What no clay?
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Closest I have is really fine sand haha.
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Popping a few autos to put in my 3 new beds. Hoping for an August harvest on these baby’s. I got
Queens banner s1
Otto orange x chunkadelic
And 2 pineapple express I found in my stash.
The pineapple express isn’t an auto, but it grew great last season and it was everyone’s favorite. I’m hoping my new outdoor strains blow it out of the water this year as far as potency goes.
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Some Green Mountain Grape (topped). I’ll try some outside this summer.
“…Coming in as early as end of August to mid Sept, Green Mountain Grape is a 90% Sativa leaning hybrid.”
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That sounds great. Where did you find this?
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They have it at NASC and Ace and a bunch of other places, but it’s a Vermontman strain (unsurprisingly given that Ace has it).
August-September is mighty tempting.
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Don’t recall when I first heard about this strain (a few years back) but until recently, the seeds were only sold thru Ace Seeds. But like yardgrazer said, NASC recently started carrying it (regs and fems).
https://northatlanticseed.com/product/new-green-mountain-grape-r/
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I like the sounds of this! Anyone grown it outdoors up here yet?
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Getting a nice drain/transplanting shovel was a life changer for me too, I just sharpen the edge with a few strokes of a bastard file before each use and make sure to wiggle it side to side as I go down and it gets right through or past almost every root or rock, slices roots up to 1/2" like they weren’t even there. I dug a huge hole to plant my hardy fig into yesterday, was stupid easy through hardpacked sand and clay (river valley, former glacial lakebed).
Next year I’m asking my partner for one of these for my birthday in the early spring:
I do also get a lot of use from this old Snap-on pry/wrecking bar that I got at a yard sale for a dollar, it gets used in the garden as much as the garage, great soil probe slash rock loosener:
In general, New England destroys tools for sure, I’ve been trying to go heavier duty and started getting some Red Pig and Wilcox hand tools for myself and my partners who garden. Check out these I just got for the lady for our anniversary, she’s going to geek. Both companies are awesome, made in the USA lifetime tools for not really much more than a decent garden center made in China version that’ll last 5-10 years. Weeders are $40 and should outlast me and her both. Hand forged in Oregon of good thick steel witj hardwood handles.
For myself I got some Wilcox trowels, a skinny hori-hori style and a beastmode 14" hand trowel for both gardening and bushcraft/camping use as a digger and root cutter to save my saws. The value proposition for Wilcox tools is just stupid, they’re extremely simple and tough and come in every size or shape you could want, and now they make a few types, smooth edge or serrated etc. I got basically their beefiest and thinnest trowels. Free shipping on all orders from their Iowa factory!
Red Pig makes a lot of really interesting historical tools nobody else does anymore, or they make serious heavy use versions when all that’s left otherwise is hobby gardening tools. This shovel is pretty neat, I’ve seen antique versions in the local farm museum, they were popular here with our deep dense clay/sand varved soil:
I’m also wowed by the performance of this little classic American pruner that got revived as a company in the last few years, still honoring the old lifetime warranty on the legacy brand (cool move IMO). I gave one as a gift a few years ago and keep borrowing it to use even when I have my own good Leonard and ARS pruners on me, it’s just fantastic how well it cuts everything from fresh green tips to woody stems up to 1/2" or more. They make a dozen or more colors and prints, but you can get “Ugly Duckling” cosmetic seconds for a little less if you don’t really care. That’s what I did and she got the grayish lilac color, it’s nice. Designed in Connecticut in the mid century by a machinist whose wife had hand strength issues, knocked off mercilessly but none of them are as good in my experience. Good warranty, ultra light but strong (not plastic but fiberglass-reinforced nylon), rebuildable, and fits in a tool pocket smoother than anything, no sharp edges or exposed blade, and it can’t open even if the very secure wire latch popped. Just a perfect piece of industrial design, this thing should be in the MOMA.
Been doing a lot of tool handling/hafting lately and I keep putting 14-24" handles on mid-sized heads, pretty satisfying for really getting down and dirty with. I’ll post some of those later, it’s all either junk tools saved or antique heads restored.
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Hell yeah, on my porch in three days, $43 for both of these. The little one looks great to carry in a pocket, and the big one is so massive that I keep hefting it and saying “goddamn this is a big boy”
Classic tool grips
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Lovely implements
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@Dirt_Wizard - There’s no substitute for quality 
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I considered those hm Leonard ones, but just grabbed what the local hardware store had on the shelf.
Borderline sinful to use that prybar to dig a hole haha.
And those pruner look boss, I’m gonna have to grab a pair for my wife!
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i was turned on to the Hori-Hori. threre are lots of variations out there. shop wisely. if you get a good steel sharp one they are quite the garden tool!
for example
Amazon.com: Fiskars Hori Hori Knife - Heavy Duty Gardening Hand Tool with Hang…
Buy Fiskars Hori Hori Knife - Heavy Duty Gardening Hand Tool with Hang Hole - Lawn and Yard Tools - Black/Orange: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
i am pretty sure this is the one i have. sharp and cuts well.https://www.homedepot.com/p/Fiskars-Hori-Hori-7-In-Stainless-Steel-Blade-Wood-Handle-Gardening-Knife-370880-1001/300374030
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@potpotpot don’t worry, my only religion is washing drying, and oiling steel tools every time I use them, lots of Fluid Film and Tri-Flow on everything
Worth posting this dude and his incredible haircut, I’d trust this man with my tools any day:
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Ah yeah my partner has the older version that’s a little fatter, it’s a great tool! The serrated side is great and the forked point goes through roots really well without slipping off! That Snowjoe one also looks nice I was looking at theirs for myself, along with this one from Zenport who makes all the knives and tools I used on the farm, they’re a weird sleeper ag brand but available on Amazon and other places like here, all imported but really high quality for cheap cheap. They wholesale pretty freely and easily if anyone wanted to suggest them to a local grow or garden store, the catalog is super deep:
I spent probably 15 hours a week that summer holding one of these in my hand on the wash and sort line to clean and trim all sorts of veg with, weird knife, sorta dangerous as all double edged blades are, especially with two edges meeting like that just a little more than 90 degrees, but unbelievably precise for slicing bits and layers off of lettuce and cabbages, or anything else really. Once you get used to being able to push or pull cut it becomes a very fast tool to process a couple pallet bins of cabbages with the bottom, and then the tip is so tiny you can flick into a vegetable without cutting all around it as well. Nice tool not sure what I’d use one for other than processing a truckload of veg with though.
Fig tree looks pretty happy!
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Sweet! His wife goes to the same barbershop.
My fig tree doesn’t show signs of life until mid june. I don’t think it’s supposed to survive up in my zone, but it’s been coming back every year. This is the 5th season. Hope I get a fig this year. I’ll settle for 1.
I stand corrected, we got some greenery!
Raised bed is about done. Needs a few more logs
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Hey @JustANobody , I’m new to og but I recognize your name from the other apps, love the post here, I’m a south shore Massachusetts grower myself, running a 7eastgenetics garden this year along with some crosses I made myself, here’s hoping for a drier flower season than last year 
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