Easy Crop Turnover Using the Diamond Hoe

Why Remove Weeds in the Garden?

Weeds are a commonly known issue for every homeowner, business property, and home garden. The are several important reasons for removing thick weeds in the vegetable garden. The major reason to remove pesky weeds from the garden is they steal nutrients and water from the soil and plants. The soil in the garden contains nutrients and holds water for plants to gather up to grow in the garden. Unfortunately, having weeds in the garden they will steal all of these nutrients and water from the plant and cause major problems. Not only do they steal nutrients and water they also are home for the pests that are snacking away at your plants. They can also get in the way when trying to harvest vegetables in the garden. If you are experiencing high weed pressures in the garden we recommend planting cover crops that will suppress these pressures. Many cover crops such as Winter Rye, Buckwheat, Sunn Hemp, Brown Top Millet, and Daikon Radish will all do an excellent job at suppressing weed pressures in the vegetable garden. Some of these cover crops will also help with erosion control, reduce pest pressures, and build up your soil structure. Eliminating weeds will ensure for an easy crop turnover and a clean prepared area to plant your next crop in the vegetable garden. Another way to decrease weed pressures is by using drip irrigation. Drip irrigation allows for the water to go directly to the plant roots, unlike other irrigation methods. With overhead watering, you are unnecessarily watering areas in the garden that do not need water and this will increase weed germination. Don't forget to use proper techniques when trying to remove these pesky weeds in the vegetable garden.

Best Tool For Crop Turnover

On this week's episode, Travis explains his favorite tool to use for crop turnover in the vegetable garden. In the garden, Travis previously had some okra plants, but after experiencing our first frost of the season the okra plants were done growing and he removed them from the vegetable garden. Using our Wheel Hoe we were able to control most of the weeds between the rows. However, long-term crops like okra you are prone to have weed pressures along the row between the okra stalks. In order to get rid of these thick patches of weeds so we can start preparing this area for the next crop, we plan to plant there in that spot. Our favorite tool for removing these weeds and crop turnover is the Diamond Hoe. This long handle tool contains a head that is shaped like a diamond with sharp edges on all four sides. As well as two points on the ends that allow you to dig deeper if you need to. When using the diamond hoe it will sit flat on the soil surface which allows you to move it back and forth and cut out all the weeds between rows and along the row. You simply move the hoe backward and forward along the soil surface and to all sides being sharp it cuts weeds in all directions. Once we cut all those weeds on top the soil we just leave them to dry out and die then come in with our dura rake and clean the area up. This allows for an easy crop turnover and nice clean area for replanting in the vegetable garden. It is no doubt that if need a tool for quick and easy crop turnover the diamond hoe will do the trick for clearing weeds and helping you clean the area for the next crop to be planted in the vegetable garden.