FREE SHIPPING in the lower 48 States. Feel free to contact us if you have questions. You can call 530-342-6188, or email info@valleyoaktool.com *FOR ORDERS TO ALASKA or HAWAII: Contact us for a shipping quote.
Sign inorCreate an Account
In anticipation of our first real autumn rains, we determined it was time to plant our bare-root onion plants. The bed was prepared with the broadfork to loosen the soil, and a wheel hoe with the cultivator attachment to make a nice, open bed.
When we prepared the soil for planting the garlic we determined that it was not compacted and we did not broadfork it. We just used the Wheel Hoe to cultivate and furrow the rows. We did use the broadfork on the section of the garden that had David's staked tomatoes though, and we'll be planting onions in a section of that area.
Olive season is upon us, and if you've ever wanted to cure your own olives now is a good time to try it. Last year Carla cured a batch of olives and they turned out quite well. She picked the olives when some were turning dark ripe and some were still green. They can be picked totally green for firmer finished olives.
Sowing seeds of cool weather cover crops in the fall is an excellent way to build your soil. During the winter a fall-sown cover crop will help hold the soil during winter rains (providing protection from erosion), help keep nutrients from leaching away, and add organic matter to the soil. The roots of a cover crop help keep an active exchange with soil microorganisms.
We recently met a gardener who had stopped growing tomatoes in his home garden because of the damage that bugs had done to his fruit in past years. A little questioning revealed that the insects his tomatoes were attracting were the ubiquitous harlequin bug.
