The meaning behind no-till gardening is the process of turning over around 6 to 10 inches of soil that will loosen and remove any plant matter for planting new crops in the area. While tilling sounds ideal it can actually harm the soil by striping the rich organic matter and insects that form healthy soil biology...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The three most important factors when growing the best sweet corn are pollination, irrigation, and fertilization. When it comes to planting our Peaches and Cream sweet corn it should be planted in blocks or squares because corn is pollinated by the wind, therefore planting in blocks instead of long rows ensures...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The main benefit of cover cropping the garden is the many beneficial nutrients that they can incorporate into the soils. Not only can they improve your garden soils but they can also control weeds, increase yields, and reduce soil erosion. Cover cropping soil also allows you to plant year-round keeping your garden...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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When it comes to planting fall sweet corn or any kind of corn variety it should be planted in blocks or squares for better pollination. Planting in blocks instead of long rows ensures that once the crop starts tasselling the wind can effectively pollinate the corn. Corn is a self-pollinating plant that produces a male flower...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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If you've ever heard the saying you win some you lose some that couldn't be any more true when growing in the vegetable garden. When losing plants in the garden it doesn't mean you should give up or quit taking chances when growing plants. Gardening is a variable thing because we have no control over...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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In the 30 by 35 garden plot, Travis has 11 rows that are ready for fall transplants. To prepare the garden for fall planting, he had to first clean the area from any previous crops. The next step is to add in some chicken manure and till it in to help improve the structure or tilth of the soil. Instead of adding in a new drip...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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In the most basic definition, a cover crop is a plant that covers the soil while you are not using it. Growing a cover crop is going to lead to healthier soil and a more productive garden. Because of its many benefits, some farmers/gardeners like to mix two cover crops in a field and call it a cover crop cocktail. Whether you...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Summer squash is the first thing to pop up in your spring garden with an only 55-60 day maturity rate; these few tips will help take your summer squash to the next level. With all plants, you have to find the seed that is right for you, at Hoss Tools we enjoy using the hybrid varieties as they boost in production. Hybrid...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Cover crops are a great way to improve the health and nutrients of your soil. Warm-season cover crops work explicitly great as a transition between spring and fall gardens. In South Georgia, that means we can plant warm-season cover crops anywhere from early spring until late fall. So how do you know which...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Scratching is a southern term used in gardening, meaning digging up a few of your potatoes early. This blog is going to explain how-to scratch potatoes and help you enjoy your garden before that ten weeks maturity period is up. Potatoes have a long maturity period, and at times we can get a little impatient, and...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Squash, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, those are all things that come to our mind when someone says they are starting a garden, but where are the ProCut Sunflowers?? Sunflowers, especially the ProCut variety, are a beneficiary to any garden by attracting pollinators. Not only do they draw the pollinators, but they will also...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Nothing beats the taste of a potato that has been grown in your backyard. Though potatoes aren't that expensive, digging up the perfect potato straight from your garden to take inside to wash and throw in the pan is not only a great taste but a great memory and feeling of accomplishment. So how do you...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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As we are continuing to expand here at Hoss Tools, we want to meet the everyday needs of our customers. That has to lead us to the decision to start selling new seeds! We have been trying to answer the question of what can we offer that others cannot? After much research and deliberation, Hoss Tools...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Soil is the main ingredient in every great garden, and you have to understand the tillage of your soil to be able to help your garden. So what is good tillage? Tillage is the suitability of your soil to grow. Characteristics of good soil are that it will crumble in your hand while also having large pieces. It will have lots...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Planting corn can be very intimidating to a beginner gardener, but with these few sweet corn tips, your garden will be popping up in rows in no time! Well, in no time, we mean at least 80 days. As always, the first step in planting anything is choosing which variety you want to work. There are many seeds out there...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Everyone has their preference on which pea they prefer; if you are a northerner, you may like the English ones better. If you are raised in the south, black-eyed peas may be your favorite, either way, there is a type for everyone. What is even better is when they are fresh out of your garden instead of from the grocery...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Potatoes are one of the easiest things to plant in your garden as they do not need much uptake to produce, but fertilizing potatoes is the way to go if you want to take your yield to the next level, and that can get a little tricky. As the days in South Georgia are getting longer, it is getting into tater time, and Hoss...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Almost everybody's favorite thing to do in the vegetable garden is tomato growing, but did you know tomatoes are a fruit! Tomatoes come from the ovary of a flowering plant, making it a seed-bearing fruit. Others like this that we usually classify as vegetables are eggplants and peppers. Tomatoes are a favorite item in...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Irish Potatoes are one of the most maintenance-free crops, but the big question is, how do I know when my potatoes are ready? Digging potatoes is the hardest part about growing a potato plant. You will know it is the right time, though when the vines start dying back, and the weather is consistently warm and dry...