Anyone ever used a Dutch or stirrup garden hoe?

[greybeard]

I saw a video on one of the travel channels where a bunch of women were hoeing weeds (looked like they were hoeing in a vineyard)
and they were using an odd looking hoe that seemed to work great--the weeds, dirt, and grass just fell behind the hoe instead of being heaped up in front as ya went along. Looked like the bees knees to me and would be just the thing to use in my hard ground--just barely slices into the soil.

Looked something like one of these two pictures:
Dutch hoe

Stirrup hoe

I've got a piece of A-2 steel I might try to make into one of these.

Are they worth a hoot?

 

[Hook]

We called them hula ho's as kids working in my grandpas garden. They work great but I can't find them anymore

 

[skyhightree1]

GB we use those stirrup hoes in flower beds and IMO they are good for a lil flower bed but a garden no way not for me. The problems with the ones you find now is they are cheap made and working a garden over they will be bent up and broke after a garden season probably especially in packed hard soil.

 

[Aaron]

We have several of them. Pick them up cheap at auction sales. Best way to weed garden between plants in row without bending over.

 

[greybeard]

We have several of them. Pick them up cheap at auction sales. Best way to weed garden between plants in row without bending over.

Which style is best Aaron?

 

[Don McCallum]

I have used them. Several years ago I saw ads on tv for them all the time. I had rather use a good old fashion sharp hoe. I think
they are a waste of money.

 

[M5farm]

not to hijack your thread but the best HOE imo is to take an old Hoe cut the blade off and weld a new cutter bar blade to it.

 

[greybeard]

not to hijack your thread but the best HOE imo is to take an old Hoe cut the blade off and weld a new cutter bar blade to it.

I've seen those too, and have saved a couple of old cutter bars from a horse drawn sickle mower to make garden rakes out of. They come in handy and will chop a copperhead up quick.

 

[Aaron]

We have several of them. Pick them up cheap at auction sales. Best way to weed garden between plants in row without bending over.

Which style is best Aaron?

The ones we have all have a 120 degree or so bend that has the cutting edge away from you, rather than the one shown that has about a 90 coming toward you. So you just lay the cutting edge on the ground and shove it ahead to cut roots. Haven't used them at all this year as the gardens around here are a complete write-off. 40+ inches of rain and little heat will do that.

 

[Nesikep]

The best hoe we've had is very similar to a stirrup hoe, but has a swivel on it, so it's double acting, very effective, especially when kept sharp. The ones we have were made by a company called REAL... We weeded ACRES of carrots, squash, and onions with those for years

 

[ga.prime]

You do not want the hoe to cut the roots off the weeds. You want the hoe to pull the weed along with the roots out of the ground. It's good that they stay reasonably sharp so they cut easily through the soil. That one in the picture called a stirrup hoe works great for this purpose. I call it an English hoe. I've been using them for 40 years. I wish I had a demonstration tape of me using one. I'm a surgeon with that thing. Surgeon meaning I can uproot a weed growing within a quarter inch of a desirable plant while causing no harm to the desirable plant. Closer than a quarter inch and I bend over and pull it up. Might sound ridiculous, but it's a fact. I've done it a hundred thousand times.

 

[Hook]

Gp, that's exactly what the old hula hoes did. I don't remember ever sharpening one. It was the action and the fact it didn't pile up dirt in front of the blade.

 

[Bigfoot]

I spent the first 32 years of my life raising tobacco. Wish I knew how many acres of tobacco I've "chopped out" in my life. One of my life's goals is to never hoe anything again. I can tell you the Dutch hoe is better than a conventional hoe. That one looks too light. Mine were considerably heavier. Heavy enough for a drop, and pull technique. No hoe handle is long enough for me. I would look for just the right hickory limb to attach it to. I would then beat some horse shoes to wrap around the end near the hoe for extra weight. Add a 94 degree day, and 100% humidity, and your in business.

 

[Shanghai]

This is our #1 selling hoe

http://www.prohoe.com/field_hoes.html

http://www.prohoe.com/garden_hoes.html

 

[Nesikep]

Here's the one I use, works really well, and can get close to plants without disturbing them easily as well..