favorite hoe or weeder

[simplynaturalfarm]

What is your favorite hoe for weeding? I am looking at Johnny's seeds and drooling over things I've read about the last 20 years in Eliot Coleman's books and many people say they cut their weeding from 4 hours down to 1 hour with the right tools. THey mention the stirrup hoe, wire weeder, collinear hoe. We grow a big garden and it requires a lot of weeding and tools that help us cut that down would be great. SO I have decided to invest in 1-2 to try this year to add to my seed order. What is your favorite tool personally? We just have the el cheapo $4.00 Menards ones and I can't say they work really well. DH just kind of shuffles the soil around a bit and then 2 days later those weeds are growing again and I tell him he needs to cut them out or carefully hand pick to get the roots, but instead he does the oil shuffle seeds. And sometimes he is aggressive enough that he damages the roots of the plants around . . I lost all my peas and he set the strawberries back by about 4 weeks 2 years ago because of his aggressive whacking at weeds. . .

WE do mulch normally and practice low till to no till, but I'm trying to figure out what to do after my horrendous results with straw the last 2 years when I realized the straw I was using ahd been dried with round up and will cause stunting in the garden and is never supposed to be used for horticultural use - everything reached about 6 inches and then didn't grow anymore . I had never experienced this in the past but I am glad I found out about it because it was so disheartening to spend that much time and energy on things that worked so well for me the last 15 years.

[cassieoz]

Oh, but of course, Roundup isn't 'residual' is it.....

[elnini]

I have one that has two sides, a flat hoe side and a pointed side, and it's HEAVY. I call it my Serious Hoe. My eldest stepson, who knows alot more about pop culture than garden implements, was shocked when his straight laced stepmother called it that in front of him ...

[simchah]

DH picked up an old garden tool that kinda looks like a hoe a bit. I am going to dig it out and give it a try, it looks perfect for some serious gardening. I fell in love with it at first sight.

[Deleted]

I really like the colinear hoe.....when used right at the 'white hair' stage it is so easy. I like the one without the replaceable blade..it is thinner and easier to glide just under the soil surface. I also like the cobra for getting in the row and between plants...the curve to the hook gives it a lot of power without being hard on your hands.

I also think that using a wheel hoe is the way to go if you can stay on top of it...once the weeds get out of hand its useless..

Off topic..or maybe not because it is about weed control...my plan this year is to plant winter wheat in the spring and then cut beds into it with my tiller. In theory, it will die off in June and leave a nice brown mat that will block weed growth and keep the mud down in the rows. The seeds are not expensive, so you can be generous if broadcasting seed by hand or even with a little 'spinner' (also in the johnny's catalog) and it keeps you safe from the round up risk when using straw. I am told that some of the chemicals used on hay and straw can even persist once it has been composted for several years. Some chemicals can even persist in the manure of animals that have eaten hay that has been treated. As usual, the chemicals have been banned in Europe but are still in use in the US. It starts to make plastic mulch look like a good idea.

[Debbie Lincoln]

www.roguehoe.com/
Look for the "scuffle hoe"... I have one in every size and have given them as gifts, getting rave reviews. WORTH EVERY PENNY. ANd made in AMerica.

[cdmoi]

I love, love, love this hoe I used at a friend's, and she had it made by a local guy many years ago. BUT, now they make one similar and sell it in Johnny's--the long handled cobra hoe, with the single, "finger-like" tip. You can use it to gouge deeply, or turn it sideways to uproot little weed seedlings. I love it as you can really control getting really close to plants without danger of uprooting what you want to keep there.

So, that AND a stirrup hoe, to keep up easily on the rows, etc.

Best-
moi

[dmbenson]

The neighbor's boys

[simplynaturalfarm]

I don't have neighbor's with boys, but that was definitely well worth mentioning *G*