Hoe (tool)

thumb|upright=1.35|A farmer using a hoe to keep weeds down in a vegetable garden.

A '''hoe''' is an ancient and versatile agricultural and horticultural hand tool used to shape soil, remove weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops. Shaping the soil includes piling soil around the base of plants (hilling), digging narrow furrows (drills) and shallow trenches for planting seeds or bulbs. Weeding with a hoe includes agitating the surface of the soil or cutting foliage from roots, and clearing the soil of old roots and crop residues. Hoes for digging and moving soil are used to harvest root crops such as potatoes.

==Types==  {{multiple images|image1=CultivatingToolPullHoe.jpg|caption1=Cultivating tool, a pull or draw hoe |image2=CultivatingToolPushHoe.jpg|caption2=Cultivating tool, a push or thrust hoe}}

There are many kinds of hoes of varied appearances and purposes. Some offer multiple functions, while others have only a singular and specific purpose.

There are two general types of hoe: draw hoes for shaping soil, and scuffle hoes for weeding and aerating soil.

A '''draw hoe''' has a blade set at approximately a right angle to the shaft. The user chops into the ground and then pulls (draws) the blade towards them. Altering the angle of the handle can cause the hoe to dig deeper or more shallowly as the hoe is pulled. A draw hoe can easily be used to cultivate soil to a depth of several centimetres. A typical design of draw hoe, the "eye hoe", has a ring in the head through which the handle is fitted.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Deppe|first1=Carol|title=The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times|date=5 Oct 2010|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|location=White River Junction, Vermont|isbn=9781603583152|page=101|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xf5Q4jo_mEEC&q=%22eye+hoes%22&pg=PA101|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> This design has been used since Roman times.

A '''scuffle hoe''' is used to scrape the surface of the soil, loosen the top few centimetres, and to cut the roots of, remove, and disrupt the growth of weeds efficiently. These are primarily of two different designs: the Dutch hoe and the hoop hoe.

A '''hand hoe''' is usually a light-weight, short-handled hoe of any type, although it may be used simply to contrast hand-held tools against animal- or machine-pulled tools.

===Draw hoes=== [[File:Sachos_e_picarañas.jpg|thumb|Eye hoe heads, some with sow-tooth (German: Sauzahn), ''Centro Etnográfico de Soutelo de Montes'', Pontevedra, Spain ]]

[[File:Hoedad2-Kaibab-Nat-Forest.jpg|Hoedad (tree-planting tool) Kaibab National Forest, Arizona, USA|thumb]]

