OK, so we established that the domestic honey bee was the 2011 Most Valuable Player in the vegetable garden. Now for the winner in the equipment category. The exact technical name for this hand tool is a little hard to pin down, but a little online research indicates it’s either called a “Potato Hoe”, “Potato Hook”, “Rolled Hook” or a “Long Draw Fork”. (UPDATE: The A.M. Leonard catalog refers to it as a “Five Tine Cultivator”)

The handle is about 50 inches long, and the tool is great for breaking up soil, leveling soil and for pulling large clumpy weeds. The main difference between this model and contemporary models is that the tines are round on this one, and flat in the new models.