I could hear this podcast so I listened all the way through. I am up early because of threatened tornadoes, but thankfully they didn't show up here in west Alabama this morning! I especially appreciated your description of shovel skimming as a method of weed control. Shovel skimming is the preferred technique for clearing archaeological sites, so for any archaeologist, we tend to get attached to our shovels! Mine is a Razorback Ive had since the 1970s. Here in Alabama we cut off the front tip of the shovel, so that it is straight across instead of shaped into a rounded tip. I had to throw away my first shovel, because some helpful person decided to sharpen the back of the shovel. The shovel has to be sharpened to a chisel edge, working with a file facing the shovel handle to make a razor edge along the top of the shovel, never the back. If you sharpen the back of a shovel it will never work for shovel skimming. I keep my shovel razor sharp. And now that its a garden tool, sharpening my shovel is one of the first garden chores each spring.
