Sammy, for small weeds or seedlings I either hand pull or use a long handled nejiri gama hoe. It slices the weeds at the top. I'd like to get a hori hori, too; it's a weeding knife for cutting deep weeds.

My best tool is cardboard and mulch, though for early spring when the weeds are everywhere. After that I use the hoe and handpull.

You're right, none of it is easy. :)

I came across a gadget last year that I like for tap roots..it's the traditional fork type thing but it has a curved piece of metal along the handle that you use to rock the tap root, for leverage. I got it at K-mart, but it had a sears label on it, (i know they joined stores), so maybe Sears carries it, too....really handy little thing...Donna

Here is a link that might be useful: tool

Sammy, I use the hori hori to get at deep rooted weeds. (Hida, the store in Berkeley where I get that tool and many others is online, just google it. I also get the hori hori as gifts for other gardening friends), hulu hoop, fork, hand spade and my own hands). I do mulch and it helps keep weeds down, but that **!!## grass never dies.

Roundup.

I have several tools, including the one pictured above that I got a few years ago in Atlanta at the Southeastern Flower show annual thingie. There are always vendors there with new products from new and/or wanna-be inventors and I have found that a very good place to shop for weeding tools. If you ever get a chance to attend, by all means do and pick up some of the gadgets that are so handy. Some of them never make it to the mainstream which really should but I guess so few people are interested in weeding that there is not a big demand for them.

For tap rooted weeds such as dandelions, you can't beat the one you push into the ground with your foot then twist and pop out the weed, root and all. No bending! Although with the amount of rain we've had, I've been able to pull even dandelions out with my bare hands.

For individual weeds, I sit on the ground and either hand pull or use my hand claw to dig them out. Large swaths of weeds, I use the hoe flat end. I have a lot of poanna and it's usually easy to pull, but if there's a lot I just scrape it up and put it in a black plastic bag to cook and then the compost pile.

Along with mulch, there are a lot of good weed suppressors like Preen that work very well. If I'm doing a new bed or putting down new mulch, I put it down and it does help. Getting to the weeds before they go to seed is key too.

bluesibe, thank you for mentioning Hida, great website and I'm looking forward to visiting in person so I can experience the tools and compare their weight. Best source I've ever seen for long loppers, Thanks so much! Can't wait to check it out and go shopping!

The Martha Stewart tool from KMart.
It's shaped like a question mark, sort of, and DH scoffed when I bought one. He liked it so much he bought two more, and all the handles are no longer MSgreen but vibrant neon colors so they are harder to use.
There are more expensive versions out there, there's one at the pricey -&- store (whose name escapes me) and its handle is six inches longer.
Have MS tools survived the KMart/sears/permutations? I don't know, but these are worth watching for.

The main thing is to buy something that fits you. Not that fits Peggy's six foot three inch husband. The tool that's ballanced for him, doesn't fit her. Finding handles that fit your hands is part one; finding lenghts that are ballanced for your height is part two.

Thank you so much. I am starting a list right now.

Duchesse, I need to look up those tools. If you just cut off the weed at the top, will it come right back? I wonder that about the dandelions. If I don't get it all, but it breaks from about 4 inches or more into the ground, and if I add mulch, will it come back? I have always thought it would since the mulch makes weeding easier, but certainly does not stop the weeds.

Donna, I am going to pursue that as soon as I send this. I don't want to lose my reply when I go to another site. The deep roots are one of the things that drive me crazy.

Bluesibe, I have never heard of a hulu hoop. I will pursue it also. We have bermuda grass, and I really hate it.

Greybird, I always use Round Up, but not in the beds and not too close to them. The drift is scarey. I hate to try to decide if a distorted branch is RRD or Round Up damage.

Patricia, I wonder at times if we would have more tools, if there were more gardeners. It is so hard to look at tools in a store, and think about how much you need them, and where you will store them. I am trying to find a way to rotate from standing to my knees and back without hurting myself. Presently I am doing the knee pad way too much.

Buford, you put me to shame since I don't have a compost pile. You say you use Preen, but do you compost areas that have Preen? I am afraid that Preen will discourage seeds even after it is composted. That thing you push into the ground is on my must have list. Not only are dandelions just terrible, but so is some tree we have here. It has very very deep roots, and is just awful to get out of the ground.

Ann, I will check the Martha Stewart website. I do like to look at her products. Frankly it is hard for me to believe that she really gets out and does any dirty work anymore, but I do think that she looks for the best tools possible. I am curious about the question mark thingy. Thanks.

