Well, here's an opening post for this section, although it doesn't really fit the forum title, this is kind of what I had in mind. I still want to do an overview of my 'stead type post, but I'll get us started with this.
I made my own hoe this spring, and it has really changed my garden for the better. It's based on a dutch scuffle hoe, and came about as I searched locally for one fruitlessly. In searching online, I realized I wasn't seeing what I pictured in my mind when I thought of using such a tool.
So, I built one. When I first made it, it really came about because it was what I had on hand, but in hindsight, it is really, really multipurpose and incredibly useful. Way more so than I had ever imagined a hoe would be.
So, the tool..
It's a simple gate hinge, I cut off the hinge with a cut-off wheel on an angle grinder and then used the same to sharpen all the edges. I kept a bucket of water handy and didn't let it get hot, I have no idea about this stuff but it seemed to stay hard, and holds an edge adequately. I then cut apart an old rake and welded it too the hinge. I attached it at such an angle that the hinge is flat on the ground when I am holding it with both hands and doing the "scuffle" action.
It's uses...
Well, it's just amazing how well the shape of the hinge translates into such a multi purpose tool. Obviously, you can scuffle with it, which works soooo well. I planted all of my short "rows"' which actually go across a 5' wide bed, a bit wider than the width of a pass with the tool. That allows me to just walk through the garden every few days and in minutes I've made a scuffle pass between all the rows, which eliminates pretty much all the weeds between rows.
Flipped over, it makes a great little "bulldozer" for pushing or pulling soil around. I can level a new bed in minutes this way.
Then there's the narrow "tip", which is great for prying out tough weeds or making a trench for new seeding. The wide end is fantastic for chopping really tough weeds. I use the whole thing like a scythe around the beds as I'm cruising around weeding, which means I get the line trimmer out a couple times a summer instead of every two weeks. I can tamp with the flat of it once I've seeded an area, it's great for mixing in fertilizer just in a trench. Dragging the tip down a trench at the right angle it will act like a mini plow and turn the soil just so.
There's a million other things I use it for, but I will stop for now. I wanted to share, I've been excited about it all summer, and haven't found a venue to share it. Hope you like it....
Here's a pic from early spring that kinda shows my little "rows", and how I plant at a spacing dictated by the hoe. A lot of the stuff in this photo was started early and then moved out as the weather warmed, if it looks like it's planted a little close.