HOE,HOE,HOE

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Cool nights-growing ever longer-trail after warm days, and a golden haze lies restfully on the land. Now is the season of the harvest's ripe reward, as bending bough and sprawling vine give up the garden's goodness. Baskets of produce shimmer like jewels in the kitchen's spicy air. Fill all the jars, process well ... and enjoy the leftovers for supper.

by Peter Hemingson

After MOTHER's Eco-Village director, Leroy Richter, put a Weed Eater power hoe through its paces and couldn't stop talking about the machine, my curiosity was piqued. So I managed to borrow a Model 5000 power hoe from the folks at Beaird-Poulan, and now I'm a convert, too.

You may have seen equipment of this type advertised: Powered by a 1.6cu. in. engine (similar to that used on a chain saw), it has a pair of five-pointed tines on the end of a three-foot shaft. Well, I have to confess that I had serious doubts about the usefulness of such a machine, but after a month's trial I'm convinced of its utility. The little hoe can actually do about anything a rotary tiller can do (except break up sod and turn under crop residues). I've used the 5000 to weed, prepare seedbeds, start holes for tree planting, and dig trenches for leeks and asparagus roots. Furthermore, wielding the machine is as simple as scooping the tines through the soil toward you, and the result is a wellchurned, finely granulated path that's four inches deep and six inches wide. (When preparing the trench for the asparagus roots, I just pushed the loosened soil aside and then made another pass or two.) The manufacturer does suggest that you give hard earth a good soaking the night before you plan to till it, but I haven't yet found that "softening" to be necessary. If I can extend the loan long enough, I plan to use the hoe to incorporate this fall's chopped leaves into the raised beds in my vegetable garden.

There's one other benefit of this particular machine that I haven't mentioned: The engine can be detached from the hoe head and used to power other tools . . . a string trimmer, an edger, and a small snow thrower. The Model 5000 sells for about $200 with the power hoe head ... while the trimmer attachment runs about $55, the edger $80, and the snowblower $90. If you'd like more information, write to Marketing Dept. (TMEN), Beaird-Poulan Weed Eater, Box 9329, Shreveport, Louisiana 71139-9329.

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