Here’s HerbDoc with some garden tool chat:

Before I run outside to the garden and get them all dirty, here are two of the several tools that I couldn’t resist ordering after a late winter presentation on hand tools.

The first is a Hori-Hori which is also referred to as a soil knife or a weeding knife. The word “hori” means to dig in Japanese.  It’s a heavy, serrated multi-purpose steel knife which is sharp on both sides and has a pointed end.

The knife was originally used for carefully removing Sansui, or foraged vegetables, from the mountains in Japan.  Modern gardeners use it for cutting roots, transplanting, removing plants and splitting perennials.  Its first chore in my garden will be the long overdue process of dividing and transplanting the daylilies!

I love the fact that it has an orange handle to alert me to its whereabouts and a leather holster to store it away.

The second one is a Ho-Mi, a Korean hand plow that has been used for over 5000 years in digging, cultivating and furrowing the earth.  It has a triangular head with a sharp point and a curved arm around to the handle.  The curve adds leverage to pull weeds, to scoop up plants for transplanting or to make holes for transplants.

This one is supposed to be great for folks with bad wrists and can be used instead of a trowel.  Maybe I’ll paint the handle on this one orange too so I don’t lose it in the garden!