Half-moon shovel. I got mine at K-Mart, just becase the size and hand grip was right. (Thanks, Martha!)

I keep a low wide bucket on hand to dump the edgings into, then haul those off to the compost bin, or spots that need to be filled. I work over a small section at a time, as I have carpal tunnel problems. It's kind of a pleasant little gardening chore. Just be sure the soil isn't real dry. The difference between working in properly moist soil and dry soil is vast. If it's been dry, I just water the night before.

We own a gas-powered edger, which I think does an Ok job, but dear husband has to start the thing for me, and I can't use it for long because of vibrations. Dear husband didn't bother to start it the past two years, and I'm not going to nag him. So, I bought the half-moon edger, and have been very pleased. Maybe the gas edger can go in next year's rummage?

Happy gardening,
cantstop

A Weed trimmer, turned upside-down, cuts vertically. That's how I do it... Dave

gardenlady...I use an edging shovel for perfect edges. To keep the grass trimmed I use the same technic as Dave.

{{gwi:293687}}

Why don't weeds grow in the ditch you make while edging?

A few do. Dandelions mostly, as they blow in easily. But, since the soil isn't being stirred, the seeds down below stay below, the only ones available to sprout are those that blow in, are dropped in. And it's easy to get those the next time the edge gets refreshed, or they are easy to spot and pull. Especially after a rain :-)

I use a weed trimmer turned vertically also. A high powered Shindawa, which I'm sure I'm not spelling right. It has enough power to cut a trench!
But, I'm unhappy with the look. There are wobbles in my sweeping curves and some day, I will edge everything with either bricks or cobblestones so the sweeping curves are perfect.

I do trench out everything about once a year with a shovel. I have large beds so I use the pull cart attached to the mower and throw the dirt in there. Then I can haul it off.

I use a weedwhacker with edging options. The first couple of times I tried to edge it was TOTAL DISASTER, my lawn was a total eyesore for weeks (looked like a barber gave a haircut with his eyes closed) Now, I've mastered the tricks and have lovely edges all around. It was well worth it.