{"id":45802,"date":"2026-03-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=45802"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T21:47:10","slug":"weeders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/weeders\/","title":{"rendered":"Weeders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Workhorse lumber breaker-upper<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MacKissic Mighty Mac Chipper Shredder<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I bought a Mighty Mac shredder\/chipper about 25 years ago, have used it \u2014 heavily at times \u2014 all these years and, with a few engine repairs and turning the shredder blades around once (they are 2-sided), it\u2019s worked flawlessly on our 1\/2-acre homestead. This is a \u201chammermill\u201d chipper with free-swinging hammer blades for the top-feed hopper, as well as a chipper, a side feed where you put in larger branches (it will grind up a 2\u00d74) at a 90-degree angle to the balanced flywheel blade that runs on the same axle as the shredder blades. If you get one of the bigger professional type units you don\u2019t need a separate grinder, but for home-style operation, I wouldn\u2019t fool with any of the lower-cost feed-it-in-the-top units. You don\u2019t really need to shred stuff like oak leaves (they compost nicely as is), and the smaller shredders tend to choke on stuff such as 1-incg diameter branches. This unit has changeable screens so you can adjust from fine to coarse output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be aware: these are dangerous tools. If you get careless and push down on brush in the hopper and get a sleeve caught in the blades, you\u2019ll end up with a mangled (or no) hand. See the simple 2\u00d74 pusher tool below for pushing stuck vegetation into the blades. I also use a Collins machete for chopping up branches for easy feeding and of course \u2014 Grandma speaking here \u2014 goggles (chips fly), earphones, and gloves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mine (depicted above) has a 7HP Briggs and Stratton motor. The current models have a 10 HP. I wouldn\u2019t bother with the electric starter; the rope pull works fine. \u2014 Lloyd Kahn<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Weeder-cultivator<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stirrup Hoe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most recent addition to my quiver of essential landscaping tools is the stirrup hoe. The stirrup hoe is a deceptively simple device which, as the name implies, is a stirrup-shaped blade attached to the end of a stout wooden handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stirrup hoe has two primary functions: First, it is useful for loosening the top layer of soil in a garden or flowerbed. The horizontal blade tends to glide about an inch beneath the surface of the soil without noticeably disturbing the soil. Weeds can deposit seeds that remain dormant in the soil until exposed to sunlight. While turning the soil with a spade brings these unwanted seeds to light the stirrup hoe leaves them in the dark. I prefer using a long pulling motion with this hoe while others recommend working it back and forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second use for this tool is weeding. As the stirrup hoe glides through the soil, it snags weeds at their roots. The entire plant usually comes out of the dirt with less mess than if you pulled it by hand. Using my stirrup hoe, I recently weeded 30 feet of an abandoned flowerbed in about 10 minutes. Normally, this job would have taken at least an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prices range from about $17 for the Sears Craftsman model (with lifetime warranty) I use to $33 for the high-end Swiss-made Glaser (handle sold separately). \u2014 Sherard Edington<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Portable tiller<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mantis Tillers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mantis tiller is a lightweight tiller (about 25 lbs), which allows for better portability than heavier tillers. It is easily moved from location to location (try that with a big Troy-bilt), and will handle a variety of jobs with various blades on the tiller shafts: tilling, digging shrub or tree holes, aerating lawns, de-thatching lawns, edging sidewalks or planting beds, making the vertical cuts in sod to be (re-)moved, mixing compost, or even a new steel spring wheel designed to clean cracks or debris and weeds in sidewalks or patios. I have three large bins (4x4x6-feet each) that I use for composting leaves and grass clippings. I simply take down the front boards and use the Mantis to mix the compost inside and in front of the bins. Then I put the boards back and reload the bins with the mixture. Short work with the Mantis. After viewing my Mantis in action, a landscape company supervisor in Peachtree City bought ten (10) of them for his company use, one for each of their work trucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mantis is better than competing small tillers like the Honda or Sears, because of the unique design of the tiller blades. They can be swapped side to side to till deeply or lightly, are very sharp and have a squiggly (my word) design that thoroughly mixes the soil. The tiller blades are warranted against breakage. The worm-gear design of the shaft that drives the tiller axles may be unique, as well, since it is very hard to stall this tiller, no matter how many vines you wrap around the axles. The variety of blades, plus the ability to use them for light or heavy penetration (e.g., tilling, aerating