Recently, a fellow Master Gardener and I embarked on a mission to weed out a public garden that has not been tended to for many years. The garden was planted with rugged California native plants, which included California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum), California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia), Sticky Monkey Flower (Diplacus aurantiacus), and a few others that are listed in the original sketched plans. California natives do not require much care; however, these plants did not survive over the years due to the lack of periodic maintenance and water. There is only one of the original plants that now remains, and the rest of the site is overgrown with volunteer weeds.
Over time, a California native plant named Warty Spurge (Euphorbia spathulata) has taken over most of the site. The Spurge is not a bad plant since it is a good habitat for butterflies and caterpillars. This is also a very hardy plant, but it must be removed to re-establish the lovely garden that once flourished.
As Master Gardeners, we discourage the use of chemicals to kill weeds when possible, so this extensive weeding had to be done by hand. We had a hard day of work cut out for us and we were ready for the fun. Thankfully, the dry soil there had been soaked for a few days to make it easier to pull the Spurge out.
I brought every tool I could think of to help with this project: my trusty hand weeder, a trowel, a small shovel, a large shovel, a few battery-powered tools… you name it. Regardless, I knew that I was in for a workout and my back would suffer from stiff muscles the next day.
When my Master Gardener friend showed up, the first thing she pulled out of her toolbox was a phenomenal apparatus that I had not seen before – a stand-up hand weeder! There is no need to bend over or kneel to tackle the weeds with this tool.
We used the tool successfully to clear a large portion of the garden area by the end of the day. This tool was an amazing back-saver, and I got my own as soon as possible.
This tool has four serrated, stainless-steel claws that securely grab weeds at their roots, so in most cases, the weeds are gone forever. All you do is push the claws down over the weed with your foot and lever the handle over to pull the unwanted plant out of the ground… voila! If you do some research, you will see that there are many types of stand-up weeders, and the reviews should help you choose one that is right for you.
Happy Weeding!