Joyful Weeding
Just as there are many ways to garden, there are many ways to weed a garden. One man’s weed is another man’s flower. Ralph Waldo Emerson famously defined a weed as "a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered," while agricultural scientist George Washington Carver echoed the sentiment by calling a weed "a flower growing in the wrong place." (caes.uga.edu). Michael Pollan writes in his book, Second Nature A Gardener’s Education (1991), “The nineteenth- century romantics, who looked more kindly on the common man, also looked kindly on the weed. By the time they wrote the English countryside had been so thoroughly dominated, every acre cleared of trees and bisected by hedgerows that the idea of a wild landscape acquired a strong appeal, perhaps for the first time in European history”.
Some weeds are far from romantic, in fact they may be downright “thuggish”, even “invasive". Thuggish plants are vigorous spreaders that bully other garden plants. Invasive plants are non-native plants that have escaped home landscapes and gardens, and cause ecological or economic harm in the wild. Connecticut based horticulturalist, writer, and eco-influencer Rebecca McMackin objects to the word “invasive”. “It’s simply inaccurate…Garden mustard didn’t sneak in under cover of darkness; it was brought here, like most plants we call invasive.” And “The term ‘invasive’ deflects accountability for the plant doing what plants do while concealing the role of human choices.” She points out that nurseries still sell plants known to cause damage (Gardenrant.com). Many of our most problematic plants were brought to us for their medical benefits.
You can’t walk away from your garden (why would you?). Weeds thrive in gardens and take advantage of open soil and access to light. When gardens are neglected or the soil is deeply disturbed weeds take over. Digging and tilling disturbs the top layers of soil and soil structure, which exposes dormant weed seeds to sunlight and triggers massive new germination. How can you weed/edit your garden without destroying the soil structure and making more weeds?
The Dutch Push/Pull Hoe was designed so the gardener was not stepping in the garden bed and was standing straight, so there is no bending over. The sharp blade of the hoe cuts the plant at the root crown so it can no longer photosynthesize. This massively weakens the plant and it eventually dies. Best practice is to hoe on a dry, sunny day, leave the cut weeds on the surface to dry out and die on the soil surface, while listening to a podcast or music, once a week. Joy!
There are many Dutch push/pull hoes on the market, and many garden tools are not long lasting and disposable within a few years. I have invested in a Sneeboer Garden Hoe. This company, based in Holland, has been making garden tools forged by hand since 1913. The company hosts a booth of their tools at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and has been awarded the RHS Sustainable Business of the Year Award in 2025. The company is powered by solar, is energy efficient, and is committed to sustainability. Their tools come with a 50 year warranty and with care will last generations. This sounds like an ad, but in all honesty a great tool can make the work so much more enjoyable.
Here is your reminder to garden with joy.
Video: Roy Demonstrates The Dutch Push-Pull Hoe
Book Recommendation: Second Nature - Michael Pollan
