Why Natural Lawn Care and Hand Weeders?

Why care for your lawn naturally? Because it is safe for your family and pets, it performs better than chemicals and pesticides, and if done correctly is less expensive than chemical treatments. Natural lawn care requires a new way of looking at your lawn. It does not provide instant results. And like any lawn care program, it is not perfect and it does take time. Natural lawn care is not just about using natural products or organic fertilizers. It begins with understanding what your grass needs in order to thrive. Get a soil test to determine your soil's PH and nutrient levels. Natural lawn care also calls for regular watering. Do not give more than an inch of water at a time even if you missed a watering, because any more than an inch will not be used by your grass. Leave your grass clippings on your lawn for natural protection and mulching.

A healthy lawn is the best defense against weeds. Natural lawn care is about learning to tolerate some weeds, and removing the rest using hand tools. Some "weeds," like clover, actually improve the soil. Hand-pull or spot-treat the ugly weeds, or those that are likely to spread quickly, and leave the others alone. Seed heavily in the spring as grass begins to grow since good coverage discourages most weeds. Most grasses don't do well if mowed shorter and sickly grass is an open invitation for dandelions and other opportunistic weeds.

Weed pullers are great tools for removing your weeds by hand, safely and efficiently. Other terms often used for weed pullers are weeding tools, weed tools, weed diggers, weed knives, weed uprooter tools, weed pluck tools, weed cutter tools, weed pulling tools, weed puller tools, weed removing tools, weed remover tools, weed extracting tools, weed removing devices, weed clearing hand tools, garden weed pullers, manual weed pullers, weed twist, twist weed, garden twister tools,  weed twisters, cork screw weeders, weed removal claws, weed shovels, tree pullers, root pullers, uproot tools, grass weed pullers, dandelion pullers, dandelion diggers, dandelion knives, dandelion poppers, dandelion tools, dandelion extractor tools, dandelion removing devices, crabgrass removal tools, crabgrass tools and various combinations of these and similar terms.

A number of people with relatively little strength and/or flexibility, but have a need to remove weeds. Unfortunately, many of the early weed pullers were hand tools with short handles, requiring the gardener sit on the ground or bend over in order to use the weed puller. Long-handled weed pullers are great tools. Some of the weed pullers are also designed specifically to remove deeper and larger roots than others. Some weed pullers are unsuitable for extracting long-rooted weeds from lawns without unsightly or unhealthy disruption or removal of grass near the weed. Pincer-type weed pullers are good tools for removing dandelions and other weeds. Special long handled diggers and weed pullers are available that make the tedious weeding job much easier.

It is best to remove problem weeds by hand in the spring and fall. Weeds keep on coming back in the same places. The weeds' roots are deep and most tools only reach 4-6 inches deep. Most weeders are too large and can't get at small weeds in narrow spaces. Some weeders are heavy and hard to use in my raised beds and planters. My back is sore from too much stooping with short handled weeders. And my knees are sore from kneeling to use short handled weeders and knives. Weeds are in my lawn and many weeders' tines are too wide. Weeds are under bushes and can't be reached with my tools. I'm still using some of the same old tools my family has used for many years. My tools have been around as long as I have. The good news is that there are several mechanical solutions to removing dandelions from lawns and removing other types of weeds with very little stress on your back.

Match your tools with the weeds in your garden or state. We think you will be pleasantly surprised by several really cool tools that may be new to you and to many others who haven't yet ventured beyond the traditional hoe and dandelion digger for defending against weeds. Chances are you are beset with weeds of a variety of different types, sizes and shapes. By choosing the right tools, you will be more successful in matching up with your most stubborn weeds. In a sense, weed pullers are designed to surpass the limitations of hand cultivators by removing weeds more precisely or with deeper penetration for larger roots, or both.

Several varieties of weed pullers and weed poppers also compete for the back-saving market, with brands including Grampa's Weeder, Clint's Dandy Digger, and Dandelion Terminator. Most hand cultivators, like hoes for example, and a number of weed pullers provide long-handle convenience. Having a well-chosen set of cultivators and weed pullers over a range of precision and penetration in your weeding tool arsenal enables a better match of tools for the job at hand.

Grampa's Weeder is an ingenious long-handled weed puller invented in 1913. Grampa's Weeder is rapidly becoming known in Australia as the best and easiest way to rid your garden of the serious weeds. With its simple lever design and durable construction, this tried & true tool allows gardeners young and old to pull out weeds (along with their roots) without bending, pulling, kneeling or using harmful chemicals. This is a weed removal tool capable of removing deeply rooted weeds without appreciable disruption of surrounding soil and turf. A fulcrum block attached to the side of one of the poles near the tines provides further mechanical advantage to assist the extraction of weeds upon tilting of the tool in the direction of the fulcrum block, forcing the block against the ground to dislodge the weed. This invention is an improved device for pulling weeds, plants, small trees and the like.

The Dandelion Terminator is a tool for plucking dandelions and other low growing weeds using your drill for the muscles. The Dandelion Terminator destroys dandelions and other broad leaf weeds. It offers a new fast and easy lawn weeding method. And with the 12 inch extension, you don't have to stoop over very far to use it. This tool is easy to use and gets the roots out as well.

The "Ripper" Garden Tool is simply an amazing tool. The steel tines slide under the roots of weeds or grass just below the surface. You will be pleasantly surprised at how easily it removes stubborn weeds & grass by the roots, including Bahia and St. Augustine, two of the toughest in the south, and Zoysia, one of the toughest in the north.

These are just a few of the amazing garden weeding tools offered at Rain Shadow Gardens.