Mrs Growster and I decided that we needed more room this year, so we took on a vacant plot. It’s now called the ‘Patch’ as we already have a ‘Plot’ which is half an allotment.
In the old, leaky shed on the Patch, was a small – somewhat sad – collection of much-loved stuff left by a previous gardener, and we had to chuck the old wellies, gloves, rotten stuff etc. But, lurking in the depths of the rotting shelves, loose floor boards etc., was the head from an old Chillington hoe.
Now, Chums from this place know that I’ve got an original one, and moan a bit about it on occasions (the stick’s too short), but this new (rusty and unloved) piece made Growster’s eyes water…
Azadas seem to be the bees’ knees for ground clearance, and I’d love to get one, but there’s a recession on and I can’t, so, out into the shed, and a few minutes (actually an hour or so) with an angle grinder, and the result was…
The ‘Growstada’!
I reckon that in clearing long grass etc, there’s an additional requirement for a ‘slicing’ action, not unlike what you’d do with a swap, but standing up. So, I took off a small section off the blade on each side, and made it look like the pic.
It works much better than I thought it would! I’m never one to blow my own clarinet, but when sharpened to an edge, as you can, it crunches long grass to mowing level, and also just chops the weeds about half an inch down, so no roots are left! Digging’s a doddle after that!
I just love this ugly bit of kit, and you can laugh, but it’s making the patch a much easier place to work in than any other tool! (the handle came from an errant hawthorn, down in the woods…)
If anyone has a similar piece, of course, I’ll roll over!
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July 20, 2012, 17:37