's important that we grow as intensively as possible to get the most from our garden plots. There are several techniques that can be used to grow more intensively while allowing room for walkways and harvesting. The...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Overhead watering can be a pain. You have to move the sprinkler around the garden every few hours and you always end up watering areas outside the garden that don't need watering. If the wind is blowing, you can forget a consistent watering pattern. Stop wasting water. Water your...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Because the fruits can get so large and heavy, tomatoes are one of those plants in your vegetable garden that require some form of trellising or support. Trellising keeps the plant upright and prevents the stems from breaking during any high periods of wind. It's also important to trellis tomatoes so that you keep...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Here at Hoss Tools, we are firm believers in the FAD System for vegetable gardening. FAD is an acronym that stands for Furrow, Amend and Drip. If you do these three things every time you plant something in your vegetable garden, you'll be on the fast track to success. Don't be fooled by the name -- this is not...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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When we were kids, I can remember doing our vegetable garden planting by hand. It was a group effort. My dad would use the handle of a hoe to punch a hole in the dirt and the kids would come behind him and drop seed in the hole...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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The Hoss Wheel Hoe is a push cultivator that provides remarkable versatility for preparing and maintaining your vegetable garden. Because the tool bar on our Wheel Hoe has multiple attachment holes and slots, there are endless possibilities for configurations of our Wheel Hoe attachments. Regardless...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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In his 1989 book, The New Organic Grower, Eliot Coleman says this about garden weeding: "Don’t weed, cultivate... Large weeds are competition for both the crops and the grower." While continuous light cultivation to prevent weeds is very ideal, we don't always stay on top of things in the never-ending weed...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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Here are two of the most frequent questions we get from new customers: "Should I get the steam bent wheel hoe handles or the pistol grip wheel hoe handles?" and "Should I get the standard wheel hoe handles or the junior wheel hoe handles?" So, there's two separate issues to cover here -- handle styles...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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The Hoss Garden is in full swing and the tomatoes are coming in strong. A couple of years ago, we installed a small greenhouse to grow our own plants. I wanted to try new varieties of tomatoes and other peppers. I had only planted Amelia's the last few years, because that's all I could get. Last year, I trialed...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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You no longer have to count on one warm season to produce all your vegetables. You can grow food year round with some of the new advances in agricultural technology. Now you can enjoy a fresh salad and other fresh veggies during the coldest winter months...
Posted on August 21, 2023
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When planting squash we recommend direct seeding seeds every 12 inches along the garden row. Squash is a crop that requires multiple harvests throughout the growing season and should be harvested every 2 or 3 days to ensure no fruits become too large and unpalatable in the garden. Travis recommends...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is trying to grow Irish potatoes in the Fall vegetable garden. The variety of potatoes Travis is planting today is Yukon Gold. Since seed potato producers do not usually have any potatoes available towards the end of August. Since that is the case, he had to buy the potatoes a couple...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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A staple crop of the South, muscadines can be used for a variety of ways such as fresh off the vine or used in the kitchen to make jelly, cobblers, and wine. The muscadines do best in warmer climates where temperatures don't get below 10 degrees. Therefore they do best in the south and not as good in the...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The most beneficial benefit when growing sweet potatoes is the variety of vitamins and minerals the crop provides. Another benefit of growing sweet potatoes in the garden is the ability to produce a maximum yield of crops that will ultimately store for a long period of time on the homestead. Also, after...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is explaining how to grow maximum yields of carrots in the vegetable garden. For about three years, Travis has tried a particular technique when growing carrots that has done extremely well. The guide to planting carrots is finding the perfect time to plant them in the garden...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis explains the important tips for growing the best onions in the garden. When it comes to growing the big softball sized onions there two very important tips to consider during this process. The first important key tip to consider is the time of planting in the garden. When it comes to...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis goes over the most essential tools needed for growing a vegetable garden. When thinking about the various tools that we have available, Travis narrowed it down to the top five that he believes are necessary and essential to have a successful garden...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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There are many different advantages to both the single and double wheel hoe. However, when it comes to what you need to do in the vegetable garden this will help determine which is the best wheel hoe for you. Each Hoss Wheel Hoe has a frame made of powder-coated steel, a 15-inch steel wheel and Amish-crafted...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is demonstrating how to plant the easiest potatoes in the vegetable garden. In the South, the ideal potato planting time is around the middle to end of February. Typically, potatoes need to be planted anywhere from two to three weeks before the last frost date. Travis always...