How Hoss Tools Got Started

Hoss Tools began about nine years ago when Greg and his friend decided that there was a need for quality gardening tools that were made in the USA. They also wanted to be able to offer excellent customer support for those tools. At the time they were both working other jobs when they started Hoss Tools, so they were not able to completely focus on the new business. As the business grew, they both realized that it would require more of their time. Greg bought his partner's portion of the business and started to create an online presence for the company. Since then, Greg has sold his other business and is now concentrating on Hoss Tools full-time. Travis joined the team around 2013 when the business really started evolving. Now Hoss Tools is completely direct-to-consumer so that we are able to provide better customer service and support.

Row by Row Garden Show: One Year Anniversary

The Row by Row Garden Show is a weekly gardening talk show where Greg and Travis discuss what is happening in their gardens, discuss a certain topic for the week, and answer viewer questions. For the one-year anniversary show, the guys decided to do a big giveaway for their viewers to thank them for showing so much support for the show thus far. The guys did a drawing for several collections of seed packs which included ProCut Sunflower, Lettuce, Peppers, and Summer and Winter Squash packs. They also gave away some of their fertilizers such as Chilean Nitrate, 20-20-20, and Micro-Boost. Finally, they drew names for some of their most popular garden tools like the short single tine cultivator, long single tine cultivator, 8 mil drip tape kit, and the new Hoss Stirrup Hoe. The two biggest products at the end of the giveaway were the Single Wheel Hoe and the Double Wheel Hoe.

Show and Tell Segment

On the show and tell segment, Greg has some freshly harvested Golden Delight Zucchini and Goldprize Squash that were really productive this year. Also, his cucumbers are about ready to harvest in the next couple of days. Travis shows his Starfighter lettuce that is looking really good and productive. He also talks about the productivity of his jambalaya okra and how tall they are growing. Greg also brought a huge bulb of green Kohlrabi and mentions that Travis may be envious because he doesn't know his secret. He recently harvested all of his onions and laid them on the ground to cure for a couple of days before he stores them in the barn.

Viewer Questions Segment

On the question and answer segment, the guys answer questions about yellow squash/zucchini issues, "banding" fertilizer, fish emulsion, and organic solutions for phosphorous and potassium. Travis explains that garden soil pH can become too acidic over time if you grow the same crops year after year in the same spot. This will also start to create some fertilization problems, because plants cannot uptake nutrients in soils with an incorrect pH. To help resolve these issues, you should practice better crop rotations and build the organic matter in your soils. To "band" fertilize, Greg takes his two-gallon sprayer with the tip-off and uses either some 20-20-20 or Chilean Nitrate. He then applies it in a band about 3 to 4 inches beside the plant or plant foliage. The fish emulsion products available in stores are not ready for uptake by plants. Any organic fertilizer will have a much slower uptake because it has to be broken down to those smaller chemical forms like ammonia or nitrate. Greg says that some good organic solutions for phosphate are soft rock phosphate and bone meal for phosphorous.

Products Mentioned in the Show

Micro-Boost

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEm7087c5M&t=973s