* The typical farming and gardening hoe with a heavy, broad blade and a straight edge is known as the '''Italian hoe''',<ref>{{cite book|last=Eisen|first=Gustavus A.|title=The Raisin Industry: A Practical Treatise on the Raisin Grapes, Their History, Culture and Curing|date=1890|publisher=H. S. Crocker|location=Sacramento, USA|page=131|isbn=9780598282446|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yBJCAAAAYAAJ&q=%22italian++hoe%22|access-date=23 May 2015}}</ref> '''grub hoe, grubbing hoe''', '''azada''' (from Spanish),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wakeley|first=Philip Carman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xsc8AAAAYAAJ|title=Planting the Southern Pines|date=1954|publisher=Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture|pages=5, 134, 228–231|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How to Use a Grub Hoe|url=http://www.easydigging.com/how-to/use-grub-hoe.html|website=Easy Digging: Productive Tools for Garden and Farm|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Quarters|first=Cindy|title=What Is a Grubbing Hoe? (with pictures)|url=http://www.homequestionsanswered.com/what-is-a-grubbing-hoe.htm|access-date=2021-12-26|website=Home Questions Answered|language=en-US}}</ref> '''grab hoe''','''<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Mangalindan|first1=Fe S. J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OlgpTSJWF3IC|title=TECHNOLOGY and HOME ECONOMICS|last2=de Guzman|first2=Dionisia G.|last3=de la Rosa|first3=Juanito S.|last4=Asprer|first4=Fe F.|publisher=Rex Bookstore, Inc.|year=1994|isbn=978-971-23-1345-5|volume=2|pages=72|language=en}}</ref>''' '''pattern hoe<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cutler|first=Karan Davis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2SLeqpEBPAC|title=Essential Tools: Equipment and Supplies for Home Gardeners|date=2002|publisher=Brooklyn Botanic Garden|isbn=978-1-889538-50-1|pages=16|language=en}}</ref>''' or '''dago hoe<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6M-AQAAMAAJ|title=Appendix to the Journals of the Senate and Assembly of the Forty-Third Session of the Legislature of the State of California|year=1919|volume=4|pages=41|language=en|quote=From my personal observation in handling fires in this district, I find the shovel and the "dago" hoe to be the most effective tools for the fighters ...|last1=Senate|first1=California. Legislature}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IT1QAAAAYAAJ|title=National Gardening|publisher=National Gardening Association|year=1994|volume=17|pages=1|language=en}}</ref>''' ("dago" being an ethnic slur referring to Italians, Spaniards, or Portuguese). * The '''ridging hoe''', also known as the '''Warren hoe'''<ref name=rockwell>{{cite wikisource |first=Frederick F. |last=Rockwell |authorlink=Frederick Frye Rockwell |year=1911 |title=Home_Vegetable_Gardening |chapter=Chapter V}}</ref> and the '''drill hoe''', is a triangular (point-down) or heart-shaped draw hoe that is particularly useful for digging narrow furrows ("drills") and shallow trenches for the planting of seeds or bulbs.<ref name=amgardcal>{{cite book|last1=Mrs. Loudon|first1=Jane|title=The Amateur Gardener's Calendar: a Monthly Guide, Etc|date=1847|publisher=Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans|location=London|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h4xhAAAAcAAJ&q=%22fork+hoe%22&pg=PA65|access-date=13 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cutler|first1=Karan|title=Essential Tools: Equipment and Supplies for Home Gardeners|date=2002|publisher=Brooklyn Botanic Garden|location=New York|isbn=9781889538501|page=16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_2SLeqpEBPAC&q=%22warren+hoe%22&pg=PA16|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref> * The '''Paxton hoe''' is similar to the Italian hoe, but with a more rounded rectangular blade. * The '''flower hoe''' has a very small blade, rendering it useful for light weeding and aerating around growing plants, so as not to disturb their shallow roots while removing weeds beyond the reach of the gardener's arm. *The '''hoedad''', '''hoedag''' or '''hodag''' is a hoe-like tool used to plant trees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forestry.about.com/b/2008/05/28/hoedads-the-tool-the-cooperative.htm|title=Hoedads: The Tool, The Cooperative|last=Nix|first=Steve|date=May 28, 2008|publisher=About.com|access-date=July 19, 2013|archive-date=May 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513174308/http://forestry.about.com/b/2008/05/28/hoedads-the-tool-the-cooperative.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Hartzell (1987, p. 29), "The hoedag [was] originally called '''skindvic hoe'''... Hans Rasmussen, legendary contractor and timber farm owner, is credited with having invented the curved, convex, round-nosed hoedag blade which is widely used today" (emphasis added).<ref>{{cite book |title= Birth of a Cooperative: Hoedads, Inc. A Worker Owned Forest Labor Co-op |last= Hartzell |first= Hal Jr.|year= 1987 |publisher= Hulogos'i Communications |location=Eugene, OR|isbn= 0-938493-09-4|page=29}}</ref> * The '''mortar hoe''' is a tool specific to the manual mixing of mortar and concrete, and has the appearance of a typical square-bladed draw hoe with the addition of large holes in the blade.<ref>{{cite web|title=California Ag Mechanics Tool ID Manual|url=http://ag.csuchico.edu/agmech/slides/ShowAll.asp|website=CSU Chico College of Agriculture|publisher=California State University|access-date=14 May 2015}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Scuffle hoes===