Sammy

sammy, I never thought about preen in the compost pile. I really only use it when doing a 'new' bed. In fact, I'm doing one today. I have some stuff planted in this bed, but I'm taking a lot of the stuff out, tilling in amendments and planting about a dozen roses I have in pots. So I will put down preen before the mulch. I don't really grow anything from seed, so I'm not really concerned if the preen gets in the compost and in other beds (preen just prevents seed germination, it's not an herbicide like round up). And I think it would be inert by then. But moving into new construction 9 years ago, I've learned that the beds will have weeds in them unless you either plant something else on every inch of the ground, or suppress them. I'm way too lazy to take up the mulch every year, so I don't use the preen a lot, but each bed I have used it on has less weeds than before.

The dandelions are really bad this year. I must have at least a hundred. I'm trying to get rid of them before the seeds come out. But the flowers are so pretty! I think all the rain this year brought them out.

Now I am feeling confused--Buford, I just mulched a bed and put down Preen on top of the new mulch. I remember double checking on the bottle to see if they recommended applying the Preen before or after mulching, and it said after. Is there a reason you apply under the mulch?

Sammy, I knew I said it wrong. What I meant was that I use the hoe to slice the small weeds and seedlings that have germinated at the top of the soil, getting their small roots out. The hoe slices the roots, not the top of the weeds.

These are the weeds I have in my beds, those that germinate on top of the mulch. Fescue dies when covered so it doesn't generally grow through the cardboard/mulch, except at the edges of the beds and then I use a small trencher to cut a line.

The deep rooted weeds are the dandelions, etc. that are in the grass. I can handpull them now just like buford said because it is so wet right now.

We have one of those weeders that donnaz has that I used last year for tough deep rooted weeds, and I like it fine. If my kids ever ask me what I want for mother's day, though, I'm going to tell them a hori hori. I think it would be very useful.

1. My gloved hand while the soil is still damp and soft.
2. A small, light, long-handled pony shovel with a rounded point for carrot-rooted weeds. I make a circuit to do the whole garden at one time. Someone has a fiberglass trenching shovel that is light as feather, but I've never found one in a store.
3. Hori hori (but it cuts drip line like butter).
4. A single chop stick for weeds in awkward locations within plants or in rose pots.
5. A garden mattock with a short fiberglass handle.

Sammy, I tried to do a Google search for hulu hoop, but it didn't come up. If I remember, I will take a picture of it. We use these at Dirt Days, trust Greg to have good tools. I know that Paula and I both have one.
It has a long handle and a u-shaped tool with a blade across the bottom. It cuts the weeds at surface level. Great for clearing a bed.
Carol

Hound Hog. http://www.hound-dog.com/weed_hound.htm

I meant to say Weed hound, I don't know why I said Hound hog.. sorry.

ooops, it's the hula hoe. Below is from Amazon, but it gives you the idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: hula hoe

odyssey, Thanks for letting me know that. I just bought a new container of preen and I'm reading the label now. You are right, it says to apply it over the mulch, then water it in or rake it into the mulch. I guess so it can block any weeds that grow in the mulch? I've had success with it under mulch, but it's been a few years since I've used it. If it does work through mulch then I can use it on my existing beds. Yipee.

I detest bending down - old age pouch - so I found a long handled version of the two prong fork on a narrow shovel handle (light weight), perfect for me.

Best weeder I've owned in mmmmff years I got at Armstrong's a long time ago. I looked for a pic for this thread and found it's called a Cape Cod Weeder. Mine is around 18-20" long, don't get a short one as the reach is not just ergonomic, but useful under rose bushes. The ergonomic part that works best for me is that you pull the weed instead of push, which my back appreciates MUCH more. If you look around you can find lefty versions.

Horizontally, it works great to cut the root at ground level for dandilion and bluegrass type weeds. For grassy, deep rooted weeds, it works great vertically by putting the pointed end directly into the dirt on the other side of the weed from you and pulling.

Here's a link so you can see a pic, I've never ordered from them. Mine has a short loop of cord on the end which is also very handy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cape Cod Weeder

Here's a pic of the nejiri gama weeder; I get the long handled one to reach under bushes. It looks sort of like the cape code weeder, but the blades look different. I use the pointed end to dig as well, if I'm planting something small.

Here is a link that might be useful: long handled nejiri gama hoe