Heigh Hoe, Heigh Hoe

Heigh Hoe, Heigh Hoe

One of the most tedious jobs in the garden is also one of the most essential and needs to be tackled regularly – and that is hoeing. Yesterday, I hoed the four new deep beds that are soon to be incorporated inside the fenced area. I haven’t planted anything in these yet, as they are prone to rabbit attacks, so the weeds have been growing apace. I also hoed again between the rows of onions and garlic.

There are a couple of reasons for hoeing regularly. First and foremost, hoeing kills weeds. When you dig over a plot, especially if it is a brand new plot, you bring seeds up to the surface that were long buried, where they can now germinate. And they most certainly do germinate. We have had problems with an abundance of nettles, most of which we have either pulled up or chopped down. We have also attempted to dig out the roots, but nettles not only have thick strong roots, they also have many fine hair-like roots and, short of passing all the soil through a sieve, it is impossible to eradicate them without resorting to using chemical weedkillers, which I am loath to do. Of course, with the surface clear of nettles, other weeds have found it possible to rear their heads – so thistles, dock, goose grass and others have started to grow. The only thing for it is either to pull them up by hand, or hoe them off. Not all of them respond to being pulled up – they will insist on leaving all or even most of their root behind, from which of course, they re-grow!

I use a Dutch hoe, with a long handle:

Dutch hoe, showing the blade

The blade needs to be kept sharp to do the job properly. Lie the blade almost flat on the soil and make little chopping motions; this way, you sever the top of the plant from the root, just below the level of the soil. This effectively kills the plant and weakens the root; the more frequently they are cut off, the more likely they will be not to return. Of course, you do have to be careful not to sever the plants you want from their roots too!

I have no idea what this particular plant is; all I know is it's growing where I don't particularly want it!

Hoeing has another benefit as well. When soil is left for any length of time without being disturbed, it can form a hard crust on the surface. This is not only the domain of clay soils, but any soil; even the really dusty ones can form a crust. This means that when it rains, the water cannot penetrate the soil so easily and your crops either cannot benefit from the water, or they are left standing in pools of it, so they rot. If the top half inch or so is loose, the water can more readily penetrate and get to the roots where it is most needed.

If the loosened, weed free soil is then mulched with grass clippings, straw or some other organic material, you will have fewer weeds and less need to hoe so often J

And on another note, my peas are starting to show through: