Introduction
If you’ve ever hoed, you know that it’s a lot of work. It’s up there with cleaning out the gutters as one of my least favorite gardening tasks. However, if done right, hoeing can be relatively easy and efficient—all it takes is some slight adjustments in how you approach the job! Here are some tips for getting better results from your garden hoe:
You’ve been scraping the hoe away from you, towards the plant. This is ineffective and takes longer than right way.
The scraping action is what makes a garden hoe so useful. When you scrape it away from you in straight lines, it will cut down weeds and loosen soil at the same time, allowing for more nutrients to get into your plants’ roots.
Some people mistakenly think that in order to get the best results with a garden hoe, they need to scrape it towards themselves. But this isn’t true! If you scrape your garden hoe towards yourself rather than away from yourself as part of an efficient gardening technique, then there’s no way that this could work any better than just using a different tool that doesn’t require any special movements at all (like maybe something like an axe).
You’re probably digging too deep. A 3 inch depth is recommended when weeding.
The depth of a hoe is also important. You should be weeding at a distance of three inches between the blade and the handle of your hoe. This allows you to weed without disturbing much soil, and it helps ensure that you don’t miss any weeds while you work.
You’re probably using too much force. Let the weight of the hoe do the work for you.
You’re probably using too much force. Let the weight of the hoe do the work for you.
The key to using a garden hoe is to let it glide through the soil, not dig into it or scrape too hard. The tool’s weight will do most of the work for you, so focus on moving it smoothly in and out of your plot at a steady pace that feels comfortable, but not too slow or fast. If your arm starts to feel fatigued after several strokes, take a break! And don’t be afraid to ask for help from anyone who may be nearby; if their arms can manage it (and if they’re willing), handing off tools so that you can rest yours is a great way to get more done with less effort!
It’s about efficiency, not strength.
In order to hoe efficiently, you need to use your entire body. Your feet should be flat on the ground and your knees bent so that you’re not leaning over from the waist. You also want to stand as tall as possible with your back straight, which will help you keep a steady hand position for hoeing.
Let’s say you have a 5’8″ person who is trying to hoe in one of these positions:
- Hoeing while standing up straight with their back hunched over
- Hoeing while leaning forward from their waist but keeping their legs stationary or bending at the knee only slightly (like they are half-kneeling)
- Hoeing while half-kneeling with their back hunched over and then lifting up onto their toes like they were doing a squat
Hoeing can be more efficient and less of a chore with slight adjustments to your approach!
Hoeing can be more efficient and less of a chore with slight adjustments to your approach!
- Use the right tool for the job. A shovel will not work as well as a garden hoe, nor will a weed whacker. You need something that’s designed to get in there and dig up all of those nasty weeds from their roots, not just cut them down at the surface.
- Hoe more efficiently by using the right technique. If you hold your hoe like an axe, with both hands on top of it parallel to each other and chop away at those weeds (like most people do), then it’s going to take forever and require so much effort that you’re only going to want to hoe once every few months because it takes so much out of you! Instead, hold one hand on each side of the blade (or if they’re too short) grip around them both simultaneously but keep them far enough apart that they don’t slide together while in use–this way when they come into contact with soil or vegetation they won’t slip off target! Then simply swing back and forth slightly faster than whatever pace feels comfortable doing this until everything gets…
Conclusion
Remember, the point of hoeing is to get weeds out of your garden. Not only will these small adjustments make it easier on your back, but they’ll save you time in the long run. So next time you’re out in the garden and have some spare time on your hands – give these methods a try!