Posts Tagged: tool
CropManage Hands-on Training, Salinas CA Wed. April 3, 2024
Date: Wed. April 3rd, 2024
Course 8:30 am – 12 pm
Location: Monterey County Agriculture Conference Room
1432 Abbott St, Salinas CA 93901
- Learn how to use CropManage to support irrigation and nutrient management decisions and record-keeping for your crops.
- Learn how to set up your ranch and crops in CropManage.
- Learn about the latest updates and how CropManage can assist with Ag Order 4.0
CropManage is a free online decision-support tool for water and nutrient management of vegetables, berry, agronomic, vineyard and tree crops. Based on research and field studies conducted by the University of California Cooperative Extension, CropManage provides real-time recommendations for efficient and timely irrigation and fertilization applications while maintaining or improving overall yield.
At this free workshop, we will provide hands-on training so that you can learn to use the newest version of CropManage. Crops currently supported include many vegetables (carrots, cabbage, celery, broccoli, lettuce, tomato, spinach, etc.), berry crops (raspberry and strawberry), vineyards, tree crops (almond, walnut, pistachio, prunes, and pear), and agronomic crops (alfalfa and corn). CropManage is also available in Spanish.
Who should participate? Growers, farm managers, other farm staff, crop advisors, consultants, and technical service providers are welcome. The workshop is for both new and current CropManage users. Spanish translation will be available.
What to bring? This is a participatory workshop. Please bring a tablet or laptop computer so that you can follow along and participate in the exercises. Each participant will need a user account for CropManage. Please set up a free user account at https://cropmanage.ucanr.edu/ before the workshop. Please arrive early to set up your laptop or tablet computer on the wifi and get logged on to CropManage.
Registration is free: Please register here
by April 1, 2024. Seats are limited to the first 30 registrants.
Questions: Contact Michael Cahn at mdcahn@ucanr.edu / 831-214-3690
Agenda
8:30 – 8:50 am Registration and computer set-up
8:50 – 9:20 am Introduction
9:20 – 10:00 am Getting started with CropManage
10:00 to 10:15 am break
10:10 – 11:00 am Using CropManage for decision support and record-keeping
11:00 – 11:45 am Group exercise
11:45- 12 pm Discussion /Q&A/ wrap up
Drop-in office hours
Continuing Education Units (CEU) for Certified Crop Advisors (CCA) have been applied.
Garden Tool Care
Evenings are growing dark and maybe it's too cold and wet to work in the garden. What better time for tool care? It's also a great time of year to drop some hints to friends and family for those expensive new pruning shears you've been wanting.
Tool care does not come naturally to many gardeners, but it's straightforward and you'll be rewarded with years of good service. Dull, dirty blades can crush plant tissue, damaging the cambium and creating an entry point for pests and diseases.
Here is a summary:
• Clean and sharpen dull blades.
• Lubricate garden tools and repair damaged grips.
• Cleaning can be done with soapy water and a wire brush or steel wool; air dry and apply a light coat of oil to prevent corrosion.
• Tools with wood handles can be sanded and rubbed down with linseed oil.
• File cutting tools, including shovel blades, to sharpen.
• Store tools in a dry, covered area.
• Have your lawn mower serviced to get a jump on spring tasks.
Tools may need some repair in addition to cleaning. Pruners can be taken apart for repair or cleaning.
Cleaning includes removing soil and grit, rust, sap (which could be from an infected canker), and disinfecting. Disinfection is essential to prevent the transmission of disease from one plant to another.
Sharpening does not have to be scary. You can buy a cheap, easy-to-use hand-held carbide sharpener or file from most hardware stores.
After sharpening, all metal surfaces should be oiled to prevent rust.
As you will see from the links below, there is more than one way to clean and sharpen your tools, but the principles are the same. There is some disagreement about disinfecting tools. If you know you used your tool on a diseased plant, debris must be removed first followed by several minutes of soaking in a 10% bleach solution. Lysol or Pine-Sol 10% solutions or 70% alcohol soaks have also been shown to work. Be sure to rinse the bleach solution off to prevent corrosion. Don't forget to disinfect or dispose of the items used to remove infected debris!
