How to use a hoe without cutting your plants

December 25, 2025

A sharp hoe is about the quickest way there is to keep the weeds down between rows in a veggie patch, and most of the seedlings people lose to one get lost because they were hoeing too deep, so the trick is mostly in how shallow you go.

The two main kinds

A Dutch hoe has a flat blade that faces away from you, and you push it along just under the surface so it slices weeds off at the root. You walk backwards as you go, which means you aren't treading on what you've just cut or packing the soil down. A swan neck hoe has a curved neck with the blade facing back towards you, so you pull it through the soil in short chopping strokes, and it's handy for working in among plants where you want a bit more control.

Keep it shallow

The blade only needs to go a centimetre or two under the surface to cut a small weed off below its growing point. Go deeper than that and you're digging rather than hoeing, which drags up a fresh lot of weed seed to germinate and cuts through the shallow roots of whatever you're actually trying to grow. Hold the handle at a low angle so the blade runs flat, and let the edge do the work rather than your shoulders.

Hoe on a dry day, and hoe them small

The best time to hoe is a warm, dry morning when the top of the soil has dried out, because the weeds you cut off lie on the surface and shrivel up in the sun. Hoe straight after rain or watering and a lot of them simply put their roots back down and keep going. Small weeds are a lot easier than big ones, so a quick run through every week or so does more than a big effort once a month, and it gets them before they flower and set seed.

Leave a gap around your plants

Keep the hoe back from the stems of your vegetables, because onions and lettuce have a lot of their roots right near the surface, and pull the weeds that are right up against a plant out by hand. It's slower for that last bit, and it's a lot quicker than replanting.

The weeds a hoe won't beat

Hoeing works on annual weeds that grow from seed. It's not much use on the ones that come back from bulbs or runners, like onion weed and couch, because cutting the top off just leaves the bulb or runner underground to sprout again, and chopping up runners can even spread them around. Those need digging out properly, roots and all.

Keep it sharp, then mulch

A blunt hoe pushes weeds over instead of cutting them, so run a flat file along the edge every so often to keep it keen. Once a bed is clean, a layer of mulch over the top cuts down how many new weeds come up in the first place, and you'll find you're reaching for the hoe a lot less often.

Shop related products

Hand tools. The hand tool range, for weeding and working the beds.
Martins Organic Sugar Cane Bale 11KG. A light mulch to lay once the bed is clean.
Easy Wetta Garden Mulch, 50L. A bagged mulch that helps keep weeds from coming back.

Did you know we keep hoes in the shop rather than on the website, including Cyclone swan neck and long handle Dutch hoes, Gardenmaster swan neck and Dutch hoes with fibreglass handles, the 3 line fork and hoe, and flat files to keep the edge sharp. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.

The rest of the garden range is in our garden centre, and if you're not sure which hoe suits your beds, come in and have a feel of a couple before you pick one.