Tackling Weeds and Saving Your Back

In the Mid-Atlantic region where I live, we have had quite a bit of rain and the resulting emergence of weeds overnight has been overwhelming.  I see the weeds pop up in open mulched areas as well as close to the base of established plants (hard to get to) and between pavers. Weeding can be a break-backing garden chore which would require me to get down on my hands and knees and pluck out each weed; Or armed with a Swoe, it can be considerably easier on the body and much faster.

An ingenious tool, lighter and easier to manipulate than a traditional hoe, a Swoe is simply an angled, beveled, stainless steel blade mounted on a hardwood or metal handle. Sharp and incredibly efficient at cutting weeds below the surface of the soil, you use a push and pull  movement to remove weeds from large swaths of ground quickly. You are basically skimming the surface of the soil or mulch to remove weeds.  Narrow enough to get around tricky/tight  areas like the base of plants, I can quickly remove the weeds from a garden bed in a fraction of time that it would take for me to remove by hand.  And I can swoe single handedly.

Another tool that I use is the stirrup hoe or triangle hoe. The same motion cuts of the weed tops below the soil. The triangle hoe can be a bit more cumbersome to use, and requires both hands, so I prefer the Swoe.

A side benefit of using a Swoe, is that it loosens the soil surface to allow better rain penetration and aeration.

Turning the Swoe on its side, I can quickly edge a bed from encroaching vining weeds and use the tip to insert between pavers to cut the weeds off. Precise, but lethal, the Swoe is my favorite garden tool.

Save your back and get a Swoe!

White Flower Farm has a good video on the use of a Swoe.

Go to this link to buy your Swoe from Amazon. I get a small commission from each purchase.