and edging) makes the Mantis somewhat unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not a \u201cheavy-duty\u201d tiller that you would usually use to till an acre of ground. If I needed that job done, I\u2019d rent a Troy-bilt or other massive tiller for dedicated tilling of large areas, even though they are not very easy to transport or use. However my brother used his Mantis to till a large lawn (1\/3 acre) which need to be re-sodded. \u2014 Jim Stagg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mantis is a little jewel. They are exceptionally easy to work with, being easy to start and incredibly lightweight. I have two caveats though: 1) To use it most effectively, you have to put it in front of you and then walk backwards, dragging the machine with you while simultaneously trying to keep on eye on the machine and where you\u2019re about to step. 2) Tough plants have a tendency to get tangled up in the tines. Fortunately, the tines can be removed, cleaned of offending material, and replaced very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, Mantis offers a lifetime guarantee on the tiller\u2019s tines. If a tine ever breaks, they\u2019ll replace it. Hmm.. I guess that would be a \u201clifetine\u201d guarantee! Every home with a garden should have one of these. They\u2019re that good. \u2014 John Bodoni<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Removing big weeds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Weed Wrench<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tool for the job if you\u2019re uprooting alien and invasive plants such as French broom and Scotch broom. Those plants, like other invasives, tend to form aggressive monoculture areas that drive out local biodiversity, and they often make dense undergrowth fire hazards. Ripping them out is a kind of joy \u2014 a fine workout, more productive in every way than a couple hours at the gym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built like a cast-iron frying pan, the Weed Wrench is a seriously macho tool. Its fierce jaws grip the miscreant plant or small tree by the throat (base of stem), and big leverage yanks it bodily out of the ground. If you get the smallest (mini) and the largest Weed Wrenches, you\u2019ve got everything covered up to 2 inch diameter (beyond that, use a saw). \u2014 Stewart Brand<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of us who own land in coastal northern California have a constant problem eradicating (or even keeping under control) Scotch broom, that ubiquitous plant with the yellow flowers that covers more of the hills every year. After a rain it isn\u2019t too hard to pull out if you have a strong back and the right warrior spirit. But sometimes they are just too big or the ground is too dry. That\u2019s when you need the Weed Wrench. It\u2019s basically a big lever with a set of jaws at ground level to grip the trunk of the plant. You pull slowly until the jaws engage then yank it out of the ground, roots and all. If broom or other woody weeds are a problem for you, get one of these things. There\u2019s nothing else that even comes close for effective broom removal. It amazes me that they aren\u2019t in every hardware story in northern California, but so it is. Order it from the web site. They come in four sizes. The medium is probably best for most jobs. \u2014 John Coate<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Affordable quality tillers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rogue Hoes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After trying several types of gardening on my homestead in the rainy Pacific Northwest (where my favored \u201cno-till\u201d sheetmulching seems to fail miserably), I\u2019ve settled on the lightly-cultivated approach of Steve Solomon (soilandhealth.org). The old-fashioned and well-sharpened garden hoe is the workhorse of this technique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After going to every garden center and hardware store around, and going through a few cheaper units with bad handles and unsharpenable blades, I decided to spend what it takes to get a good one. Imagine my pleasant surprise when the finest hoes I could find online were the same price OR CHEAPER than the flimsy, cheaply made Mexican and Chinese imported units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rogue Hoes are all about $30 and come in a myriad of sizes and blade shapes. I use the 65g for general soil-mixing-and-moving and weed slicing and the 60S \u201cstealth bomber\u201d to remove weeds from tight spots. The blade takes a very keen edge with a little filing and the handles should last a very long time with occasional oiling and the most basic of care: keep them out of the rain and hang them with the blade and handle off the ground. \u2014 Rob Campbell<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Once a week we\u2019ll send out a page from Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities. The tools might be outdated or obsolete, and the links to them may or may not work. We present these vintage recommendations as is because\u00a0the possibilities they inspire are new.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to get Tools for Possibilities a week early in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tools for Possibilities: issue no. 183<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2387],"tags":[2388],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45802"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45808,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45802\/revisions\/45808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}