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is discussing the needed time frame of growing vegetables in a garden. When keeping everything maintained, growing, and harvested it can all depend on the size of your vegetable garden and what crops are planted. Travis is going to give a personal example of how long it takes him...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is discussing whether you need to make garden rows or not using the plow set. When the Plow Set attachment is hooked up to the Wheel Hoe will it create an elevated planting surface to plant seeds? Yes, it can make a garden row when they are positioned in the furrowing or hilling...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis plants a bumper crop of squash and cucumbers in the garden area. The first step in planting a bumper crop is to mark off the rows and lay the drip irrigation in the desired area. Travis has a 30 by 35-foot wide subplot area and is going to lay six rows that have five-feet spacing. To lay...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is growing a maximum carrot crop in a tight space in the vegetable garden. When planting a carrot crop on double rows with drip irrigation it has always worked well and we have received a bountiful harvest in the Spring garden for several years. Travis suggests planting carrots in the fall...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is growing a productive okra crop in the vegetable garden. You can typically plant around two or three crops of okra from spring to fall. Throughout the warm growing season, it is best to succession plant okra to ensure you can get maximum yields for harvesting. In the Spring, Travis always...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is explaining the key factors in growing winter squash in the vegetable garden. In the dream garden, he is going to plant one of his favorite crops to grow which is winter squash. The first major reason for growing winter squash is it can be easy to manage because it doesn't require a...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis explains one thing to consider before planting in the vegetable garden. The ultimate goal when growing your own vegetables is to produce the healthiest crops you can. One way to get a maximum crop of healthy plants is to grow cut flowers. For crops such as cucumbers, summer squash...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis shows off the finished dream vegetable garden. Travis has designed and laid out a new area on his homestead that is his ideal dream vegetable garden. He is going to go over every variety that he planted in the area today...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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There are a couple of different benefits behind interplanting cut flowers such as sunflowers in the vegetable garden. The first benefit is it will increase the presence of beneficial insects which helps control harmful pests from taking over the area. However, the most important reason for interplanting flowers is it...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Every gardener imagines having a dream vegetable garden that is designed and laid out to fit your ideal gardening needs on the homestead. This past year, Travis has established a new area on his homestead that is designed as his dream vegetable garden. The dream garden is designed with six subplots...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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To have improved garden soils using cover crops can help replenish the area by increasing organic matter, suppress nematode populations, control weed germination, and improve overall soil tilth. When building up the garden soils you should supply the best cover crop that fulfills the characteristics you are wanting...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is talking about how to plant and take care of sweet potatoes throughout the growing process. As a warm-weather crop, sweet potatoes are ideal for growing during the summer months because they love the hotter weather and don't mind when it is dry. In the South, summer planting...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The reason behind attracting bees or other beneficial pollinators is the many different benefits they can provide the vegetable garden. The first benefit of attracting pollinators is the better production of plants. By transferring pollen from one flower to another flower can help plants produce healthy fruits...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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When it comes to trellising cucumbers, pole beans, or other vegetables there are several important reasons for doing this in the garden area. The first important reason for trellising plants is the ability to maximize space in smaller areas. For example, by trellising crops like pole beans you are able to plant on narrower...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The many benefits of growing cover crops are the increase of organic matter, nematode suppression, weed control, reduce soil erosion, and increase yields in the vegetable garden soils. When building up your garden soils you have to supply the best cover crop that fulfills the characteristics you are wanting...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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On this week's episode, Travis is showing the difference between fertilized vs. unfertilized plants in the vegetable garden. When discussing whether you should fertilize plants or not, it has been experimentally proven that we need to fertilize plants in order to successfully grow crops. Fertilization plays a major role that...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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It is around the peak of warm temperatures for the summer growing season this year. With this kind of warm weather conditions, there's not a lot of vegetable crops that will produce in the garden area. However, some crops like okra, sweet potatoes, and zinnias can continue to grow in these temperatures. This is...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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When getting ready for a busy fall planting it's important to prepare the garden soil to the best of your ability before the future growing season. By using good compost manure to replenish the vegetable garden soil with the needed nutrients for crops you are able to ensure the soil is ready for fall planting...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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There are many aspects that factor into getting healthy garden soils in your desired planting area. When starting out the best way to see what type of pH level you have in your soil is by testing to see what nutrients need to be added and what does not. Another factor in achieving healthy garden soils is by adding...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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