Topic: Wheel Hoe

[Roy Bham UK]

 ;D We could make one ourselves out of the front end of an old scooter ;D

[tim]

Thanks, Derek - when I said better get a modern version (for a lady) I was, of course, thinking of the Heath Robinson seed sower that you can still buy.

Looks like it needs a team of horses!!

[john_miller]

Wheel hoes are excellent in the right situation. By that I mean that you need a plot of a certain size to really get the best use out of them- the best weeding is done with a certain momentum and if you rows are only a few metres long you won't get to it! The ones I really liked were the dual wheel ones (connected by a 'bridge') that allowed you to straddle the row itself and this aid to maintaining direction allowed you to set the cultivators closer together and take out almost every weed except those directly in the row.
Like any hoe they work best when the weeds are small so frequent use is best. The only drawback I found on my stony soil was that I would hit a stone and the hoe would often bounce into the row, causing what my college vegetable lecturer called hoe-itis.
The brand I use is Planet Jr.. Going onto Google.com, not .co.uk, did bring up what seemed to be a distributor in the Netherlands but I can't read Dutch (or Flemish if that is what it was)!   

[philcooper]

I agree with John about the double blade job - I used one many years ago on my uncle's smallholding where the length of the rows made it almost essential.

The disadvantage is that, as you push the device forward, you tread on the weeds you have hoed off so, unless you have cut them off just at the surface, you are replanting the ones you stand on.

Phil

[tim]

Some good thinking there.

[philcooper]

Not really Tim, just old age and the fact that it's snowing outside - means there's not much else to do  ;D

Phil

[RSJK]

I have an old planet jigger that can have one or two attachments added to it must be over fifty years old and still working well.  Also have a planet seed drill aswell, don't half get some funny looks when I am using them.

                                    ;D ;D

[Jambez]

Thanks everyone for all you help and advice/suggestion, much appreciated! ;D