In most of my life I’m a gadget freak. But when it comes to gardening, I’m pretty basic. When Learn2Grow® asked, “What’s your favorite garden tool?” my answer was quick and easy: a trowel. Give me a trowel, a hose and an occasional hoe for weeding, and I’m usually good to go. Most of the time when I leave my garden, I do so with dirty hands.
The long, hooklike blade of the CobraHead® makes digging targeted plants easy, even in tight planting situations.
Photo Credit: ©2008 Frank Tansey
The CobraHead® is perfect for working the soil in small square-foot gardening areas.
Photo Credit: ©2008 Frank Tansey
Now I must confess that I have a new favorite – a tool that some might call a “gadget,” and one with an unusual name: the CobraHead®.
Anyone holding this interesting tool might be mistaken for “Captain Hook,” given its long, curved, steel blade (although you don’t see too many pirates out in the garden). It’s easy to grasp, comfortable to hold, and it helps me work the soil. Whether weeding, loosening rocky terrain or digging out old plants, I now have the leverage to easily complete the task at hand.
My garden is either a rocky, native-grass, deer-infested area in front of the house or a square-foot, raised-bed, fenced-in, mostly-vegetable-garden in the back. When I got the CobraHead, I went to work in the rocky front yard first. I quickly learned that the tool works well for creating a new planting area in such conditions. It easily cuts through rough ground to loosen soil and small to midsize rocks. And I can add amendments and prepare the planting hole far easier than working with my trusty trowel or spade.
In my veggie garden, the challenge of working rocky soil doesn’t exist. Still, I find myself always working the soil, adding fertilizer and harvesting plants. However, more than anything, I use the CobraHead for keeping my garden weed-free. The tool’s sleek shape makes it easy to work between plants and get down to the roots to loosen those pesky weeds for quick removal.
The CobraHead has even proved itself when working with my container plants, because I can work the soil more when replanting. By de-compacting the soil, I can refresh it without totally replacing the potting mix. I can also work amendments into the pot to help get my container plants off to a great start.
Recently, my neighbor was digging up irises in her garden. As we were talking, she was growing increasingly frustrated that her digging was either breaking the rhizomes of her plants or taking up more irises than she was aiming for. Fetching my CobraHead from the veggie bed, I simply handed it to her with a casual, “Try this.” With her first attempt, she was easily prying her targeted plant. (What’s more, her frustrating task had become fun.)
Normally the last thing you’d want to see when you head out into your yard is a cobra. But when I walk into my garden, the bright blue handle of the CobraHead is a welcomed sight. It’s helpful, it’s easy to use, and it’s ready to take on its next gardening challenge. (And now so am I.)