* The '''Dutch hoe''' is designed to be pushed or pulled through the soil to cut the roots of weeds just under the surface. A Dutch hoe has a blade "sharp on every side so as to cut either forward and backward".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Loudon|first1=John|title=The Horticulturist, Gardening in America Series|date=1871|publisher=Applewood Books|isbn=9781429013680|page=84|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GyeicE-T_lgC&q=%22thrust+hoes%22&pg=PA84|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> The blade must be set in a plane slightly upwardly inclined in relation to the dual axis of the shaft. The user pushes the handle to move the blade forward, forcing it below the surface of the soil and maintaining it at a shallow depth by altering the angle of the handle while pushing. A scuffle hoe can easily cultivate the soil and remove weeds from the surface layer. * The '''hoop hoe''', also known as the action hoe,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Darling|first1=David|title=Hoe|url=http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/H/AE_hoe.html|website=Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy|access-date=12 May 2015}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Compagnucci |first=Sebastian |date=14 March 2024 |title=This $28 Garden Tool Cut My Weeding Time in Half |url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/garden-weeding-tool-stirrup-hoe/ |work=The New York Times}}</ref> oscillating hoe, hula hoe,<ref name=":0" /> stirrup hoe,<ref name=":0" /> scuffle hoe,<ref name=":0" /> loop hoe,<ref name=":0" /> pendulum weeder,<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Progress Report, September 1, 1984|url=http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdaar177.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113922/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/pdaar177.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2016|website=USAID|publisher=United States Agency for International Development|access-date=21 May 2015}}</ref> or swivel hoe) has a double-edge blade that bends around to form a rectangle attached to the shaft. Weeds are cut just below the surface of the soil as the blade is pushed and pulled. The back and forth motion is highly effective at cutting weeds in loose or friable soil. The width of the blade typically ranges between {{convert|3|and|7|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on|0}}. The head is a loop of flat, sharpened strap metal. However, it is not as efficient as a draw hoe for moving soil.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Green|first1=Victor|title=The Scuffle Hoe—A Valuable Tool for Small Plot Work on Non-Rocky Soils|journal=Agronomy Journal|date=1 February 1954|volume=46|issue=2|pages=94–95|doi=10.2134/agronj1954.00021962004600020011x|bibcode=1954AgrJ...46...94G |url=https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/aj/abstracts/46/2/AJ0460020094|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128072640/https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/aj/abstracts/46/2/AJ0460020094|url-status=dead}}</ref> * The '''collinear hoe''' or '''collineal hoe''' has a narrow, razor-sharp blade which is used to slice the roots of weeds by skimming it just under the surface of the soil with a sweeping motion;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnnyseeds.com/assets/information/9093-9546-9587_collinear-hoe_manual.pdf|date=1995|title=Collinear Hoe Instructions|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing}}</ref> it is unsuitable for tasks like soil moving and chopping. It was designed by Eliot Coleman in the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Byczynski|first1=Lynn|title=The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers|date=22 Feb 2008|publisher=Chelsea Green Publishing|location=Vermont, USA|isbn=978-1603580762|page=68|edition=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iv8j2QkMNM8C&dq=%22collinear+hoe%22+coleman+designed+Byczynski&pg=PA68 }}</ref> * The '''swoe hoe''' is a modern,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1194599/swoe-hoe-chadwick-hulme/|title=Swoe|date=1959 |publisher=V&A Images}}</ref> one-sided cutting hoe, being a variant of the Dutch hoe.

===Other hoes=== [[File:Rebmann.jpg|thumb|upright|Fork-hoe depiction in ''Der Rebmann (the vine-dresser).'' Jost Amman, ''Das Ständebuch'', 1568]]

Hoes resembling neither draw nor scuffle hoes include:

