Garden Hod

Have you ever used a garden hod? I no longer recall when I first came across this ingenious garden tool, but I can attest to its indispensable and enduring place in our garden-to-table lifestyle.

A garden hod is basically a smarter, better harvest basket. Gather your produce, spray it down with the hose, and let it drip dry on the way back inside. Perfection!

Our garden hods (we have two, one large, and one medium sized for smaller, quicker veggie harvests) are constructed with hardwood ends and a sturdy handle to carry even the heaviest loads. The “basket” component of the garden hod is steel mesh covered with enamel or some other durable finish. After many years, still no rust on either one.

I’m thinking I wouldn’t be going too far in offering a compact but heartfelt ode to this clever invention. Bear with me?

Nod to the Hod

I pause today with
an admiring nod
to the humble but
handy garden hod.
Perfect to gather
fresh picked veg' and fruit,
hose it all down and
then haul off your loot.

Garden Hod or Shirt Hammock

Before wrapping up these fewer-than-warranted lines of praise for a convenient implement known as the garden hod, I’d like to knowledge that I’m not clairvoyant. And therefore I’m not always prepared with my garden hod in hand when I stop in the garden or orchard to gather vegetables and/or fruit.

What to do in the event of a capricious, and anticipated harvest? That’s easy. I highly recommend the shirt hammock. Untuck your shirt (it’s probably works best with a T-shirt or sweatshirt) and gather a fist-full of fabric in your hand creating a convenient “hammock” that you can fill with produce. I don’t recommend hosing it down in your shirt hammock; for that you’ll want a garden hod.