Post a reply

Team Hand Weed, or Team Tool Weed?

By Trish
August 7, 2011

There's no question - we gardeners must weed if we want gardens. The question is: Are you on Team Hand-weed or Team Tool-Weed?

[View the item]

Image
Aug 9, 2011 11:47 AM CST
Name: Toni
Denver Metro (Zone 5a)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Salvias Garden Procrastinator Irises I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Charter ATP Member Xeriscape Region: Colorado Roses Cat Lover The WITWIT Badge
holy crap.. that's not a weed, that's a tree!!! wow!!
Roses are one of my passions! Just opened, my Etsy shop (to fund my rose hobby)! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tweet...
Image
Aug 9, 2011 12:06 PM CST
Garden.org Admin
Name: Trish
Grapevine, TX (Zone 8a)
I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar Charter ATP Member Region: Texas Roses Herbs Vegetable Grower
Composter Canning and food preservation Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle Organic Gardener Forum moderator Hummingbirder
Our oldest son asked for a "garden tool that we don't have" for his birthday. Dave looks at me with a mix of excitement/confusion/panic and says "there's one we don't have??".

Rolling on the floor laughing
NGA COO, Wife, Mom, and do-er of many fun things.
Image
Aug 9, 2011 1:14 PM CST
Name: Dahlianut
Calgary, AB Zone 3a
NE Alumni
Garden Ideas: Level 2 Charter ATP Member Seed Starter Region: Canadian Irises Daylilies
Lilies Bulbs Garden Art Birds Hummingbirder Region: Northeast US
Rolling on the floor laughing
Image
Aug 9, 2011 1:29 PM CST
Name: Larry Rettig
South Amana, IA (Zone 5a)
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge) Foliage Fan Cottage Gardener Tip Photographer Composter
Organic Gardener Charter ATP Member Garden Photography Houseplants Hybridizer Cat Lover
Rolling on the floor laughing

Trish, please tell Dave that anecdote made my day! Thanks for passing it along.
Gardener was the label imprinted on me when the souls were handed out and so be it. --Margaret Roach (Thank you, Sharon!) Notes from the Garden: Articles of interest on all aspects of gardening
Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos!
Image
Aug 9, 2011 1:34 PM CST
Name: Larry Rettig
South Amana, IA (Zone 5a)
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge) Foliage Fan Cottage Gardener Tip Photographer Composter
Organic Gardener Charter ATP Member Garden Photography Houseplants Hybridizer Cat Lover
Renée, I was going to post a photo of the trowel as well, but couldn't find the brand name. It's not on the trowel itself, and I went through a bazillion Google hits for "garden trowel" with no luck. I know that I ordered it online and thought I had bookmarked the site, but struck out there as well. I'll keep trying.
Gardener was the label imprinted on me when the souls were handed out and so be it. --Margaret Roach (Thank you, Sharon!) Notes from the Garden: Articles of interest on all aspects of gardening
Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos!
Image
Aug 9, 2011 3:45 PM CST
Name: Rick Corey
Everett WA 98204 (Zone 8a)
Sunset Zone 5. Koppen Csb. Eco 2f
Frugal Gardener Garden Procrastinator I helped beta test the first seed swap Plant and/or Seed Trader Seed Starter Region: Pacific Northwest
Photo Contest Winner: 2014 Avid Green Pages Reviewer Garden Ideas: Master Level Garden Sages I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! I helped plan and beta test the plant database.
If you or a neighbor have an angle grinder, or even a bench grinder or belt sander, you can put an edge or serrated edge on anything. Then touch it up with a triangular file.

Goodwill sells used knives for 69 cents - the older, the better the steel and the beefier the handle. Grind a "Vee" into the tip of an old butcher knife or carver. Re-sharpen or serrate the existing edge ... weeds will flee in panic as you brandish it at them!

