Today we’re talking about the hand-held Circle Hoe Weeder, which is another product we’re using here at home. This is a very cool weeder that has actually won numerous awards in the gardening world.
For example, it was rated “Best Value” by the Wall Street Journal in a test of ergonomic tools. The promotional material for the product also says, “Tested, Proven, Recommended by Horticulturists and Master Gardeners,” although it doesn’t go into much more detail about that.
The Arizona Republic raves, “Circle hoe runs rings around other weeders…I found it to be the best weeding device since fingers!” (Mary Irish, December 2004)
It’s also won Editor’s Choice Awards from (among others):
So, with all that critical acclaim, how did the Circle Hoe Weeder work for us in our own garden?
Like the Cape Cod Weeder we talked about earlier this week, this is another great tool for the money. For the price ($13.99 + shipping and handling), you get a truly sturdy tool that works for cultivating, weeding, and other gardening tasks.
This tool is a short handled hoe that measures 15” long. The circle part measures 2.5” in diameter. It is very lightweight and easy to handle, so it’s perfect for detail work in the garden.
About twelve years ago when I did some work for a landscaping company, the owner passed me a long-handled Hula Hoe to work with. The Circle Hoe reminds me a lot of that tool, but it has a few differences.
For one, the circle on the Circle Hoe is actually quite sharp on one area of the lower front end. That makes it easy to sever weeds or plants by the roots with a quick pulling action. It also makes it ideal for cultivating the soil because it breaks up the soil without displacing it. The back end of the hoop is flat, so you can easily push aside the plants you want to protect before pulling up weeds.
We have pretty tough, clay soils in some places in our yard, so the bladed end works great to break up this soil when cultivating.
We’ve been using the circle hoe for breaking up soil and for digging up big weeds in our garden.
For other kinds of weeding, like digging up grass from sidewalk cracks, or removing dandelions in the lawn, I’d recommend the Cape Cod Weeder, which has a pointed end for digging, and a sharp blade for cutting.
The promotional material for the Circle Hoe also says that it works great for cleaning pumpkins and squash. We don’t have pumpkins or squash this year in our garden, so I can’t say how it works for that. However, based on my excellent experience with this weeder, I’d bet it works as advertised!
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