* '''Wheel hoes''' are, as the name suggests, a hoe or pair of hoes attached to one or more wheels. The hoes are frequently interchangeable with other tools.<ref>{{cite book|title=Power Farming|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dk1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA191|access-date=10 July 2013|year=1919|publisher=Power Farming, Incorporated|page=191}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=US Patent 1017048, Cultivator, filed 1911|url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=1017048.PN.&OS=PN/1017048&RS=PN/1017048|website=USPTO US Patent Database|publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office|access-date=15 May 2015|archive-date=20 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220164327/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=1017048.PN.&OS=PN/1017048&RS=PN/1017048|url-status=dead}}</ref> The historic manufacturer of the wheel hoe was Planet JR, these wheel hoes are still produced by Hoss Tools.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://hosstools.com/ |title=Home |website=hosstools.com}}</ref> {{Anchor|horse-hoe}} * '''Horse hoes''', resembling small ploughs, were a favourite implement of agricultural pioneer Jethro Tull, who claimed in his book "Horse Hoeing Husbandry" that "the horse-hoe will, in wide intervals, give wheat throughout all the stages of its life, as much nourishment as the discreet hoer pleases."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tull|first1=Jethro|title=Horse Hoeing Husbandry|date=1731|publisher=A Miller|location=London|page=149|edition=Third|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MogaAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Horse+hoe%22|access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref> The modern view is that, rather than nutrients being released, the crop simply benefits from the removal of competing plants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historic Figures: Jethro Tull (1674 - 1741)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/tull_jethro.shtml|website=BBC|publisher=The BBC|access-date=13 June 2015}}</ref> The introduction of the horse hoe, together with the better-known seed drill, brought about the great increase farming productivity seen during the British Agricultural Revolution.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nj8ixXhFgLAC&q=seed+drill+invention&pg=PA122|title=Agricultural Revolution in England: The Transformation of the Agrarian Economy 1500–1850|pages=121–122|author=Overton, Mark|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-521-56859-5}}</ref> * '''Fork hoes''' (also known as prong hoes,<ref name=rockwell/> tined hoes, Canterbury hoes, drag forks or bent forks) are hoes that have two or more tines at right angles to the shaft. Their use is typically to loosen the soil, prior to planting or sowing.<ref name=amgardcal/> * '''Clam hoes''', made for clam digging<ref>{{cite web|title=Clamming|url=http://maineclammers.org/clamming/|website=Maine Clammers Association|access-date=18 October 2016|archive-date=10 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110190352/http://maineclammers.org/clamming/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * '''Adze hoes''', with the basic hoe shape but heavier and stronger and with traditional uses in trail making.<ref>{{cite web|title=Handtools for Trail Work - 2005 Edition|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/fs_publications/05232810/page09.cfm}}</ref> * '''Pacul''' or '''cangkul''' (hoes similar to adze hoe from Malaysia and Indonesia) * '''Gang hoes''' for powered use (in use at least from 1887 to 1964).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Periam|first1=Jonathan|title=The American Encyclopedia of Agriculture: A Treasury of Useful Information for the Farm and Household|date=1887|publisher=Continental Publishing Company|location=New York|page=327|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUc7AQAAMAAJ&q=%22gang+hoes%22|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=British Tractor and Farm Machinery Journal, Vol 11 iss 24, vol 12 iss 26, vol 13 iss 28|date=1964|publisher=N. Kark Publications|location=London|page=149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uMpFAAAAYAAJ&q=%22gang+hoes%22|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Model tractor, type 2D, equipped with toolbar and set of gang hoes|url=http://collectionsonline.nmsi.ac.uk/detail.php?t=objects&type=browse&f=CATEGORY1&s=SCM+-+Agricultural+Engineering&record=294|website=Collections Online|publisher=Science Museum Group|access-date=15 May 2015}}</ref> {{clear}} <gallery mode="packed" widths="200" heights="120"> File:Dutch hoe.JPG|An old Dutch hoe File:Push Hoe.jpg|A push hoe File:Weeder.jpg|A Dutch hoe or push hoe; usually attached to a long hilt and handle File:Hoe 1.jpg|Curved blade File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Metalen_hak_met_houten_steel_TMnr_3401-3.jpg| Indonesian Pacul File:Hawea coûteure.jpg|Short-handled grub hoe File:Magaglio, dettaglio.jpg|Fork hoe File:Rake_in_Kenya.jpg|A three-tined hoe from Mount Kenya. File:Japanese-hoe-biccyukuwa,katori-city,japan.JPG|Japanese 'bicchiu-guwa' (びっちゅうぐわ), a fork-hoe for paddy fields. File:Adze.jpg|Blade of an adze File:EB1911 Hoe - Martin’s One-Row Horse Hoe.jpg|Horse hoe File:Schrepel_DSCN1238.JPG|A hand hoe, i.e. a small, short-handled hoe </gallery>

==History== {{see|Hoe-cultivation belt}} Hoes are an ancient technology, predating the plough and perhaps preceded only by the digging stick. In Sumerian mythology, the invention of the hoe was credited to Enlil, the chief of the council of gods.<ref>PBS. ''Heritage: Civilization and the Jews''. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20011230005722/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/episode1/atlas/map2.html Nippur]". Accessed 26 Nov 2012.</ref> The hoe features in a Sumerian disputation poem known as the Debate between the hoe and the plough, dating to the 3rd millennium BC, where a personified hoe debates a personified plough over which tool is the better. At the end of the poem, the hoe is declared the winner.{{Sfn|Jimenez|2017|p=13–18}} Another composition from the same era and language, the Song of the hoe, is dedicated to the praise of this tool.

