Types of Hoe and How to Hoe

I was really surprised to find someone on our allotment using a Dutch hoe as if it was some sort of spade for digging up weeds..

The draw hoe is useful for making a shallow trench of the sort we might use for planting peas, which is why we call it drawing a trench, but for weeding I don't think you can beat the Dutch hoe. The draw hoe just isn't as easy or effective for weeding.

It's really important to keep your hoe sharp, I've a metal file in the shed for this or you can use a sharpening stone. Just a few strokes every 10 minutes or so keeps it in optimum condition.

The idea is to cut through the weed stem just below ground level. A blunt hoe or hoeing when the soil is wet tends to pull the weeds out with the roots intact. This means that if there is a drop of rain the weed will re-root and grow back. Hence my harping on about a sharp hoe!