A garden is always a work in progress. After the tilling and planting are done, it is easy to think that all you need to do is wait for the radishes, lettuce, or marigolds to come up and mature, and then you enjoy the results. I wish I could tell you that it will be that easy, but unfortunately, it is not. Weeds have a nasty habit of appearing out of nowhere. You can look at your tidy garden one day and be satisfied with its progress. A day or two later, however, you may see unwelcome shoots sprouting up through the earth. Chemical herbicides will eradicate weeds but may also kill the very plants you are trying to grow. In addition, if you are aiming for an organic garden, you won't opt to use chemicals. However you manage them, weeds are an unpleasant fact, and they must be dealt with before they choke the life out of your garden.
Soil compaction is another surprise for many new gardeners. Walking through your garden compresses the soil, as do watering and rain. As the soil compacts, it changes from loose, freshly tilled earth to a firmer surface. As the soil firms up, a crust forms on top. This crust makes it more difficult for water and nutrients to reach the new seedlings or plant roots. Mulching is one way to avoid both compaction and weeds. Mulch will smother weeds, protect the soil, and conserve water. It is also expensive, if you buy it, and time consuming if you intend to compost your own mulch. The use of mulch can also make a garden look messy and trashy. But if you don't mulch, your garden will need frequent cultivation in order to flourish and thrive.
There are many ways to cultivate a garden. Dragging out the big tiller is certainly one way to do it. However, a big tiller is difficult to use between rows and may dig deeper than necessary. When loosening the garden soil, you only need to work the top two or three inches of earth. The tiller will probably dig deeper than needed and may disturb the roots of garden plants while eradicating weeds and aerating the soil. How, then, do you go about weeding and cultivating while still protecting your plants?
Rakes, forks, claws, and manual, hand-pushed cultivators will do the job without damaging the soil or garden plants. A good, long-handled, steel-tined garden rake can take care of loosening the soil and uprooting weeds between rows of plants. A good hoe will also do the job. There are many types of hoes: standard, flat shoes, pointed hoes, dutch or stirrup hoes, curved hoes, and just about any combination of these that you can imagine. When it comes to attacking a weed, any sort of hoe will do the job. Hand forks and claws are good tools for working the areas between and around plants. These small tools give you great control over where and how deep you are working. Finally, there are manual, wheeled push cultivators. These are similar to engine-driven models, but are lighter, easier to maneuver, and quieter. They can refine the soil, do weeding, or make planting furrows, depending on what job you need to do.
Each type of cultivating tool has its advantages and disadvantages, and truthfully, you will probably need to have quite an assortment of them to do the job. Using rakes and hoes for a lengthy period may lead to sore muscles. Claws and forks require you to be at dirt level. This may be a drawback for those with protesting knees and backs. Push cultivators take a bit more storage space and may be more costly than the other tools.
Raising a vegetable patch or flower garden is exciting and very rewarding. From choosing the plants and seeds you want, to watching them grow and mature, the act of gardening connects the gardener to nature. It is a labor of love and part of that labor is eradicating weeds and keeping the soil soft and healthy. Owning the right tools to weed and cultivate your garden will make the effort more effective and enjoyable.
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