Corey
Avatar for KyWoods
Aug 9, 2011 5:04 PM CST
Name: Renée
Northern KY
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Kentucky Cat Lover Dog Lover Sempervivums
Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge)
Thanks for the info, Rick, that is an economical idea.
I did find this serrated trowel, but wow, it's pricey! Would this be the one you have, Larry?
http://about.pricegrabber.com/...
Image
Aug 9, 2011 5:17 PM CST
Name: Emily
Mid-Cape Cod, MA. zone 7a
Charter ATP Member
Like many others who have already replied to this, I favor hand-weeding--maybe about 80% vs. 20% team-hand vs. team-tool. On a pleasant summer day I like nothing better than to sit on my plastic garden seat and hand-weed my flower beds for ah hour or two, especially when it's rained previously during the night so the soil is soft! That's the IDEAL anyway and sometimes it even happens! Generally I end up kneeling in the dirt, but it feels good.

Then there's the less-ideal part of weeding: trying to eradicate stubborn weeds lurking underneath my veggies, or those zillions of agastache hyssop seedlings that keep popping up, orlow-lying These need a a long-handled hoe to reach them and pull them or "scuffle" them up.

I've also noticed that my choice of hand vs. tool depends a lot on circumstance. Say I'm just going out to get the mail from the box, and I see a giant new weed poking up amongst the flowers. I take one second to reach down to pull it, and then notice that Mr. Weed has a lot of siblings and soon I'm squatting down to yank them all out, usually in inappropriate garb, without gardening gloves, and in good shoes! The efficient thing might have been to go get my scuffle-hoe out of the garden shed (and change my clothes) but the thing about my hands is that they're always attached and ready to go! And yanking out a particularly robust weed by hand feels so satisfying!
Image
Aug 9, 2011 5:44 PM CST
Name: Debra
Garland, TX (NE Dallas suburb) (Zone 8a)
Rescue dogs: Angels with paws needi
Dragonflies Dog Lover Bookworm I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Photography Bee Lover
Plays in the sandbox Butterflies Region: Texas Garden Sages I sent a postcard to Randy! Charter ATP Member
Emily, I do that, too, usually right after getting home from work. "Just going to take a walk around the yard to see what's going on." An hour later...well, let's say it's a good thing most of my clothes do not require dry cleaning and that clay mud can be wiped off leather. Big Grin
It’s okay to not know all the answers.
Image
Aug 9, 2011 8:51 PM CST
Garden.org Admin
Name: Trish
Grapevine, TX (Zone 8a)
I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar Charter ATP Member Region: Texas Roses Herbs Vegetable Grower
Composter Canning and food preservation Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle Organic Gardener Forum moderator Hummingbirder
I resemble these comments. Big Grin
NGA COO, Wife, Mom, and do-er of many fun things.
Image
Aug 9, 2011 8:58 PM CST
Name: Larry Rettig
South Amana, IA (Zone 5a)
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge) Foliage Fan Cottage Gardener Tip Photographer Composter
Organic Gardener Charter ATP Member Garden Photography Houseplants Hybridizer Cat Lover
Renée, that's the one! But there are less pricy models:
http://www.oxo.com/p-209-gel-e...
http://www.kmart.com/oxo-gel-4...
http://www.tibesti.com/SearchM...)

