The fork tip hoe is an excellent garden tool that can help you weed, cultivate, and transplant. It can also help you loosen soil and break up large lumps of soil that are difficult to work with.
A fork tip hoe is ideal for removing dandelions and other weeds that have deeper roots that are too tough to be removed by a regular hoe. It can also help create channels for drainage and reduce soil erosion.
1. Collinear Hoe
A collinear hoe is a great tool for removing weeds in a low-lying crop or around a bed that’s filled with small plants. Its long handle is held fairly upright and a thin blade scrapes just under the surface of the soil, Gardening Know How notes.
Collinear hoes are excellent weeders because they can quickly dislodge weeds without harming your crops or leaving a mess of soil behind. They also have a unique ergonomic design that makes weeding much easier on your back.
Unlike the stirrup hoe, this style of hoe has a blade that’s attached directly to the handle, which reduces the risk of back strain. The loop-shaped blade is sharpened on all sides and glides through the soil to dislodge small weeds.
2. Potato Fork
The potato fork is a small gardening tool used to break ground, cultivate soil, and turn compost. It is also commonly used to lift potatoes out of the ground without damaging them.
Unlike garden forks, which have four long tines, a potato fork is designed to break up, mix, and aerate soil. It also works well for digging and harvesting root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and onions.
This type of fork is often sold under the name spading fork or scoop-shaped fork, but they are actually meant to lever root crops out of the soil rather than dig them. It’s not a good idea to use this tool in clay or hard soils, but it can help you turn compost and aerate lighter soil types.
3. CobraHead
The CobraHead is an old-fashioned, revolutionary tool that uses a unique blade shape to easily cut through soil. It’s effective at removing weeds and roots from hard soils and can even be used to stir soil amendments into the ground.
The long handle of the CobraHead enables gardeners to stand while they work, reducing back pain and minimizing bending. It’s made of quality wood that stands up to a lot of abuse.
This weeding tool also works well in tight spaces between other plants, such as in flower beds. It’s especially useful for removing prickly, vining weeds like Virginia creeper. It’s also great for breaking down thick, matted roots like Bermuda grass. It’s easy to sharpen and can be cleaned with a damp cloth.
4. Cultivating Hoe
A hoe is a handy tool for preparing seed beds, weeding, and cultivating the soil. There are many different styles of hoes and they come in a variety of sizes.
One of the most common types of hoes is the cultivating hoe, which consists of tines similar to those of a rake. It’s used to remove shallow rooted weeds, break up the soil surface, and loosen soil for better water drainage.
This type of hoe also aerates the soil, which is helpful for keeping weeds from growing. It breaks the capillary action at the soil’s surface and incorporates air which helps the microorganisms in the soil break down more nitrogen from the organic matter in the soil. It also reduces evaporation on the surface which can leave more water available to crops.
5. Grub Hoe
A grub hoe is a heavy-duty garden tool that can chop through sod and weeds, reducing labor costs in areas where sod and weeds are difficult to remove. It also works well in firm soil for breaking ground to prepare for planting.
A standard grub hoe weighs between two and five pounds and has a long shaft with a heavy-duty blade attached to one end, Weed Cut says. After swinging it into the ground, a person can pull it towards their body or lift it vertically to dislodge roots and soil.
Grub hoes are commonly used to sever weed roots or stems. They can also be used to scrape soil for severing weed seedlings and seeds. They are effective against a wide variety of weed species, including some that have a high propagule production, like Cape ivy.