Product Review: Carts Vermont Garden Cart

Carts Vermont

http://carts.cartsvermont.com/home.php

I used to have a wheelbarrow. Well, actually, I used to have multiple wheelbarrows. I would have one for a few seasons and something would break, or rust, or the tire would go flat. I would fix it and use it for as long as possible before it finally broke to a point beyond repair.

But that was when I bought things that were cheap in an attempt to save money. What I realized was that I ended up spending more in the long run to replace the cheap item over and over again. I also realized that I was contributing to the "throw away" society which I am so against. Now, I take my time, research products, and buy quality products from quality companies.

When I moved here to the Azores and had some space to garden, one of the first things I purchased was a Carts Vermont garden cart. I have not regretted this purchase once.

Quality. Sturdy. Useful.

These are the three words I would use to descibe my Carts Vermont garden cart. We use this cart a few times a week to haul trash to the dumpster about a hundred yards from our house, and we use it about once a week to haul our recycling to the recycling bins a few blocks away. I did actually use it as it was intended, in my garden, last Autumn, and I plan to use it again this Spring.

It is truly one of the most useful tools we have in our garage. It saves us time from having to make multiple trips. It saves our backs from lifting too much. It is way easier to use than the wheelbarrow, which was a hassle to use. With two large wheels, there is no wobbling or tipping of the cart when walking. With contact at four points when left alone, it is very stable even on uneven ground. With a flat surface in the cart, there are almost no items that tip out of the cart.

The materials used to build this are strong. Of course, if I was dropping boulders on it, it would break, but this cart is so much more study than those cheap wheelbarrows I used to buy. This cart will last a long time. And, I love this, I can buy replacement parts easily from their website. The cart comes unassembled, and my boys and I put it together one evening. It was easy. So I know that replacing a part, if it should break, will be just as easy.

With that said, I don't think I'll be needing to replace any parts any time soon. The entire cart is made of high quality, durable metal and wood. The design is excellent.

Needless to say, I am a huge fan of my Carts Vermont garden cart. I have the midsize cart, and I love it. If you are looking for a high quality, durable, and useful cart, I don't think you can do better than Carts Vermont.

I fell in love with a hoe!

A Peasant Young Girl With a Hoe

Jules Breton, 1882

http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Breton_Young_Peasant_Girl_with_a_Hoe_1882.jpg

Although my parents have become quite good at producing a lot of vegetables in their garden now, I was not raised by gardeners or farmers. As a kid, the only thing I ever used a hoe for was mixing concrete. Over the years, as I have gotten more and more into gardening and Permaculture, I have used my garden hoe on occasion. To be honest, I hated it. It was so much work to do anything. My cheap, mass produced garden hoe has been sitting with my shovels and rakes for a few years now. All the other tools are taken out on a fairly regular basis, but not the hoe. It has remained on the bench while all the other tools have had a chance to play.

Over this past weekend I noticed that my garden beds were getting quite a few small weeds growing in them. I thought about how long this would take to hand weed. I thought, "Well, people have been using garden hoes for centuries or more for this job. I may as well try it as well."

On a seemingly unrelated note, I am now living in a place the has a fireplace which we have used everyday this Winter. I have been splitting wood and making kindling for a few months. It wasn't until I finally purchased a high quality ax that I realized how poor little hatchet really was. I am planning on discussing that soon in another article, but the hatchet I had was poorly constructed and dull. Very dull. After using a razor sharp ax, the chore became enjoyable.

So, I grabbed my garden hoe, and I looked at it. I mean I really looked at it. It dawned on me that this is a chopping tool. Things that chop, like a knife or an ax, need to be sharp. I checked the blade of the hoe, and it looked like every other hoe I have ever used. Dull. I grabbed my metal file, sat on the handle, and sharpened the blade of my hoe. It took a whole five minutes. Then I headed to the garden.

To say that this was an epiphany would not be exaggerating. I weeded the garden bed in less than ten minutes. I was standing the whole time; my back didn't get sore. The entire time, I kept thinking to myself, "How could I have never known?" Sharpening the blade of the hoe suddenly made this stick with a hunk of metal on it a useful tool. It was wonderful. It was easy. It was enjoyable. I fell in love with a hoe!

Then, because my brain never shuts off, as I was repeating to myself, "How could I have never known?" I thought that ancient people from around the world knew this for centuries, and I have to relearn it. Of course this is a minor thing, and many people who use garden hoes never forgot it, but some did. What else has dropped from common sense? What other things have we entirely forgotten?

I thought of ancient cultures that had rich gardening and farming heritages. The Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Chinese, the Japanese... the Japanese did a lot of gardening. The Japanese have a whole variety of hoes. The Japanese also wrote haikus about nature. "How could I have never known?"has seven syllables. I could write a haiku. So here it is:

Sharpen the darned thing!

How could I have never known?

Ancient tool reborn.

Stay tuned for more poetry about garden tools!