Do you know why gardeners have knees? To better locate every rock and hard lump in the garden.
Kneeling on a sharp stone while planting or weeding is the garden equivalent of stepping on a Lego. Luckily, I鈥檝e got new tools that make kneeling less painful and weeding less stressful, and I鈥檇 like to share some thoughts about them. Maybe they鈥檒l work for you, too.
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A good gardening tool is worth its weight in well-aged compost. I鈥檓 as frugal as the next gardener, but when it comes to tools, I鈥檝e learned the hard way that you get what you pay for.
Quality tools made of sturdy materials and metal capable of sharpening can last a generation or more. I鈥檝e still got my mom鈥檚 hoe that鈥檚 older than I am, my great-grandmother鈥檚 pitchfork, and of course, Dad鈥檚 trusty shop tools, although their owners have long since passed.
Thankfully, there are new innovations in gardening tools to add to longtime favorites that make gardening, especially weeding, easier and more efficient. Following are new items I鈥檝e added to my gardening toolbox, and so far, I鈥檓 impressed.
Kneeling bench. Like many when we were young, I never thought it would happen to me. But it has, and I can鈥檛 get off the ground from a kneeling position the way I did when I was 18.
Garden kneeling benches, which are available from many local retailers and online, cushion the knees, while the upright sides provide support to boost yourself back up. Most of the kneelers can be flipped over, turning them into a bench for tasks best accomplished sitting, or for resting after a session of brutal weeding.
A Hori-Hori knife is a traditional Japanese gardening knife, and the name means to dig, or dig-dig. I have now replaced my old butcher knife with a Hori-Hori knife, and it鈥檚 tremendous. The knife is serrated on one side, razor-sharp and sturdy enough for digging.
This spring, I used my hori-hori knife to dig perennials needing dividing, cut through the crowns to separate into sections and replant. The blade on the model I bought is inscribed in inches, making it a handy measuring device while planting or cutting.
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A Japanese sickle hand-held weeding hoe is helpful. My favorite precision weeder was a table knife, with which I could weed closely to rows of vegetables or plants in the flower garden. The table knife has now gone back into the silverware drawer, after cleansing, of course, and I have a better weeder, called a Japanese sickle weeder.
The sickle weeder is about 12 inches long and has a sturdy wooden handle to which is attached a curved metal blade coming to a point. It鈥檚 perfect for weeding close to plants more effectively than my table knife.
While on my kneeling bench, I can weed close to vegetable rows or perennials with surgical precision using this handheld tool. Weeds that encroach close to plants require a tool that can accurately target just the weeds.
A long-handled sickle hoe, much like the Japanese handheld model, offers precision weeding while standing. Although standing while weeding might not be as precise as kneeling at ground level, the long-handled version still offers surprising precision.
The small, curved, pointed blade of the sickle hoe reaches closely to plants while removing weeds. For large areas having many plants, this long-handled hoe moves quickly.
A thin, sharp, straight-bladed hoe can skim through the soil, cutting weeds with ease, especially when weeds are just emerging. While a large-bladed, big blocky hoe is perfect for making trenches for seeding vegetables or digging holes to plant tomatoes, they鈥檙e clumsy for weeding.
The curved blade, sickle-type hoes described earlier are ideal for precision weeding, but for large areas, a straight-bladed hoe is perfect, especially if made from quality steel that sharpens readily.
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With care, I鈥檓 hoping my new garden tools will still be in use when the next generation is tackling the weeds that keep all gardeners busy and active.
Do you have a favorite gardening tool? Drop me a line; I'd enjoy hearing from you.
The Trust Project
