I’m from the East Coast, where we tell it like it is.

Ouch! You’re on my foot!

I now live on the West Coast, where we tell it like it isn’t.

Excuse me, but you and I are both standing the same exact spot. And, as luck would have it, you’re standing on my foot. I would so appreciate it if you could simply take one step to the right, so that my foot could be free.

Now comes the Heartland.

Honey, do you mind? My foot… (and pointing while genuinely smiling).

I love being in the Heartland. People are so kind and thoughtful for the most part. There are always examples of someone not getting it exactly so, but as a general rule, my copious trips into the center of our country have been met with mostly warm, genuine experiences.

So, off I went to the third largest wine and grape trade show in North America, The Midwest Grape & Wine Conference. I stopped in Denver along the way. I’m sharing this snowy image that met me on my Denver layover, as I left 70 degree weather behind. I was headed to where organizers unite the Heartland’s wine industry, St. Charles Missouri. This event is put on by Wineries Unlimited, the publishers of Vineyard & Winery Management.

The next morning I awoke to a dusting of snow that came during the night. This image was taken from my room, which overlooked the conference center below. I was on the 15th floor.

Regardless of the chill in the air, I had another delightfully warm time in the Heartland. This included meeting Clark Smith of GrapeCrafter, where we would have a seminar together on non-profit single grape variety challenges. This also include a Petite Sirah tasting from the members of PS I Love You, led by Clark. He’s a brilliant speaker, if you’ve not have the pleasure of sitting in on his lectures.

The Green Hoe Company, Inc.

I don’t get out as much as I would like to, because of the nature of my work of constantly writing. I wish I could get into more vineyards during more activities, so I could see some of the ground preparations that go on during actual viticultural practices. Instead, I had to go to the St. Louis area to see vineyards being worked on by farm machinery. In this case it was with all of the attachments of the Green Hoe. I met Joe, and we bonded over our names. (Obviously, his dad got what he wanted… a boy; and my dad didn’t… a girl).

The Green Hoe Company, Inc. was founded by Mr. Green. I was amazed as I watched their video on vineyard weed control, because this machine allows farmers to control weeds without chemicals. I’ve been involved with organics since the 1960, growing my own fruits, vegetables, and herbs organically since then. I see no use for harmful chemicals when growing anything. Spraying harmful chemicals kills all bad as well as good insects, including bees and lady bugs, just to name a couple of important ones… Unless it’s a colony of ants that have decided to parade into my home, then I go on the offensive, but not as you might imagine. I get most of them with my vacuum cleaner, and spray the point of entry to stop the advance.

By using the Green Hoe HYD-ROW-HOE and its attachments, farmers can begin (or continue) a weed control program and eliminate herbicides. If that’s not good enough for you, because you just gotta have those poisons to enrich your life and bottom line (it’s always about the bottom line, isn’t it, until one of your family members is sick), you can at least use these pieces of machinery to REDUCE your dependency on hazardous chemicals.

This machine even catches weeds that escape chemical applications. They create a berm that let’s you be more efficient with your chemicals. They have mounting brackets for over 65 tractor models, and they mount easily with only four to six bolts. This hoe can do in an hour what it would take several farm workers to do in one single day for you. (There’s a good bottom line benefit.)

Located in Portland, New York, they’re near Buffalo and the Heartland, which they mostly seem to service. I see the benefit for my California colleagues to look these guy up, if you’re needing any farm equipment. I couldn’t believe their pricing. The Vineyard and Nursery Hoe with spring depth control is only $3067.00. I would imagine that pieces like that are much more expensive, so I was shocked at the $3K figure. It seems to me, if I do quick math, this piece of equipment would pay for itself within the first month, if not quicker, in labor costs alone.

I wish I had that video to show you. It’s a convincing visual. Instead, you’ll have to look at my images for the best idea I can give you…

And perhaps someone has had it up to here with chemicals and is looking for a great source… The Green Hoe Company convinced me. If I had a tractor and a job to do, this would be my affordable piece of machinery.

Did you know that in sales first we buy the people, then we buy what they’re selling? Well, I bought Joe’s integrity.