Detailed articles on tool cleaning and care:
https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/tool-care-tips/
https://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/268-723.pdf
Articles on disinfectants:
https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.v045n04p21
https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/Pruning.pdf
Excellent videos on tool cleaning and care:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMy_jtmihEQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vROuLbOuYq0
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“There’s no point in having a dull knife (pun intended)”
Sadly, there are a lot of dull, rusted tools out there, even on productive farms. If you watch the videos at the end of this post, you will hear “Rust is always a sign of neglect” so let this be the end of neglect. Put your tools “to bed for the winter,” or prepare them for pruning season, right around the corner.
There are three main parts of tool maintenance: clean, sharpen, and lubricate. These three steps should simply be done, in that order, every single time a tool is put back in the shed. The more often you do it, the easier and more effective it is at improving the lifespan of your tools.
Clean: There are three steps - cleaning off debris, removing rust, and sanitizing to prevent the transfer of disease. Proper cleaning may require removing screws and partially dismantling the tool.
Clean – Pressurized water, or a wire brush and a little soapy water are effective when used to scrub off all dirt and debris from your tool.
Rust? – Sometimes, especially if your tools have not been constantly maintained properly, you may see a rusted tool that just isn't what it used to be. Don't worry, if you have this problem, there are some easy tips that can help take that rust off. Spray the tool with vinegar, wrap in a paper towel and cover in plastic for about three hours, up to 24 hours. Remove the paper towel and plastic. Use a brush, an old toothbrush works just fine on small projects, put some baking soda in water and use the brush to scrub off the rust. Turpentine and steel wool also work well. After you scrub the tool to remove the rust, rinse thoroughly with water.
Sanitize – To ensure your tools are not going to spread disease around your farm, sanitation is important. Wipe down the tool surface with a 10% bleach solution (10 parts water to 1 part bleach), leave it for 30 seconds and then rinse thoroughly with water. Be sure to dry and oil your tool after sanitizing to be sure it does not rust from the bleach! Learn how below.
Sharpen: Many tools, even though you may not think of them as having a blade, actually require frequent sharpening to ensure their consistent function. A shovel, for instance, needs sharpening on the edge, which helps cut through roots, make clean holes, among other things. The basic method of sharpening is pretty simple. Use caution when sharpening and be sure to wear the proper protective equipment, such as gloves and eye protection.
Stabilize – Small tools, such as hand pruning shears, may easily be held firmly with the non-dominant hand. Larger tools, such as mower blades, or loppers, may need to be held in a vise.
Sharpen - Locate the proper edges to sharpen. Remember that there is a cutting blade and a bypass edge on some tools like pruning shears. You only need to sharpen the blade. A file can be used and should only be pushed in one direction. Hold the file at an angle, usually 45 degrees to the blade. Be sure to lubricate the blade and properly tighten screws after sharpening.
If you would like to pay a professional to sharpen your tools, at our January 9th Farmer-to-Farmer Breakfast, Ruben with Sharpening Tech will available to sharpen tools. Watch for an announcement on the Foothill Farming Calendar.
Lubricate: It is very important to oil your tools, even if they do not need to be sharpened. Oil helps keep the rust at bay. If your tool comes in contact with food crops or soil, we recommend a plant-based oil, like linseed oil for wood handles, and vegetable oil for pruners and shovels. This should happen each time your tools are put away. A barrel or bucket with sand and a small amount of oil left near your tool shed will work. Simply stabbing the tool in and out of the sand mixture can remove debris and oil the tool at the same time.
Store your tools standing upright or hanging, this also helps prevent rust. Develop a system to maintain your tools and always have them in their correct place so that anyone working in your operation can find the right tool anytime. Livestock Advisor Dan Macon has developed a system of sharpening his tools and oiling all the handles on New Year's Eve each year. He also prepared a lambing box, and outfits it with sufficient supplies and freshly sharpened tools each year before lambing season. What systems do you use, or need to use, to be prepared in your operation?
Video Resources:
How to Easily Clean Rusted Gardening Tools – Organically! – Learn to use vinegar and baking soda to remove old rust from your hand tools. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtdDotcHnl4
Sharpening Tools – Pruners, Loppers, Shovels and More! – GrowOrganic.com – Tips to properly clean, sharpen, and store your hand tools to improve their life and performance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn8npWqkCa8
How to Replace a Shovel Handle - Wranglerstar.com – A detailed, step by step demonstration on how to properly replace a broken shovel handle with a new one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UH0Y4KurY
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