The hand-plough (''mr'') was depicted in predynastic Egyptian art, and hoes are also mentioned in ancient documents like the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 18th century BC) and the Book of Isaiah (c. 8th century BC).

Long-term use of short-handled hoes, which required the user to bend over from the waist to reach the ground, could cause permanent, crippling lower back pain to farm workers. Over time, this resulted in change after a struggle led by César Chávez with the political help of Governor Jerry Brown in the California Supreme Court. They declared that the short-handled hoe was an unsafe hand tool, which was then banned under California law in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers' Struggle |url=https://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/book1.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415143809/http://www.pbs.org/itvs/fightfields/book1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |publisher=Pbs.org| access-date= December 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bruns|first1=Roger|title=Cesar Chavez: A Biography|date=2005|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|pages=91–92|isbn=9780313334528|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QuDvaINavwMC&q=chavez+brown+hoe&pg=PA91|access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref>

<gallery> File:Skorpion II.svg|'Mr' hand-plough, Protodynastic Period of Egypt (from the Scorpion Macehead) File:Houe_égyptienne_antique,_Musée_des_beaux-arts_de_Rennes.JPG|An ancient Egyptian hoe File:1257 - Keramikos Museum, Athens - Iron tool - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 12 2009.jpg|Ancient Greek iron hoe (Kerameikos Archaeological Museum) File:RomanHoeBlade.jpg|A 2000-year-old iron Roman hoe blade File:Raster_rastrus_rastrum_1890.png|Roman fork-hoe, called a "Raster" File:Shennong2.jpg|Shennong the Divine Farmer (Han dynasty, 2nd century) File:YU motike.jpg|Draw hoe blades from Serbia File:Une(Japanese)(ridge)- between plowed furrows-1.JPG|Hilling ''Japanese Une (畝)'' for scallions, ploughed by rotary tiller or hoe (2007) File:Draw hoe and Dutch hoe.jpg|Draw hoe (left) and Dutch hoe (right) sold now in the UK. File:Flag_of_Mozambique.svg|Flag of Mozambique, featuring a draw hoe </gallery>

==Archaeological use==

Over the past fifteen or twenty years,{{As of?|date=April 2025}} hoes have become increasingly popular tools for professional archaeologists. While not as accurate as the traditional trowel, the hoe is an ideal tool for cleaning relatively large open areas of archaeological interest. It is faster to use than a trowel, and produces a much cleaner surface than an excavator bucket or shovel-scrape, and consequently on many open-area excavations the once-common line of kneeling archaeologists trowelling backwards has been replaced with a line of stooping archaeologists with hoes.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading== * {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Hoe (implement) |year=1905}} * {{Cite book |last=Jimenez |first=Enrique |url=https://brill.com/display/title/32443 |title=The Babylonian Disputation Poems |chapter=The Babylonian Disputation Poems: With Editions of the Series of the Poplar, Palm and Vine, the Series of the Spider, and the Story of the Poor, Forlorn Wren |date=2017 |publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-33626-1 }} * Evans, Chris, “The Plantation Hoe: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Commodity, 1650–1850,” ''William and Mary Quarterly,'' (2012) 69#1 pp 71–100.

==External links== {{Wikiquote}} {{Commons category|Hoes}} * "Scuffle hoe" or "Dutch hoe" as defined by [http://www.memidex.com/dutch-hoe Memidex/WordWeb dictionary/thesaurus] * Photographs of horse hoes at [http://scalesmuseum.com/farmmachinery.html Scales And Rural Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607233738/http://scalesmuseum.com/farmmachinery.html |date=2016-06-07 }}

Category:Gardening tools