Outdoor growing hikers tools

[djonkoman]

on my last trip to a future spot to dig I took a pitchfork to try out, but was pretty much useless.
the only thing it worked for was throwing away the sods, but the sods first had to be stabbed free with the shovel. and I could throw them away quicker and more efficient with just my (gloved) hands
I hoped the fork could lift the sods out of the ground without the stabbing that the shovel requires, wich is most pf the work, but that just doesn't work, the stabbing is necessary and the fork doesn't work for the stabbing.
so I won't be taking a pitchfork with me again

 

[Capt.Ahab]

My outdoor guerrilla garden weapon of choice. A mattock. Along with a shovel and clippers that is all I need around here.

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

Here's some things that might be useful and that I'm looking on buying. Basically i try to keep the weight down, and be inconspicuous. Where I'm from it's pretty populated. If some one sees me with a shovel or any big tools walking into the woods, they'll think I'm a serial killer burying a body . The last thing i need is to draw attention to myself.

This is a pocket chainsaw, it's quiet as opposed to an actual gas powered chainsaw when stealth comes into consideration. It's also lightweight and can fit on your belt or in your pocket. Good for cutting down some decent sized trees that block out precious sunshine.

Here's a folding saw, good for cutting down small trees and branches. Very concealable and lightweight.

This is called the LARGE OD ALICE Field Pack LC-1 tried and true by the US Military for over a decade, you could find these online or any military surplus store for cheap money. It holds a lot of stuff and it's comfortable for the price. I humped with this on my back for many ruck marches courtesy of uncle sam.

Here's the folding shovel that i have. It's an old german military issued entrenching tool. This is built solid, it has a pick and could be used as a shovel or adjusted to a spade. you could also sharpen one side to turn it into a hatchet.

Like those before me i suggest a good pair of gloves to avoid blistered hands and fingers. Get yourself a flashlight with a red lens to preserve night vision when visiting during dark hours, a head lamp would also be ideal to free your hands up. One thing that no one mentioned is water, drink a lot of water the night before so your body is already hydrated and bring water with you, especially during the summer months. Heat stroke or heat exhaustion is no joke, especially out in the bush.

 

[ion]

Yo Joe Fresh! BUUUUUUUUUGS!

i was terrorized by bugs last year..... to the point where it gave me a complex.

i wont do bugshit on my skin unless its natural.....but hey, if its made on earth tis natural eh?


the fork one wants would be a potato fork. pitchforks would be...challenging? in trying to dig/loosen a hole.

djonkoman....you need the folding shovel(E-tool)for the sod.
....and damn man you shouldnt be chucking that sod! the best mulch option out there is the sod, and when you replace the sod back close to its original state, peeps can walk right by it and not pay attention because the soil's not disturbed...

ive got one of those pocket/flexi chainsaws....yer not gonna wanna tackle anything over 4-5" diameter with that. i use a machete for such work.....and it makes one feel better when encountering...oh, say a black bear....when yer out on jaunts.

and a word about bears(new england blacks only)......
RUN FORREST RUN!!!.....and yer gonna be dinner.

if you run, they will chase and you will lose. best to stand ground, ball up, or really freak out, show your war face and try to scare it....unless its momma and the cubs are around then yer toast.

 

[djonkoman]

for now I use a regular shovel for the sod, haven't found an affordable folding shovel yet with a trustworthy quality, bit weird riding a bicycle with a shovel on the back, but I'm used to looking weird(wearing sandals while it freezes for example), and the spot I prepared so far I went at night with the shovel, no one that will see me at 3 at night

placing the sod back would ne hard, removed a nice patch and threw it in piles to the side, also I had a bad experience with mulching last year when I first tried it, the slugs liked it too much.
and I think someone thar would walk by would notice the, hopefully huge, plants
but it's not really smewhere where someone would walk by, wich is why I chose it

@smokealot: nice to know red light works to preserve nightvision, I went with a regular flashlight at first but no way to hold it, tried sticking it trough y fly and fastening my belt a little tighter so my belt would hold it, but would keep falling out, and close to my leg so got a lot of shocks from stomping down on the shovel, so it went out now and then
atached some elastic band to a cap at home, so I had a cap ich could hold a flashlight, it worked as it was supposed to but gave me tunnelvision, it would totally destroy my sense of direction working with that thing on
so eventually both times I did pretty much all work without light
and gloves are indeed good too, especially if about every corner of wilderness suitable for guerilla contains either stinging nettles or blackberries, like around here, in the garden I like to feel the soil/dirt more and just deal with the tingling hands the next day(from the nettles), but especially at night when I can't see what plants I'm grabbing into I like havng gloves on my hands

 

[Leroy Brown]

Don't know where I got it, but it was def. a big box store, maybe walmart or depot, but I have one of those led headband flashlights and it has a red only option.

 

[botany]

This backpack is so epic that it can haul prisoners of war!!!

But seriously... This is my current list

Haul everything in and hide it in the woods until you're ready to use it.

Machete
Hatchet you can hammer with
Mattock (for breaking tough soil, rocks, and roots)
Shovel

And if you're a true guerilla grower, with a few greenbacks to boot, then this might be your best option

 

[supermanlives]

good lightweight breathable camo. if your seen game over LOL got 2 kinds

 

[FirstTracks]

........

And if you're a true guerilla grower, with a few greenbacks to boot, then this might be your best option
View Image

You'll want to use duct tape or something else to tighten up the joints on the tubing where it connects to quiet it down. Same with the pins. the ones that come with it jangle around a bit.....so to stop that, you want to, again, cover with duct tape.
Wallyworld and other places probably sell the digital camo type duct tape. think about wrapping the entire shaft to dampen noise and not have a big reflecting bronze looking tube for everyone to see when you're digging in the forest.

Tightening up the joints with duct tape is critical where the tool heads connect. they all have a couple mm gap, so a layer or two of tape wrapped around stops this.

Don't forget to sharpen all the toolheads that come with it (except, of course the hammer). They're all pretty dull, but 15 minutes with a course file can do a number on them. Won't make any knife blades, but will make digging and cutting quicker and easier.


Still trying to find a T or D handle to rig up to the setup. The tool could really use one more extension and a handle, otherwise, sometimes a short shovel with a D handle is easier to get deep holes done with.

Not really that spendy of a tool after you consider all the parts. The pins seem sturdy enough, but youo may want to pick up a couple bolts and nuts of the appropriate size in case you lose a pin in the field.