TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs

December 19, 2009

Hoe hoe hoe…for Christmas

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — TopVeg @ 10:15 am

A good quality hoe is a great present or Christmas gift for the dedicated vegetable gardener.

The ideal hoe is:

  • sharp & shiny, so that the soil does not stick to it.
  • good quality stainless steel hoe because this will keep shiny & sharp.

Most people do not have time to maintain tools – but a good quality stainless steel hoe will look after itself.
Click this link to buy a hoe hoe hoe for Christmas!

June 7, 2009

Weed the Vegetable Garden

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , — TopVeg @ 6:19 pm

Weeds have started to grow in the vegetable garden, and they have to be dealt with before they seed.  This will pay dividends in the vegetable garden next year.

A weed-free vegetable garden is a healthy garden.

  • Air is able to circulate freely around the vegetables, which helps the battle against fungal diseases, such as blight and mildew.
  • Insects will not be able to hide on weeds, and the gardener is more in control of the plot if the crops are not obscured by weeds.
  • Water is used more efficiently if there are only crops, and no weeds to take up the water.

Handpulling weeds is sometimes easier than hoeing at this time of year.  It depends on how loose the soil is.

Although this is the time for harvesting vegetables in the garden, it is well worth putting time aside to get rid of the weeds.

March 25, 2007

Hoeing vegetables

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — TopVeg @ 11:14 am

A hoe will remove weeds, and allow the vegetables to grow without competition.

hoeing-shallots

hoeing-shallots

It is easier to hoe the weeds when they are very small, before the
roots have grown to anchor them in the soil.

The first leaves to emerge from a seed are called cotyledons. Try to hoe
weeds at this stage. Hoe as soon as you see weeds emerging, then it does
not become a chore.

Make life easy & leave the hoe at the end of the veg plot, so you can
pick it up as you go to inspect the vegetables.

Hoe when the soil is dry. Then the weeds will die quickly.

Make the rows wider than the hoe, so hoeing can be quick with no fear
of chopping up the vegetables.

Hoe shallow

    * to make it easy
    * to avoid disturbing the roots of the vegetables
    * shallow hoeing is possible if hit weeds early

The ideal hoe  is sharp & shiny, so the soil does not stick to it. A
good quality stainless steel hoe will keep shiny & sharp. Most people do
not have time to maintain tools – so get a good one, that will look
after itself.

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