Troy’s essential tools for weeding

Troy's Essential Tools for Weeding

The tools you use make a huge difference to the results you get. I rely on just a few basics, which I'm going to share with you in this lesson, along with considerations around weeding and deadheading.

1. Good Fork and Spade

• I find the balance and weight of older ones better.
• Normal-sized forks are fine for digging large areas, but border forks have smaller heads, which are better for delicate work among plants.
• I use Skelton.
• Choose between a T-shaped or D-shaped handle - I prefer D-shaped.

2. Onion Hoe

• Very useful in combination with a trug.

3. Traditional Sussex Trug

• Made from chestnut and hazel.
• Has feet that lift it off the ground so you can put it down in a bed knowing it's not squashing plants.
• Can lean on the handle while reaching into the bed, as it's quite solid.
• Can pick it up from a distance with the onion hoe.

4. Hessian Sheet 8ft Square ('donkeys')

• Takes the place of a wheelbarrow or plastic sheet.
• Lay it out, put material onto it, sling it over your shoulder - easier to negotiate narrow paths and steps than a barrow.

To Weed Out or Not to Weed Out

We weed beds using the edge of the onion hoe every six weeks so that weeds don't have a chance to flower and seed. Seedlings can be hard to identify, but you'll become familiar with them over time and get to know what comes up in your garden.

Think about design as you weed - consider which self-seeders to leave and which to take out. Think about colours, how much you want of each plant and where, and whether it will smother others. These decisions will impact on how the border looks for the rest of the year and next.

To Deadhead or Not to Deadhead

• Many plants that flower before midsummer, e.g. Polemonium, Geranium, Pulmonaria, don't need deadheading - just cut them down to the ground after flowering, and they'll come back with fresh foliage.
• Some plants, such as Anthemis and pansies, should be deadheaded regularly to encourage more flowers.

Sourcebook

• Burgon and Ball stainless border fork from RHS Plants
• Burgon and Ball stainless border spade from RHS Plants
• DeWit onion hand hoe 10cm with ash handle from RHS Plants
• Wooden garden trug from RHS Plants
• Large wooden garden trug from RHS Plants
• Hessian roll, 6ft wide by 9m long (for cutting into 6ft squares) from B&Q
• Hessian roll, 6ft wide by custom length from Just the Job Supplies

If you're looking for a vintage border fork or border spade like Troy's one by Skelton, it will be harder to find than a modern version, but it's worth trying the following:

• Local antique shops that have a garden or tool section
• Local reclamation yards (phoning ahead can save a wasted trip)
• Garden & Wood, an online retailer of antique garden tools, furniture and ephemera
• Old Garden Tools, an online retailer of antique and vintage garden tools
• The 'antique garden tools' section of Country Home Antiques, another option for buying online
• Ebay - try searching for 'Skelton fork' or 'Skelton spade' and filtering as appropriate

Plant Directory

Anthemis cupaniana

Sicilian chamomile

Half-hardy evergreen perennial

Asteraceae

Anthriscus sylvestris

Cow parsley

Hardy, short-lived herbaceous perennial or sometimes biennial

Apiaceae

Campanula species and cultivars

Bellflowers

Hardy herbaceous perennials

Campanulaceae

Digitalis purpurea and its cultivars and forms

Foxgloves

Hardy semi-evergreen biennials or short-lived perennials

Plantaginaceae

Iris germanica species and cultivars

Bearded irises

Hardy herbaceous perennials from rhizomes

Iridaceae

Filipendula vulgaris (previously Filipendula hexapetala)

Dropwort

Hardy herbaceous perennial

Rosaceae

Geranium species and cultivars

Hardy geraniums, cranesbills

Hardy herbaceous perennials

Geraniaceae

Lunaria annua

Honesty

Hardy annual or herbaceous biennial

Brassicaceae

Myosotis sylvatica

Garden forget-me-not

Hardy semi-evergreen perennial, often grown as biennial

Boraginaceae

Nigella species and cultivars

Love-in-a-mist

Hardy annuals

Ranunculaceae

Leucanthemum vulgare

Ox-eye daisy

Hardy herbaceous perennial

Asteraceae

Papaver somniferum

Opium poppy

Hardy annual

Papaveraceae

Polemonium species and cultivars

Jacob's ladder

Hardy herbaceous perennials (some are annuals)

Polemoniaceae

Pulmonaria species and cultivars

Lungwort

Hardy herbaceous or semi-evergreen perennials from rhizomes

Boraginaceae

Silene dioica

Red campion

Semi-evergreen

Caryophyllaceae

Viola × wittrockiana cultivars

Pansies

Hardy evergreen short-lived perennials

Violaceae

Glossary

Deadhead

Removing spent flowerheads after flowering has finished to promote the production of more flowers or prevent seeding.

Rhizome

An underground stem that acts as a storage organ, from which plants such as irises and cannas grow.