That year, the vegetable patch behind the house was lush and perfectly lined up. I stood there for a moment, then turned to my dad:
“This year, we’re probably going to have a great harvest, right, Dad?”
He didn’t answer right away. He looked at the rows of veggies and slowly said,
“Well, we don’t really know yet…”
His answer caught me off guard. To me back then, with such healthy plants and good weather, how could it be uncertain?
But Dad didn’t stay silent for long. He began to tell stories — stories of seasons that seemed like sure successes but ended in failure after just a few days because of heavy rain, strong winds, or sudden pest outbreaks. These seemingly small setbacks were enough to wipe out all the hard work.
That’s when I started to really understand what Dad meant. Farming — whether on a large scale or just a family garden — is always a game full of unpredictable factors.
After many seasons of planting, many failures, and learning not only from my dad but also from seasoned farmers I met along the way, I summed it up like this:
👉 There are 3 core factors that decide whether a harvest succeeds or fails:
• The People (the ones who do the farming)
• The Farm Gear (equipment, tools, and technology that support the work)
• The Environment (weather, soil, climate, pests, and more)
Among these three, we can only actively control two: the people and the farm gear.
And that’s exactly why I created this website.
A place focused on the two factors that you — a home gardener or small-scale farmer — can master the best.
That’s also why I chose the name FarmGears.com, along with the phrase I constantly remind myself:
Farm hard – gear right.
I. Farm Hard – It All Starts with People
👉 People are the very first source — the starting point for every success in farming.
Whether it’s a large commercial farm or a small backyard garden, everything begins with the hands and minds of the farmer. In the journey of conquering nature, people are always the central guiding force.
1. Wisdom and Experience – The Key to Mastering Nature
Since ancient times, humans have tamed wild animals into livestock and bred plants suited to different climates. Thanks to ongoing knowledge and accumulated experience, we’ve gotten better at avoiding risks from natural disasters, pests, and even fixing damage after a tough season.
This isn’t just scientific progress — it’s the result of real-life experience passed down through countless generations of farmers.
2. Wisdom Built Over Thousands of Years – The Most Valuable Asset
Farming isn’t about luck. Skilled farmers can look at a single wilted leaf and tell what disease it has, or hear a strange noise and know something’s wrong with their animals.
These insights don’t come from books — they’re traditions handed down from ancestors, shaped by successes and failures out in the fields and barns.
3. Hard Work – The Irreplaceable Core Value
No tool or technology can replace hard work and diligence.
From waking up early to check feeders, to trudging through rain to inspect covers for the crops — perseverance is the “glue” that holds every effort together, turning theory into results.
II. Gear Right – When Tools Become an Extension of the Farmer’s Hands
If “farm hard” is about the diligence, knowledge, and spirit of the farmer, then “gear right” is how you turn that effort into real, tangible results.
1. Tools Don’t Replace People, But They Can Help You Work Twice or Three Times as Efficiently
A skilled gardener can work wonders, but with the right farm gear, they can do more — faster and easier.
For small backyard farms, choosing the right tools makes a huge difference:
• A well-designed hoe helps you till soil faster and with less effort than cheap knock-offs.
• A rodent-proof chicken feeder saves feed and protects your flock from disease carried by rats.
• A sturdy trellis keeps plants upright, boosting yield without taking up more space.
In farming, there’s no shortage of examples where “choosing the wrong tool just makes your job harder.”
2. Choosing the Right Farm Gear Saves Time, Effort, and Money
Today, small-scale farming isn’t about just “hoe and shoulder the load” anymore. With a smart investment, you can:
• Build or buy tools that fit your specific setup
• Increase productivity without expanding your land or labor
• Cut down on waste (feed, water, labor…)
For example:
• A $30 automatic drip irrigation system can free up your mornings completely.
• A heated chicken waterer keeps water from freezing in winter — ensuring your flock stays hydrated without you having to wake up early to chip ice.
3. “Gear Right” Doesn’t Mean Buying More — It Means Buying Smart
The key isn’t how many devices you own, but:
• Picking what you really need
• Matching the tools to your scale and conditions
• Prioritizing durability, ease of repair, and mastery
That’s exactly why FarmGears.com was created — to help home and small-scale farmers choose the right farm gear that fits their real-world needs.
III. Environment – What We Can’t Create, Only Accept or Adapt To
Among the three key factors that determine farming success — People, Tools, and Environment — the environment is the one we don’t create and can’t fully control.
However, the environment isn’t completely unpredictable or uncontrollable — because when you break it down, you’ll find:
1. Environmental Factors You Can Partially Manage
Even though you can’t fully master them, you can influence certain things to create better conditions:
• Cleanliness and organization of your growing area: Keeping things tidy and well-ventilated helps prevent disease and reduces risks for both plants and animals.
• Water sources: You can design water storage systems, harvest rainwater, or set up irrigation to save water.
• Soil quality: Poor soil can be improved with organic fertilizers, composting, or by using raised garden beds.
• Location: Whether you’re in the countryside or the city, whether you have acres of land or just a balcony, each situation has solutions tailored to it.
➡️ These factors aren’t fully in your hands, but you can manage, improve, or adapt to the conditions you have.
2. Completely Uncontrollable Factors
Yet there’s always a “gray zone” that humans simply can’t intervene in, including:
• Natural disasters: Storms, floods, hail, frost — any one of these can wipe out an entire season overnight.
