Our soil is fairly heavy, so when I see those collinear hoes or circular hoes, I wonder if they'll work. Any time I see videos demonstrating them, the soil is so nice and fluffy! Mine only looks fluffy right after tilling until the first hard rain. In fact, our soil often gets very crusted over after a hard rain and the cultivation is to allow water to penetrate as much as to remove weeds.

Any advice?

If you have the money to buy the hoe go ahead and buy it. If you like it, put your old hoe some where in the back of the shed. If you don't you can always use it to prop the shed door open when you are working out there.

I don't have the money to by a $40 door prop, nor the space to store one. I don't think most people do.

Also I can not I believe that you could do the job twice as fast with the advertised hoe as the one you got. You are the one providing the motive force behind each hoe.

My opinion I would look around and spend my money some where else. These long winter days make some of these things look better, than they are in practice. My wife had to use some quite strict words to keep me from going out and fertilizing the yard last weekend. It was in the mid 40's and we had ice a week ago Friday, but it was such a pretty day.

We used to grow a LOT of garlic and I researched and found the "onion hoe" it looks like a traditional hoe except the blade is about 2" wider and only about half as tall. It's light, and does a good job. Not too sure about your "heavy soil" though? I also have an "Italian Grape Hoe" which is about the same width, but much taller and heavier. It will chop through anything. I've attached a link to the onion hoe, they're available at any hardware store, got mine at the local Do It Best. Google the grape hoe if you're interested, as I recall, though, they're pricey.

Good luck,

Ev

Currently, I use a standard 5" hoe. It works, but it moves a lot of soil, bringing weed seeds to the surface. Also, I have to bend to get the angle on the blade right, and it takes some effort to move through the soil. I'd like to use something that doesn't move as much soil, doesn't cause me to bend over, and takes less force to move--all things that are said of collinear hoes, stirrup hoes, and circular hoes. I was hoping that someone who had used these could let me know if they were really that much easier than a traditional hoe to use, and if they would work in my fairly heavy soil that gets very hard and crusty in the summer.

Sorry I wasn't clear.

In regards to the "$40 hoe"--you must live in a different market than I do, knuttle. Here, long-handled garden tools like hoes cost around $37.99 each. Tax would easily bring a garden tool up over $40. Heck, I bought a grain shovel last week, and it cost $47.

I wish they were cheaper, but they're not, which is why I'm seeking opinions before I buy one.

At Lowes average is about 14 with the range about the same.

AgSupply (agrisupply.com/) The most expensive $49, average is about 14 range about the same.

That one is one of the hoes on my list. I too, have a lot of garlic.

It's my first year for it, so I hope it will do OK in my soil.

Also, if you've never sharpened your hoe, it'll work you to death. It needs to be sharp enough to cut and not dig. I usually sharpen mine with a 10 inch mill file every day when I'm using it quite a bit.

As you already know, mulch helps :)

They have several other implements that look interesting to me, and I will probably be ordering from them again. Their stuff is tough, and their steel is substantial, takes a good edge, and stays sharp well. Farm disk plows are made to do that.

ZM
(not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)