Easier Than Hand Pulling: Remove Weeds Standing Up With This Amazon Find

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Weeding is one of those tedious, never-ending tasks that every gardener has to deal with, no matter how pristine they keep their yard. While some people find weeding relaxing or even meditative, few enjoy wrestling with stubborn taproots or tangled root balls that refuse to come out of the ground. There are many types of weeder tools you should use in your garden, but if you want to save your knees and your sanity, the CobraHead Stand Up Long Weeder and Cultivator is worth considering — even with its price tag of about $105 for the standard size. The tool's long handle allows you to weed while standing. You no longer have to bend over or kneel as you work pull weeds from your garden bed.

There are two ways you can use the CobraHead to pull out just about any weed in your garden. For shallow-rooted weeds, gently push the curved head into the soil, then sweep it through the top inch or so of dirt to rip out the weeds. For stubborn weeds with deep taproots, point the tip of the tool at the base of the weed, then stab it deep into the soil. Wriggle it back up to the surface to pull the weed out by its taproot. Watch the video on the Amazon listing for a visual demonstration of these techniques. The long handle comes in three sizes — 48 inches, 54 inches, and 60 inches for taller folks — and allows you to get more done in the garden without as much bending or kneeling. Once it's in your tool shed, you'll probably find yourself reaching for it to tackle plenty of other yard chores.

Weeding isn't all this nifty tool is good for, though. Like many of the most useful tools that make gardening in your 50s and 60s easier (or at any age, for that matter), the CobraHead long-handled weeder is highly versatile. The tempered steel blade plows easily through all soil types, even heavily compacted clay. You can, for example, use this tool to turn over a long-neglected garden bed filled with compacted soil, removing weeds as you go. Once you've turned the soil, the bed is ready for planting. Come spring, when it's time to plant the vegetable seedlings you started indoors in late winter, you can create planting furrows in your garden beds with the tool. You can use the same stabbing technique you used to remove deep-rooted weeds.

Hilling is a helpful trick that will ensure a bountiful potato harvest, and you can use the CobraHead long-handled weeder to do it. The blade of the tool can break up clumps of dirt and rake the soil into a mound. Did you cover your raised beds with a thick protective layer of straw mulch — or another mulching material — over winter? Use this tool to scrape away the old mulch, clearing the soil surface for spring planting. Or glide it under fresh mulch to remove weeds without disturbing the top layer. Similarly, turfgrass creeping into garden beds is a perennial problem for gardeners who maintain lawns. You can use the flat-tipped CobraHead blade to edge your beds without bending down to pull the invading grass by hand.