The most useless gardening implement

[Teinz]

Originally Posted by blacbird

You live in Indiana, James. I grew up in Iowa. Soils there are exceptionally easy to work, highly fertile, and the major weeds are easy to get up.

Not anything like that here in Alaska. Unless you grow everything in pots, you have to deal not only with the prolific vining chickweed, there's also now the invasive and even worse Siberian crown vetch, and raspberries, which produce underground roots tough as high-tension wires. Those you have trouble cutting with a sharp shovel and a lot of work. I have at times used hatchets on them.

In my garden, a hoe is as useless as a plastic spoon. No, wait, I can use plastic spoons for plant markers.

caw

Our soil is a heavy clay, which is hard to break up, but a breeze when maintained properly. The only really unclearable weed we have is Balsam, an invasive species.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayan_Balsam

Once you get that shit garden, be prepared to move to another house.

[Old Hack]

Heat-sterilising your soil is going to kill off all the bacteria and little animals which keep your soil friable and alive: it's really only a good idea for compost, and not for soil beds. It's not the best way to proceed.

And the most useless gardening implement? According to my boys, anything that's not a digger or a tractor. They like their machinery.

[Mr Flibble]

Which type of hoe are we talking here? Dutch hoe or drawing hoe? (by which I mean this)

A drawing hoe is pretty handy and, like James say, if it's sharp it can cut through a lot and is great for digging drills, turning over soil etc even in heavy soil (I live on clay that only has to see a raindrop to get clogged). I've taken out pretty well grown bushes with one of those. Dutch hoes are good for light soils/taking off newly rooted weeds in well worked soil.

[blacbird]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

My garden starts with a tractor, which cuts out anything and everything. Then the disc, then the sifting, and there isn't much left. Work the garden twice per day after planting,

In other words, you're a farmer, not a gardener. Not many people have time, space or equipment to work at this level.

At this point, however, my garden would require dynamite. In another month, maybe something thermonuclear. Meantime, below, those raspberries are putting forth roots about half-an-inch a day, and Alaska raspberries are tough sonsabitches by spring thaw. Like I said, I've used a hatchet on some of those roots.

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

and nothing has a chance of taking hold.

And obviously you have no familiarity with Alaskan chickweed.

caw

[Bushrat]

Originally Posted by blacbird

Not anything like that here in Alaska. Unless you grow everything in pots, you have to deal not only with the prolific vining chickweed, there's also now the invasive and even worse Siberian crown vetch, and raspberries, which produce underground roots tough as high-tension wires. Those you have trouble cutting with a sharp shovel and a lot of work. I have at times used hatchets on them.

Hey neighbour, we're on the BC/Yukon border and have raised beds lined with vapour barrier. Won't get anything creeping up from below that way. Also, we're religious mulchers, so between that, the vapour barrier and weeding when stuff is still small, I don't find weeds a big deal

[Patrick.S]

I use either a stirrup or collinear hoe on the morning of a hot day. It cuts the weeds off at the base rather than uprooting them. The sun wilts the weeds that are uprooted and they don't re-root. I never hoe on a wet day, only hand weed into a bucket.

[Liralen]

For most useless garden tool I nominate the Mantis tiller. It's so lightweight that unless the soil's already broken up thoroughly it simply bounces up and down. It is effective, though, for beating the hell out of the operator.