No More Hand-Pulling: The Easy-To-Use Tool To Remove Young Weeds From Gravel Driveways

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Gravel driveways are both functional and fairly low-maintenance — until the weeds start to crop up. While you may have worked out how deep your gravel driveway needs to be to keep weeds from growing, there are still plenty of other ways these pesky plants can end up between the stones. Hand-pulling weeds to get rid of them takes too much time. Thankfully, you can claw back some of those hours with a simple tool you've probably never even seen before: the AMES Steel and Hardwood Action Hoe.

There are lots of hula hoes on the market — the term 'hula hoe' is another name for this style of hoe. However, this particular long-handled weeder is a sturdy choice because it's manufactured by the American company AMES, which has been making tools since 1774. The AMES action hoe features a hardwood handle with a double-edged blade at the end.

The blade is designed to pivot a little when you use it, allowing you to easily remove the common types of weeds growing in your gravel. It hits a weed just below the crown, pushing it — roots and all — up out of the soil. Customers have given this tool a rating of 4.6 out of 5, writing that it's easy to use and does what the manufacturer claims. It's most effective on young, tender weeds and should work fairly well on a gravel driveway. You can simply grab it from your tool shed any time you spot a few weeds popping up out of the stones and get to work.

Thanks to its long handle, the AMES action hoe can be used by people who can't bend down easily, such as older adults and those with mobility issues. You use the blade to cut through weeds without having to ruin your knees on hard, sharp gravel or don a pair of knee pads. However, if you lean into the handle a little to move the blade forwards and backwards, the tool works even better. If you have a short gravel driveway, this budget-friendly tool will help to keep it weed-free.

There are many types of garden hoes, and they all differ in design and purpose. The action hoe makes light work of small weeds that have only just popped up, like young dandelions and tender oxalis. As mentioned, the tool dislodges a plant's roots and pulls it out of the soil. However, the action hoe may not work so well on larger weeds; it simply cuts the roots, leaving them in the ground to sprout leaves again. You might have to hoe weeds with a long taproot repeatedly until they stop growing, or try another method.

Some customers have mentioned that the blades on their AMES action hoe aren't quite sharp enough to cut through weeds. If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can sharpen the blades yourself with a coarse metal file. Make sure you only file the beveled side of the blade to maintain its cutting edge.