• Extreme weather fluctuations: Unusually long droughts, off-season rains that throw off planting schedules.
• Disease outbreaks: Affecting both crops and livestock, often with no warning signs.
• Climate change: Altering entire seasonal cycles, humidity levels, and even the behavior of pests.
➡️ These are forces beyond human control — all we can do is prepare mentally and plan how to respond.
And that’s why, as my dad always said:
“We won’t really know how the season will turn out until it’s over.”
IV. Farm Hard – Gear Right: The Farming Philosophy
“Farm hard” doesn’t just mean working hard without pause.
Many people think farming is simply about digging in and working non-stop. But for me, hard work alone isn’t enough — it must be purposeful, guided by thoughtful planning, experience, and careful observation.
Experience often comes from failures — a disappointing harvest, a flock falling ill, or a sleepless night fixing a broken coop in the pouring rain. But experience also comes from others: from veteran farmers, community groups, forums, books, and even seemingly small comments on the internet.
One thing I’ve learned: not every experience is universally right. Each farm, each region, each season is different. But the more you learn, listen, and compare, the better you become at filtering and adapting what works best for your own situation.
👉 To me, “Farm hard” means:
Work hard at learning — work hard at experimenting — and work hard at reflecting on what you’ve learned.
It’s my way of showing respect to the land, to the plants, to the animals — and to my own effort.
Gear Right – When Ideas and Experience Need the Right “Helper”
Once you have a clear idea and have gathered experience — from yourself or from others — the next step is finding the right helper: your farm gear.
In farming, tools are not just “supporting equipment” — they are an extension of the farmer.
A well-sized hoe, a feeder with the right capacity, a just-right irrigation system — these might seem small but can double or even triple your productivity.
On the flip side, using the wrong tool — or not having the right tool — wastes time and effort and can even cause you to miss critical seasons.
✅ But here’s what I want to emphasize:
“Gear right” does NOT mean buying the most expensive, the best, or the toughest on the market.
It means choosing what fits you best, your scale, conditions, and budget.
Choosing the “right gear” means choosing what helps you work more effectively — not harder.
In reality:
Experienced farmers always “gear right” — because they know what is enough and what’s worth using.
They understand the difference between just getting the job done and getting the right result.
👉 For me, “Farm hard” always goes hand in hand with “Gear right.”
One side is willpower — the other is tools.
Only when they work together do they create true, lasting success — in the way that suits you best.
V. The Origin Story of FarmGears.com
In recent years, I’ve noticed a clear trend: more and more Americans are starting to grow their own food and raise animals right in their backyard or small home gardens. The “self-sufficiency” movement is growing strong—not just for saving money, but also from the desire to have better control over food quality and reduce reliance on industrial supply chains.
Yet, what’s unfortunate is that many people—especially beginners—often make very basic mistakes. Choosing the wrong chicken feeder and having to replace it entirely; building garden beds with the wrong size leading to poor plant growth; spending hundreds of dollars on unnecessary equipment simply due to lack of information…
As someone with years of hands-on experience in home farming, I often get messages like:
“Hey, which one should I buy?”
“Is this suitable for this breed of chicken?”
“Am I doing this composting right?”
I shared so much that many people said to me:
“You should make a website to share all these things so we can easily look them up!”
At that moment, a phrase I often live by came to mind:
👉 Farm hard – Gear right
Farming hard is a given. But if you choose the right tools and go in the right direction, you’ll make fewer mistakes — saving time, effort, and money.
Luckily, the domain name I had in mind—FarmGears.com—was still available. I bought it immediately and started building this site step by step into a practical knowledge hub for anyone who is on or about to start their home farming journey.
💡 At FarmGears.com, I won’t just share experience.
I will review, compare, and specifically recommend the types of tools, equipment, and farm supplies suitable for various real needs — from small backyard vegetable beds to automatic feeding systems for chickens and ducks.
Each recommendation comes with a trustworthy buying link to help you confidently pick exactly what you need—avoiding wasted time, money, and effort.
VI. In Conclusion: The Farm Gear Spirit
FarmGears.com is not aimed at large-scale commercial farming.
I’m not a professional farmer.
This site isn’t about big agriculture or building my personal brand.
It’s simply a place where I share what I’ve learned and done — with the spirit of working hard and working smart. (Farm hard, gear right)
To me, Farm hard – Gear right is more than just a slogan.
It’s a way that I—and maybe you—choose to live closer to the land, to the plants, and to the animals… improving day by day.
I sincerely welcome your feedback, sharing, or real-life experiences.
Every story, every message can help this site become a more reliable and useful place for a community of passionate people.
A quick note:
Some articles might have inaccuracies or only apply to my own conditions.
I appreciate honest and sincere feedback so we can improve together every day.
👉 To me, the Farm Gear spirit means:
• Sharing together
• Learning together
• And making home farming easier, more effective, and more enjoyable every day.
Thank you for reading this far.
Let’s farm hard — gear right!
📌 By the way:
If you’re looking for more real-world experiences from backyard farmers like us, I highly recommend visiting BackyardChickens.com.
It’s a long-standing forum full of helpful tips, failures, and lessons learned — and it’s helped me more than once.
Feel free to join the conversation, share your own experiences, or come back anytime for more tips right here at FarmGears.com!