One of the websites has posted a note saying the manufacturing of this trowel has been discontinued. That's too bad, because this is the best trowel I've ever had in my 50-some years of gardening, Sad
Gardener was the label imprinted on me when the souls were handed out and so be it. --Margaret Roach (Thank you, Sharon!) Notes from the Garden: Articles of interest on all aspects of gardening
Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens: Come on in and take the tour! Check out the photos!
Image
Aug 10, 2011 4:55 AM CST
Name: Dahlianut
Calgary, AB Zone 3a
NE Alumni
Garden Ideas: Level 2 Charter ATP Member Seed Starter Region: Canadian Irises Daylilies
Lilies Bulbs Garden Art Birds Hummingbirder Region: Northeast US
I oft show up at places with dirt on my toes and dirt under my nails. On that short walk through the garden I usually slip off my feetswear and pull a few weeds, deadhead and poke my fingers in the soil to check moisure and then go on about to where I'm going. The BEST was once when I was in a restaurant and a lady from the next table leaned over and said 'My dear we gardeners wear our soil proudly' and showed me her hands. She had dirt on her too Lovey dubby
Image
Aug 10, 2011 7:58 AM CST
Name: Debra
Garland, TX (NE Dallas suburb) (Zone 8a)
Rescue dogs: Angels with paws needi
Dragonflies Dog Lover Bookworm I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Photography Bee Lover
Plays in the sandbox Butterflies Region: Texas Garden Sages I sent a postcard to Randy! Charter ATP Member
Smiling
It’s okay to not know all the answers.
Avatar for KyWoods
Aug 10, 2011 8:21 AM CST
Name: Renée
Northern KY
Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Kentucky Cat Lover Dog Lover Sempervivums
Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge)
LOL Yep, it seems that no matter how vigorously I scrub with the nail brush, I can never get it all out. Oh, well, I was never meant to have beautiful hands, just hands that nurture beauty. Smiling
Image
Aug 10, 2011 11:32 AM CST
Name: Angie
Concord, NC (zone 7)
I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Charter ATP Member Region: North Carolina Daylilies Roses Clematis
Butterflies Cat Lover Birds Hummingbirder Seed Starter
I'm a hand-weeder from way back! Must have inherited it from my mother, who loves to weed more than anyone I ever knew. Occasionally I'll use a tool if it's a stubborn or deeply rooted one, but my hands are my best tools.
I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day. ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

Image
Aug 10, 2011 2:06 PM CST
Name: Toni
Denver Metro (Zone 5a)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
Birds Garden Ideas: Master Level Salvias Garden Procrastinator Irises I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Charter ATP Member Xeriscape Region: Colorado Roses Cat Lover The WITWIT Badge
Roses are one of my passions! Just opened, my Etsy shop (to fund my rose hobby)! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Tweet...
Avatar for Dutchlady1
Aug 10, 2011 6:56 PM CST

Plumerias Photo Contest Winner: 2015 Charter ATP Member I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Garden Ideas: Master Level Forum moderator
Region: Florida Cat Lover Garden Sages Cactus and Succulents Tropicals Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle
Hand weeder. I have tools handy but I end up pulling most things by hand. I like my little trident trowel for loosening up the soil in between pulling.
Image
Aug 10, 2011 7:26 PM CST
Name: Holly
South Central Pa
Region: Mid-Atlantic Charter ATP Member Greenhouse I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Region: Pennsylvania Tropicals
Ponds Hummingbirder Birds Butterflies Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Garden Ideas: Master Level
Definitely a hand weeder. I do 90 % of my gardening on my knees. I have a really nice hoe that I just love but hardly ever use. My digging knife is the most used tool I own.
Life is Great! Holly
Please visit me and learn more about My Life on the Water a Personal Journey Thread in the MidAtlanticMusings Cubit.
http://cubits.org/MidAtlanticM...
Image
Jun 30, 2013 8:01 AM CST
Name: Jean
Hot Springs Vlg, AR, DeLand, F
Daylilies Region: Florida Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Garden Ideas: Master Level
I'm definitely a hand weeder and although our "yard guy" has offered to weed, I politely tell him, "No thanks," especially after he decapitated my redbud tree! Although after a day of weeding, my fingers are really stiff, I still enjoy the time in the garden, no matter what I am doing.
Any day you wake up on the sunny side of the grass is a good day.

"The moving hand writes and having writ moves on. Neither all thy piety nor all thy wit can lure it back to cancel half a line nor all thy tears wash out a word of it." The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam
Image
Jul 1, 2013 7:20 AM CST
Garden.org Admin
Name: Trish
Grapevine, TX (Zone 8a)
I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar Charter ATP Member Region: Texas Roses Herbs Vegetable Grower
Composter Canning and food preservation Hosted a Not-A-Raffle-Raffle Organic Gardener Forum moderator Hummingbirder
It is definitely dangerous to let someone else weed your garden, especially if you let things freely reseed!
NGA COO, Wife, Mom, and do-er of many fun things.

You must first create a username and login before you can reply to this thread.
Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )

Today's site banner is by RootedInDirt and is called "Botanical Gardens"

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.