Is there a good tool for weed pulling?
sara_ann-z6bok
5 years ago
In recent years I’ve had a difficult time getting my rose beds ready for rose season, but this year my eighteen and fifteen year old grandsons are going to help me. I am also able to do more myself, so hopefully by bloom time the beds will be in good shape.
I am wondering if there is a special tool with a long handle that can grab a hold of weeds by the root to make weed pulling any easier? Something like that would sure make it easier, if there is something that really works. Even a special tool without a long handle would be okay too.
The main nemesis in my rose beds and yard are those pesky weeds with purple flowers that pop up everywhere! I know I need to take measures to get rid of them once and for all, just haven’t done it yet! We had a wetter than normal winter, which I hope will help the rose blooms, seems to have really helped the weeds!
Here’s a picture of the awful ugly things, I hate them!
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Comments (11)
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
5 years agoRelated Discussions
What weeding tools do you find most effective?
Comments (10)My hands. I can get most weeds up with a quick pull. Those tap-rooted weeds are tougher, of course - *#@! dandelions. Best time to get the dandelions is after a good soaking rain or deep watering. I normally take a narrow trowel and dig straight down next to the crown, then gently wiggle the root straight up and out with my hand - normally will pull out fairly easily if the ground is really moist. I also have the Weed Queen (or is it Weed Hound) thingie for dandelions, which works better in the lawn - stick it straight down over the crown, give it a twist, and the dandelion should come out. For sidewalk/cement crevices, I like that pavement weeder thingie, but again - I try to use it after a good rain, the weeds will slide/scrape out much more easily....See MoreWeeding tools ??
Comments (10)Thank you for sharing your methods. The hori hori knife seems like a good choice, it would be more like the in between the dandelion weeder (thingamajjingy) that Marti described better as a dandelion prybar and the small handheld spade I use now. Will have to find me one of those. Weed claw - is that a good one to have as well? Do you have a specific one you'd recommend. I saw one on a drill, a hand held on a long handle from fiskars or am I looking at the wrong thing? This is btw only for my flower beds and maintenance weed pullling where I'd like to minimize disturbing the mulch as much as possible. Our house is built on old pasture land so we don't really try to have nice grass or worry about the weeds growing in there. They tend to keep it green and my DH mows it regularly....See MoreYour Best Weeding Tools and Control
Comments (20)Sometimes I don't even turn one of my computers on over the weekend during "growing season," but today I discovered the wonders of the garden fork and had to come here to thank you, aloha2009, for starting this thread, and you, Steve, for bringing the gardening fork to my attention. I have had one for quite a few years, actually, and it is an old one, obviously used by someone else for years; I never used it. Someone gave me another one, modern rendition with a shorter handle, doesn't appear to be as well made. I never used that one, either. Today I needed to make a bed for some more tomato plants, having run out of room where I had my others planted. The bed was originally planted with Irises and some other perennials. It was overrun last year by Quack Grass, or whatever that nasty grass with the foot long roots is called, had such a wet spring that I couldn't even get to it until it was about a foot or more tall and I was never able to get it under control. This year, of course, the grass is even happier and taller because I haven't been able to work on it as yet; other things were a priority. l normally use a shovel and cut up the area for a new bed or an overrun one in "bite size pieces," so to speak, then get down on my knees to laboriously dig out each chunk and pull up all the roots, using my soil knife to pry it out of this lovely mostly-clay soil I have, breaking up the clods with the knife and my fingers. (This year for the first time in my life, my hands - thumbs especially - are objecting strenuously to gardening (I suspect I am getting arthritis) so this part of my gardening has been somewhat painful as well as time-consuming.) Enters the garden fork - the old one with the nice long handle. I gave it a try this morning and IT IS MARVELOUS! It easily penetrates the soil and mass of grass roots, acts like a lever to pull the darn stuff right out of the ground where it can have the soil easily shaken off, also pulls out the bindweed - of course, this too has taken advantage of the jungle some of my backyard beds have become - with lots more of the root than I am usually able to get with just the shovel/soil knife/hands method. I already have about a third of the bed done in approximately 30 minutes; it would have taken me an hour or more, I think, with my old method. And my thumbs don't hurt! Can't believe it took me so long to find out about such a useful tool, one that farmers and gardeners have been using for centuries, but now I have "discovered" it, so thank you, thank you, thank you! Holly...See MoreFavorite weeding tools around roses / rose beds
Comments (14)I have tried cardboard under several inches of mulch, but the problem is that it will usually only last for the season and by next year you will have to do it all over again (cardboard is better than newspapers though). Maybe for a person in arizona or california, it would be more effective, but with the rain in NY it's not so useful. To echo what everyone else has said, never use landscape fabric. It is the absolute worst, doesn't work and you will be finding pieces of it for years.. Now, I just use my weed wacker and this little tool with 3 claws on it to just rip the weeds out. It's uncomplicated and does give me a slight feeling of satisfaction. I've also found that white vinegar can be pretty good for sidewalk and patio weeds:)...See More
BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
5 years ago
sara_ann-z6bok thanked Alana8aSC
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agosara_ann-z6bok thanked sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)sara_ann-z6bok
5 years ago
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