Hula Hoe vs Purslane

Bob Bauer

July 27, 2016 (Last Updated: March 06, 2023) | Reading Time: 1 minutes

July 27, 2016

My hula hoe hasn't been sharpened in so long that if I use it after I've watered it pulls half the weeds out by the roots. This is a good thing, except for the purslane, which will re root before it dies, unless I flip it over. It's an extremely hearty weed that you will find in your garden growing like a cactus in your dry spots, and like a succulent in your wet ones..

(insert pic of purslane here pilgrim:) ) It has edible leaves but they are too small for me to harvest. I'm the guy that plants spinach seeds so close together that I grow a hedge so that I can pick it by the hand full..

August 03, 2016

I think the reason the Hula hoe has become so popular ( pic please pilgrim:)) is that it combines cultivating with weeding in a smooth back and forth movement instead of a chopping one. The traditional method of cultivating a home garden was with the three pronged tool ( Nother pic if you will) which the soil requires in order to stay healthy. Breaking up the top half inch of soil allows air to enter and water to not run off. Mulching eliminates the need to cultivate or weed because the earthworms and insects, combined with the bacteria and fungus, churn the soil, and the weed seeds get smothered by the mulch. I have to use the Hula hoe in all the parts of my garden that I don't have mulch for..

It's hard to get enough free mulch and I'm only willing to buy so much that's why I keep trying to figure out how to use the discarded plant waste that the garden produces. Sheet composting. I don't even own a three prong cultivator and I suspect that in our not too distant enlightened future it will be relegated to the archives of antiquated tools..

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