Nothing beats a good Hoe

I don?t know about you but pulling weeds by hand can be brutal, especially if you are not wearing gloves. I?ll never forget my first lessons at pulling weeds, when I inadvertently pulled a weed that cut my hand. (ouch!) I was not wearing gloves and I cut my hand while pulling up weeds. Thank goodness someone invented the hoe back in 2000 BCE.

Despite our garage being filled with the basic garden hand tools, including a shovel, rake and an old hoe. I couldn?t use the old hoe because the head flies off the wooden stick and it?s a pain to try and work with a broken hoe. However since I purchased the Ames Forged Garden Hoe at a garage sale last year, I used it several times without the head becoming loose or coming off.

Right now it?s grass-cutting season, and with the high grass comes the weeds. Using a hoe to pull weeds is a lot easier and faster than doing it by hand. I currently use the Ames Forged Garden Hoe two to four times a month.

The Ames Forged Garden Hoe can be used for cultivating and weeding depending upon your particular garden task. The hoe has a socket shape 52-inch wooden handle attached to a transverse blade.

Perhaps I?m a bit heavy handed when using my hoe; there are times when I have to literally put my back into it, just for the blade to really catch hold of the dirt.

It?s not recommended that you choke up on the wood handle, actually most Gardner?s suggest standing tall while breaking up clods of dirt, however when the blade became dirty I could not adequately use it unless I held both hands closer to the blade. I definitely recommend keeping the blade clean, and also when using keep your legs slightly bent and allow your arms to pull in when swinging the hoe.

My only real problem with the Ames Forged Garden Hoe is that the wooden handle does not do a good job of absorbing the impact of shock of hitting the ground. Since the Hoe has a wooden varnished handle I recommend wearing gloves when using it so you will avoid friction blisters, trust me the last thing your mate wants to have rub them are hands blistered by a hoe. There are foam pieces that you can purchase at your local hardware store that you can buy for your wooden handle.

By regular hoeing with the Ames Forged Garden Hoe I?ve established and effective and fairly quick method of keeping the front and back yard free of weeds. My hoe cuts through the weeds' leafy growth cutting off the weed in midstream just above the soils surface.

The best time to use your hoe is on a dry day when the weeds will quickly wilt and die as you skim just below the soil surface and cut the weeds in half. If you can take the heat, you?ll be amazed how fast the weeds wilt when the suns beaming down on them. Plus this will help kill the annual as well as the perennial weeds. However, to really get rid of the perennial weeds for good, you?ll have to get to the root of the problem and dig up the roots.

The Ames Forged Garden Hoe in my opinion is a great basic hoe and it?s excellent at getting at the surface of weeds.

The Ames Forged Garden Hoe is like any tool. Cared for properly and used wisely, it can make the job of weeding and cultivating easy, safe and enjoyable.

Remember, your tools will serve you best if you keep them in good condition. Make sure that you clean all the extra soil that has accumulated on your hoe when you put it away at the end of each day you use it.

Trust me, dry hardened soil is much harder to get off of your hoe than fresh soil. To clean Ames Forged Garden Hoe simply rinse it off under the hose then use a damp cloth, and make sure it?s dry.


Ginahill and ed-grover have co-hosted this Gardening Write-off to welcome in the growing season. Please take some time and read the wonderful contributions made by the Epinions writers listed below.

aashtech, AdaDavis, ariel10575, artbyjude, BadKitty, BeeCharmer, bluehawq , bluekennedy, BonnieSayers, brendametcalf, ed_grover, Deaser26, disartain, donnamr, donnie013, dramastef, ed_grover, Elsa70, Epinionsuser, Frazzledspice, GinaHill, hadassahchana, lkvanvoorhis, jankp, jkkelley, joydrop26, jro26 , LadyCynic, ledomaine, LRGuis, MaryTara, Michiman1, MrCalcul8r, MrsNormanMaine, MumMumMum, Naphtalia, nifer, patsyv, Pogomom, Psychovant, purplewiz, sherrylee, skbreese, Susiedee34, Vormancian, Willeftk