How to Select Garden Hoes for Gardening Tasks

With a little help from us, choose the right garden hoes for nearly effortless weed control.

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Depending on the job, garden hoes come with multiple head shapes. From left: a pistol grip allows for more push-pull power when using a scuffle hoe; this triangle shaped scuffle hoe is sharp on all edges; the Winged Weeder comes in several sizes; stirrup hoes can quickly cultivate large areas.
Depending on the job, garden hoes come with multiple head shapes. From left: a pistol grip allows for more push-pull power when using a scuffle hoe; this triangle shaped scuffle hoe is sharp on all edges; the Winged Weeder comes in several sizes; stirrup hoes can quickly cultivate large areas.
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From left; the collinear draw hoe is good for weeding in tight places; a swan-neck, half-moon draw hoe cuts only on the pull (or draw) action of the hoe; a circle draw hoe works especially well in close quarters; the Warren hoe is capable of tackling tough weeds; this sturdy, multipurpose field hoe handles small and large weeds and excels at trenching or hilling dirt.
From left; the collinear draw hoe is good for weeding in tight places; a swan-neck, half-moon draw hoe cuts only on the pull (or draw) action of the hoe; a circle draw hoe works especially well in close quarters; the Warren hoe is capable of tackling tough weeds; this sturdy, multipurpose field hoe handles small and large weeds and excels at trenching or hilling dirt.

Anthropologists often say that humankind went “from bow to hoe” when switching from hunting and gathering to growing food. Garden hoes were probably the first gardening tools, made from sticks, antlers, bone and stone. Then as now, hoes were indispensable for shaping soil and controlling weeds. Every gardener needs at least one good hoe, and most serious gardeners use several. Hoes vary in the types of work they are designed to do, so the challenge is to choose the best hoes for the tasks that await in your garden. For a chart of which hoes work best for which tasks, check out Choose the Right Hoe for the Job.

Sizing Up Handles

A hoe is comprised of a head — of which there are several major variations, discussed below — and a handle. The handle can be made of wood, metal or fiberglass. Although most handles are straight, push-pull scuffle hoes may include a second “pistol grip” on the handle for easier operation.

The length of a hoe’s handle should correspond to both the nature and duration of its use. If you have many rows to weed in a large garden, a long-handled hoe you can use in an upright position will save time and muscle strain. On the other hand, if your garden is a small collection of intensively managed raised beds, you may find you prefer the more detailed weeding job you can do with a short-handled hoe. Many of the hoe heads described here are available mounted on short- and long-handled hoes. Artisan toolmakers, such as leftyfriendly Red Pig tools in Oregon and Rogue Hoe in Missouri, make state-of-the-art hoes (and “hand plows”) with 12-inch handles. Among long-handled hoes, handle length ranges from 55 to 60 inches for hoes you’d use when bending over, to 74 inches for hoes you’d use while standing up. Tall people should opt for the longest handle available. For folks of average height, a 65-inch handle offers good balance and grip.

With hard-to-weed carrots, beets and onions, you can often do a better job using a short-handled tool than you can using a hoe with a long handle. Some diversity in the handle lengths of your hoes is obviously in order.

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