Gardening Tools: Hoes

As you prepare your garden for the winter, now is a good time to gather up all of your gardening tools. This is the time to clean, sharpen, and oil them, so they will be ready to be put back to work when the new season begins. In addition, you should also take inventory and decide if perhaps there are some new tools you might like to add to your collection. Some gardening centers and especially hardware stores often have some of their gardening tools on sale at the end of the season, which means you can even save some money while adding to your collection. [You might also be interested in Gardening Tools for Digging.] Among the types of tools in which you might be interested are hoes. Most hoes are made to be used for weeding; i.e., slicing the weeds off just below the ground level; however, there are others that are made for digging as well. Following are just a few of the types of hoes from which you can choose:

American pattern hoe. This is the hoe that most gardeners use. It has a broad, flat blade about 6 inches long and 4 inches wide.

Onion hoe. This one is similar to the American pattern; although, the onion hoe has a longer and narrower blade. You can cover a little more ground with this hoe than you can with the American pattern hoe; although, it is not useful between narrow rows, such as are found in most vegetable gardens.

Swan-neck hoe. The curved neck on this hoe allows you to sit the blade flat on the ground without having to bend over any to use it, which is great for your back.

Eye hoe. The blade on this hoe is longer and narrower than found on the hoes that have been previously mentioned. This will work better between those narrow rows in your vegetable garden. In addition, it is sometimes used for digging grubs, hence another name for it -- grub hoe.

Floral hoe. The blade is somewhere between the size of the American pattern hoe and the onion hoe. Go ahead and feel free to use it in your flower beds.

Heart-shaped hoe. If you grow tired of pulling a hoe through the weeds, grab a heart-shaped hoe and push your way through. This hoe was specifically designed to be pushed rather than pulled. (You can pull it if you want, however.)

Scuffle hoe. This hoe is also sometimes called a hula. It features an oblong metal hoop that is hinged in order for it to be able to move back and forth, cutting the weeds as you push and pull it through the weeds.

Warren hoe. This hoe has a pointed blade and is perfect for digging planting furrows.

Weeding hoe. This hoe might remind you a bit of a long-handled mattock. The flat-bladed end is good for pulling through the weeds. The other end, which has two prongs, is perfect for pulling up stubborn weeds or weeds with long tap roots.

Whenever you do buy gardening tools, buy good quality, heavy-duty tools. They may be a bit more expensive, but they will serve you better in the long run. For example, I once had a weeding hoe that was not of the best quality. It lasted about a week and literally bit the dust when I brought it down with some force. The prongs bent on a wayward rock that I happened to hit. Learned my lesson, and I now use a heavy-duty weeding hoe. It has saved me a lot of time and actually a lot of money, as well. (I do not have to keep replacing it.) You may also find, depending upon what type of gardening you do, that you need more than one type of hoe. Use the winter months as the time to add whatever hoes you need to your collection of gardening tools.

References:
Roth, Susan A. New Complete Guide to Gardening. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Books, 1997.

McGroarty, Michael J. Choosing a Garden Hoe.