High tunnels, hoop houses, are unheated greenhouses popularized in the last few years. They help market and home gardeners extend the growing season providing fresh vegetables, flowers and increased profitability of the farm.

One drawback to growing plants in an enclosed structure is the ability to use conventional equipment to plant, cultivate and harvest. Every square foot must be utilized and most plant on narrower rows to increase the investment’s production capacity. Weed control is mostly limited to hand tools.

Our Hoss wheel hoe is the perfect tool to cultivate and remove weeds. Whether it’s planting in a furrow, hilling, and shallow cultivation or laying of rows. Wheel hoes can fit though almost any door and work close to the sides of the structure. Using gas powered equipment in an enclosed area can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning and should be used with caution. The wheel hoe eliminates this risk.

 Need to plow your garden?  Amateur gardeners used thousands of Planet Jr. for cultivation of home gardens, and farmers and professional gardeners used thousands more weeding family and commercial gardens.  Our Hoss wheel hoe cultivator is closest to the proven design of the Planet Jr.   Design improvements include utilizing Bronze impregnated bushings in the hub and a machined axle.  This allows the wheel roll easier while eliminating loose play.

 While a Planet Jr.  Wheel hoe may be found at estate sales or on eBay, most are missing parts or implements.  Most Hoss Tools parts and all implements will fit the Planet Jr.

The following excerpt is from a Planet Jr. catalog

Double and Single Wheel Hoes

Whether you are an amateur or a professional gardener a wheel hoe is indispensable in a garden. Why? Because it saves time, labor, money, and does a better job. Hundreds of thousands of Planet Jr. Owners testify to that.

When used “professionally” it is customary to use batteries of double wheel hoes. Single wheel hoes are also used in the same way in certain crops. No garden should be without at least one wheel hoe, as with it you can do much more than with an ordinary hand hoe, and do it in one quarter of the time.

Wheel hoes are being  used extensively by leading vegetable growers as they are able to plant in much narrower rows than it they were using a horse, with a resultant increase in yield. Furthermore it is possible to cultivate much closer to the crop with wheel hoes than with a horse.

Planet Jr. Wheel hoes are scientifically designed by practical men to do just the proper kind of work. The frames and wheel arms are pressed steel. The wheel is steel with steel spokes. The hoes and other working parts are oil tempered and hardened so they do not wear out. This construction insures service and durability far beyond the dollars and cents cost.

A wide range of adjustment is provided to take care of different width rows and different conditions and also to permit the use of the various attachments. The handles can be adjusted for height to suit the operator. Bent handles instead of the “saw-grip” can be provided if desired. A long bolt and ferrules are provided with all double wheel hoes to enable you to put one wheel between the arms and use it as a single wheel hoe.

No. 17 Single Wheel Hoe

The No. 17 is the most popular of all wheel hoes because it is light and easy to handle and has the most needed equipment. It is inexpensive and yet is a complete gardening outfit. It is light enough for a girl or woman to handle, yet strong and sturdy enough for any job.  Amateur gardeners like it because it saves them so much time and makes their gardening so easy. Professionals like it because it does the most precise work, and will stand constant use through many sessions.  The No. 17 includes only the most frequently used attachments, hoes, cultivator teeth, and plow, which are all oil-tempered, and hardened in an electric furnace to make them work better and wear longer.

The hoes are used for weeding, mulching and shallow cultivation. They are specially designed with a high shield to permit close work without danger to the crop. The cultivator teeth or “duckfeet” are for general cultivation. They have a narrow neck with a wide head for turning over the weeds. The plow is rugged enough to do real plowing or furrowing.

The No. 17 is completely adjustable to suit the conditions and the operator, and all the adjustments are quickly and easily made. Everything but the handles is steel—light and unbreakable. The handles are selected white ash—light and strong.