What sort of hoe do I need?

[frankerooney]

Evening all

I have always weeded on my hands and knees but my veg beds are 5 feet wide and my back is suffering so I thought I'd splash out on a hoe . I've looked in a few shops and I think I need the type with a triangular hole? Is that a Dutch hoe? The blade part at the front seems to come in different sizes (some are broader, if you measure from the front edge to the back of the blade) - are these for different purposes? Am I making any sense ? Also are there different qualities? Is it worth paying more for a particular brand?

Any advice appreciated!

frankerooney

[frankerooney]

Sorry everyone, just realised I prob posted my question in the wrong place ...

[Eyren]

Sorry everyone, just realised I prob posted my question in the wrong place ...

No worries - there are so many sections here, it's easy to get lost. The mods can move this thread to "Recommendations" if they think that would be more appropriate.

I use a Wilkinson "swoe", because it came top in a magazine trial. It's a bit like cross between a Dutch hoe with one side of the triangle missing, and a golf club! I like it because the small blade is very easy to manoeuvre between plants, and the aluminium handle makes it very light. It's not cheap, though, so if you're on a limited budget, a regular hoe would do.

[Snadger]

If you still want to do your hoe-ing on your knees an onion hoe is ideal, but like eyren I also use a swoe on occasions.
I prefer to hand weed and my beds are only 4 foot wide (easily reacheable) but I sometimes use the swoe to loosen up the soil around plants to create a dust mulch!

[zazen999]

Swoe for me, esp in the borders where things are planted tighter than at the lottie.

Dutch hoe for the lottie where things are slightly more spaced out.

And I'll move your thread for you!

[Eyren]

I prefer to hand weed and my beds are only 4 foot wide (easily reacheable)

Same here - I use my kirpi weeder for the delicate stuff and hand-weed the little b***ers that decide to grow right next to my veggies' stems

[frankerooney]

Thank you Eyren, Snadger and Andrea. It turns out my Mum hardly uses her hoe so I'm going to borrow it to see how I get on.

[geoff]

If you can afford it, get a Wolf push - pull hoe
If not, get a cheap dutch hoe, possibly from car boot or charity shop, and sharpen the front edge