I have a narrow leaf rake that's about 9 inches wide. I don't know if that's narrow enough for what you want. They're pretty widely available.

I have a three-pronged cultivator with a long handle that you can use standing up. It doesn't pull the weeds but it loosens nicely. The prongs are strong steel like you'd have on a fork and at a 90º or so angle.

You might be able to find a metal rake that has an adjustment to make it more narrow. I think I have one! We have a small bamboo rake that might have been made for a child that I like to use but it's wider than 9".

My favorite weeder is called a Cape Cod weeder but there are various versions of it. It is L-shaped with a blade. You can hack with it but if the weed doesn't go too deep, you drag it thru the soil so that it can get under the plant. Generally, it can unroot things with trailing roots like witch grass and sorrel. Early in the season when weeds are just starting to sprout, I can take a scuffle hoe thru the rows and around things to loosen the soil and then remove the weeds by hand. If I'm in a rush, I don't bother to remove the weeds.

Thanks, guys. Some of these weeds have deep single taproots that are tough - dandelions and relatives (whoops! I mean relatives of the dandelions, not nasty ol' Uncle Jim) - and I have to dig first then pry to cut through the taproot. Scufflehoe would work on the chickweed which is shallow. The ajuga/bugleweed grows by runners which send down roots at each joint and they don't pull out easily. The crabgrass is also difficult.

And it's hard to get out all the little weeds growing under and between the woody lavender stems and between the iris rhizomes.

What's my problem: am I not mulching enough before the winter or am I just getting weaker?

I have a child's rake that works great between perennials.

I have a small hand rake (for when you are at pla*nt level) that's good for under and between pla*nts, and I just found an adjustable rake that goes from about 12 inches to about 8. I found that at Lowe's about 2 weeks ago - they had it in both a regular length handle and a half-length handle.

For tap-rooted pla*nts we have long-handled (standing height) narrow-forked, stout, sharp implements, sort of like a big screw driver that has been split back about a half inch fastened to a long wooden handle instead of a regular screwdriver handle. Both my husband & I grew up in houses with similar dandelion diggers, so I think they used to be a common implement prior to common use of residential herbicides. They are strong enough to pry and loosen all but the biggest, and sharp enough to cut through the root. I use the first strategy, & DH the second . . . of course each of use thinks our way is more efficient - mine because it allows me to remove the entire plant with a little hand work, his because he repeatedly removes leaves and the top part of the root and hopes to eventually wear out the plant's reserves without ever having to bend over. Regardless, the long handle makes it a lever that requires little force.

I use a scuffle hoe in the morning on a sunny day for areas of bare soi*l (usually two days in a row to be sure I've gotten everything) and the sun finishes what the hoe has started.

I use mulch over paper or cardboard after I've weeded as it really helps keep them from returning so I have less weeding to do, and what is there comes out more easily due to looser, moister soil. Around shrubs and perennials, I have found that I just need to get in there with my hands and occasionally a cheap old kitchen knife that is reserved for gar*den use.

A large screwdriver works well for weeds with tap roots, and some have pretty comfortable handles compared to standard weeders. If I ever see a really long handled one, like nhbabs described, I'll buy it for sure.

I have a tool that is supposed to remove dandelions; it has several nail-like prongs that dig into the soil and clamp together when you step on a lever near the ground. It works well except that the prongs aren't really long enough to get enough of the root, so where I might remove a dandelion this spring, I'll see 3 or 4 crowns next year - all growing from what was left of the root. I only use it when I've gotten too tired of being on my hands and knees.

I've always called it an asparagus fork, though I don't know anybody who has ever used it for asparagus. They are pretty common. As well as using it for digging out dandelions, I also use it to pry bricks out of the dry laid walk.

You're bringing my childhood memories back! Now I remember a long-handled tool with that forked end, that we used for dandelions. That (if I find one) would be OK for open areas such as lawns, but a lot of my weeding is done crawling around under thorny roses and shrubs, and I'll look for a short handled version.

I think I'll have to go back to that great "what tool is this?" thread and follow it to its source manufacturers.

Carol

"I have a tool that is supposed to remove dandelions; it has several nail-like prongs that dig into the soil and clamp together when you step on a lever near the ground. It works well except that the prongs aren't really long enough to get enough of the root, so where I might remove a dandelion this spring, I'll see 3 or 4 crowns next year - all growing from what was left of the root. I only use it when I've gotten too tired of being on my hands and knees."

I have one of those! It definitely doesn't do a perfect job, but it's kind of fun to use. I wish the prongs were longer.

There's nothing more satisfying, if rare, than getting the entire taproot of a weed out.

I have what I think several of you are describing - it's a hand tool, though, not for standing-height use. It's basically a round shaft, with the end flattened, like a screwdriver, and the end has about a half-inch to inch split so it is forked.

I don't use it too much though. What I find most helpful on those tough dandelions and other long-rooted weeds is actually a broken tool. My very favorite three-pronged...thing... I can NEVER remember the name of this darn tool! I just call it a claw, lol. Anyway, it is a hand tool and has three prongs and you use it for cultivating, I suppose. Well, it broke. All that is left is the handle and the main shaft which is/was the middle prong, so it is basically now a hook.

For some reason I never threw it away when it broke - just threw it back in the tool bucket. I've found that it works quite well for digging out those long roots, as well as for weeding between pavers or bricks or rocks, etc.

Maybe you can pick up a used... claw... cheap somewhere (tag sale, etc.) and break off the two outer prongs (which I've found on most claws is usually one, v-shaped piece). I'm really quite surprised at how often I use this old broken tool!

:)
Dee

Dee, good idea. I have 2 claw things that I rarely use. I've been looking around at garden centers for a really narrow and pointed trowel but haven't found one. Instead I've found a lot of suspicious looks meaning "who are you planning to kill?"
So I may have to go online. I want to get one trowel-like pointy digger and gouger so I don't have to keep changing tools as I weed.

Carol

A Cape Cod weeder is pretty close to what you describing. I've also seen weeders that were nothing but a handle attached to a steel rod with a 90° angle near the end, and a point.

A couple of years ago I was given a trowel that is very narrow, pointy and good for actually cutting things. It's not something I would have bought because it's close to $20, which is YIKES for a trowel.

I thought of you, bill ri, when I was in our local feed and grain store looking at garden things. I saw three different tools that are actually called shrub rakes with maybe a 5" spread. One with a telescoping handle was on sale but I thought it felt heavy. Still, if you need a long reach, it looked handy. I almost bought a small shrub rake for myself but I only have a couple of shrubs. Also saw a double pronged fork that looked like it might be good for getting out weeds with a long tap root.