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The days are getting hotter and our tomatoes are growing taller we try to answer the question - what is the simplest cherry tomato trellis ...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Some of our favorite vegetable garden crops are in the cucurbit family which includes squash, cucumbers, winter squash, and summer squash. However, these cucurbit crops are the most susceptible to powdery mildew and downy mildew which are very harsh diseases in the vegetable garden. When...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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The term "GMO", which stands for genetically-modified organism, was originally coined to describe transgenic crop varieties. Transgenic varieties are genetically engineered by inserting a gene from an unrelated organism (usually bacteria) into the DNA of a plant species. The added gene gives the plant a certain...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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It's no secret that the plants in your vegetable garden need some combination of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK) to thrive and produce to their full potential. Adding compost as a soil amendment before planting can definitely provide most of these required nutrients, but some crops will need...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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Growing corn has always been a staple here in the south. We look forward to the time of year when tassels and silks form on the corn plants, because we know this means corn pollination is occurring and it won't be long until we have fresh corn on the table. Corn is a heavy-feeding crop that requires quite a bit of...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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When deciding when crops are ready for harvesting in the garden that can be sometimes tricky. Many factors like various maturity dates, weather conditions or temperatures can cause a delay in harvesting these vegetable crops. Most crops have either a one-time harvesting or multiple harvesting times. When it...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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There are many beneficial benefits when it comes to adding compost to the plants growing in the vegetable garden. The major reason for adding good compost to the vegetable garden is to improve our soil structures with nutrients. When we increase the nutrients we are able to improve the ability...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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If you are a gardener there is no doubt that you have thought about what your dream vegetable garden would look like that you would love to have on your homestead. On this week's episode, Travis is explaining what his dream garden would like and how he plans to lay it out. Travis has had an area...
Posted on August 18, 2023
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After planting your June Bearing strawberries in the fall, adding a layer of mulch under the leaves of the plant is absolutely vital in helping prevent disease, providing protection from frost, and maintaining good moisture in the soil...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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As the spring/summer growing season is coming to an end, we are planning and doing Blackeye Pea bed preparation for the fall garden
Posted on August 17, 2023
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We absolutely love tomatoes and we love to grow an abundance of them every year. We eat them fresh off the vine on a tomato sandwich and we preserve them in many different ways including salsa, spaghetti sauce, chili sauce, and homemade ketchup. While growing, tomatoes, plants must be trellised in some way to...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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If you've never heard of vine okra, you need to hear this story. Back in August of last year a friend and I were on our way to Holmes County, Ohio, to visit with some Amish customers. We decided to stop in Jamestown, Tennessee, to spend the night with my friend’s Grandmother...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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Although we love the taste, texture and beauty of heirloom tomatoes, we unfortunately are lucky if 1 out of every 10 plants makes any tomatoes each year. Therefore we have settled to the point where we are happy if we simply get enough heirlooms for a couple of tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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The old timers here in south Georgia always would say to plant potatoes on Valentine's Day, and that's what I did when I started gardening years ago. One year I happened to be running a little behind and got them planted at the end of February. I have found this works best for me. If we have a warm February...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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We had an exceptional carrot harvest this year using pelleted carrot seed! Carrots can be difficult to grow here in the south because of the prolonged warm seasons. These were planted in late fall and we started harvesting them early in January. Although carrots typically store well, we keep them stored...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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Are you planting potatoes in your vegetable garden? Potatoes are a great crop that are easy to grow and can be stored for many months. Around here the temperatures are warming and the dogwood trees are blooming. We have pepper and tomato plants galore in the greenhouse that are being stepped...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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We recently used our multi-row Hoss Seeder setup know as "The Beast" to plant three different crops simultaneously in our high tunnel greenhouse.
Posted on August 17, 2023
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The high wheel cultivator is tall and awkward with a design that is not very user friendly. The Hoss Wheel Hoe provides a user-friendly design with...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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We are always trying new things in the Hoss Test Gardens. We love to grow our own vegetables and we are eager to try new ones. If we like a new one and are successful with it, we will usually add it to the yearly rotation. However...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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As the weather is quite warm here in south Georgia, most of the crops we planted in the spring are now finished. We've spent the last couple of weeks pulling up all of the finished spring crops, keeping the ground weed-free, and planning...
Posted on August 17, 2023
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