Topic: Why do you hoe?

[Grandma]

One dear old neighbour tells me it's to chop the tops off the weeds; another tells me its to turn 'em over and bury 'em, a third says it's only worth doing on a hot, sunny day when there's a bit of a wind - (he leaves his weeds on top and they dry out) - and a fourth - (I love him best of all  ;)) says he 'just keeps 'em movin' and makes 'em mis'rable'. ;D  They all have lovely gardens, so what they do seems to work for all of them.
(It's one of my favourite jobs cos everything looks so nice afterwards  :))

[trojanrabbit]

Erm, all of the above?  ;D

The key thing, I believe, is to do a bit most days if at all possible. In this way it's very easy, you knock 'em down before they get 1/2" high and all but the most determined won't survive that more than once or twice.
Sadly I've never managed it that regularly for more than 10 days at a time :-[ (or in some cases year :P), and it gets an aweful lot harder, if not impossible in some places, if you only try to do it once a week.

[tim]

Yes - & when it's hot so that they dessicate.

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,72/topic,29531.0

[Heldi]

I hoe mainly to chop the weeds though I was told...blimey I don't want to admit this...twenty years ago (I'm now in shock) that it helps aerate the soil.

[Curryandchips]

After hoeing, I believe the surface is referred to as a dust mulch? This is always my approach anyway, I disturb the weeds, and any surviving ones get attacked on the second visit ... my home made stirrup hoe is ideal for this job.

Derek :)

[machman5]

I hoe every week at least to keep a dust mulch around my toms Grandma.  I have been told it is the only way to keep the water in the ground, other mulches leech water from the ground with a capilliary action and will only work if you water regularly.  I don't water the toms at all right through the summer, so this dry dust mulch is key.
Donna

[grawrc]

All of the above and .... errrm .... :-[I really enjoy it?  :P

[Curryandchips]

Not sure if I actually enjoy hoeing, but I certainly like the end result !

Derek :)

[Heldi]

I have to say I quite enjoy a good hoe. (yes yes) I think it gives me a nice tidying up kind've feeling. It's a bit of a nightmare with a whole flock of hens hanging about though as they get right in the way and interfere too much,I'm terrified I'll chop their legs orf. Tip: put your hens away before you get your hoe out.

[Hot_Potato]

Well I can't bear hoeing - all those chopped up bits of weed lying on the surface looking so untidy :o      give me a handfork and I'll squat to do it and pick it all up as I go along - far more control that way I feel & always looks so pristine when done altho causes me huge back problems :(

[Robert_Brenchley]

Ny problem is how to avoid chopping the plants I want. I find mulching is a lot easier anyway, I use a trowel round flowers, and I do very little hoeing.

[tim]

There's hoeing & hoeing?

Given, say, a 25 sq yd area of seedlings, I'm damned if I'm going on my hands & knees - even if I could!

5 min with the hoe &, given some sun, they'll all be dead in an hour. If not, just rake them up. Still quicker & less painful?

The big thing is not to churn up the under-soil too much - this just brings up more weeds to germinate.

Row hoeing? Yes - a fiddle - but, given the right spacing, if you use a pull hoe, you cannot cut the plants.

[Slug_killer]

Do you Ho Ho Ho when your Hoe Hoe Hoeing ?