Coast Gardener
My Favorite Garden Tools - Part 2
Coast Gardener Newspaper and Web Column - June 23, 2008
The Rogue Hoe
About eight years ago, at a winter nursery short course, I had the pleasure meeting and listening to Dr. Roger Swain from The Victory Garden television show. His topic was garden hoes. Now before you think how boring, he kept 200 in attendance mesmerized for an hour talking about hoes.
I still think about what he described as his favorite
hoe. It was rectangular, approximately 5” x 2 ½”,
sharpened on three sides and had a long handle, at least 5' long. This
allowed Roger to stand upright, without stooping, and gave the impression
of doing a waltz when weeding his garden. Okay, so maybe you had to be
there, but he made weeding sound like fun and the key was the style of
hoe.
For some time I have seen a hoe in gardening catalogs made from recycled agricultural disk blades. The catalog describes the hoe as being sharpened on three sides and the hardened steel resists edge dulling. That piqued my interest because of the resemblance to Roger Swain’s hoe. However, I was a bit averse to buying a hoe from a catalog without being able to get a feel for the tool.
That all changed earlier this year when one of these hoes was brought to a Harrison Master Gardener's meeting. I was immediately hooked. Roguehoe is the name of this fantastic tool.
This hoe is easy to work around in the garden. The three sharpened sides eliminate the need for chopping at weeds and the head can be turned to reach into tight places. The blade is relatively thin and slides under the soil with ease to cut weeds below the soil surface.
A word of caution from personal experience, it is easy to remove a few of your vegetables plants if you are not careful.
The Rogue Hoe is available online and there are many styles and sizes available, in both short and long (up to 60”) handles.
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Written by Dr. Gary R. Bachman, Assistant Extension Professor of Horticulture, Coastal Research & Extension Center.