I love my pollinator garden, but boy do I hate weeding it. In my front yard, I removed all the grass and am slowly planting native plants and perennials that benefit pollinators. After a few years of hard work, it’s filling in nicely, but there are still some bare areas I need to root out.
Hand weeding is always an option, but just thinking about it makes me not want to set foot in the garden. I’m a very laid back gardener and really prefer my garden beds to take care of themselves. That said, there are still patches to manage. If you are like me, then I am changing your life by introducing it to you the best weed tool on the market: the hoe stirrer.
The agitator hoe, or action hoe, is a fast and efficient weeding tool. Action hoes, like this one from Craftsman, can be found at Lowe’s or your local garden centre. (You might even find one at a garage sale or thrift store!) The long handle means you don’t have to bend over and hurt your back or hurt your knees to get the job done. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of this great weed tool.
Benefits of using a hoe stirrer
(Image: Craftsman)
I’ve seen stirrup ladders in hardware stores all my life, but never paid them any attention. As with many other handy tools, unless you see someone using one or talking about it, you might just overlook it entirely.
As a child of the 90s, I grew up bombarded with ads for all the latest and greatest chemical weed killers. A stirrup hoe might as well have been an artifact in a farm museum! I quickly jumped on this idea when I saw how fast and effective it was weed control it could be with the help of an agitator hoe.
Agitator hoes, also called action hoes, crimp hoes or hoes, work by cutting weeds at the root, below the top layer of soil. A long handle, like this one 54 inch Craftsman Clip Hoe from Lowe’s, means you can get up to do all your weeding. The steel loop is sturdy and long-lasting, and the anti-vibration handle does not tire your hand.
Selection of ergonomic gardening tools it’s a great way to prevent injury in the garden and means less time on your hands and knees hand weeding.
How to use a stirrup hoe
(Image: Craftsman)
Agitator hoes consist of a long handle and a metal loop at the business end. Push and pull the loop across your garden bed and it removes weeds from the soil as easily as shaving hair off a leg. These standup weeders are a great gardening tool to add to your collection and make weeding fun!
Agitator hoes work best on smaller weeds that cover large areas of ground. Weeds are always easier to pull when they are young and in their early stages of growth. Unfortunately, agitator hoes don’t work on rooted weeds like dandelions, but a standup weeder like Grampa’s Weeder from Amazon is one editors’ favorite to deal with them.
I can’t wait to start my weeding now. I’ll even use my new stirrer hoe to remove the little black-eyed Susan sprouts that have self-seeded, so I have room for another native plant or two. Happy weeding!
