How to Use a Hand Cultivator

A hand cultivator is a gardening tool that is used to turn the soil where plants and vegetables are planted, or it can be used to remove weeds from soil in a garden. For small flower or vegetable gardens, a hand cultivator can be used like a small plow to turn the earth and dig the planting rows. Using a hand cultivator is not difficult, and this easy to follow step-by-step guide will show you everything you need to know in order to properly use the tool.

Using a Hand Cultivator to Turn Soil for Plating

Step 1 - Wear Your Gloves

Before using a hand cultivator, you should always put on a pair of gardening or work gloves. The wooden handle of a hand cultivator can easily cause blisters or calluses on your hands and make using the tool painful.

Step 2 - Create Sowing Lines

Before you begin using the hand cultivator to till the ground in your garden, you should first take the tool and create lines for sowing the seeds. To do this, simply go to one end of your planting bed or garden and drag the tool in a straight line to the other side. Continue doing this for as many lines or rows of seeds that you want to sow. Keep in mind proper spacing requirements for the type of plant or vegetable you will be planting.

Step 3 - Turn the Soil

To begin turning the soil, take the tool and use it in a chopping-like manner to dig into the ground along the sowing line you created earlier. Use the tool to dig out the earth along the sowing line and break up the clumps of soil as well as loosen up clods. You can also use the tool to dig out rocks or stones in the soil and remove them. Continue using the tool to work the soil until you have completed digging the shallow trenches needed to sow your plants or vegetables.

Using a Hand Cultivator to Remove Weeds from a Garden

Step 1 - Use Tool to Rake Surface of Soil

You can also use a hand cultivator to help remove weeds from your flower or vegetable garden. To do this, begin by using the tool to rake the surface of the soil. This will help you to smooth out the soil and also to identify weeds and their roots.

Step 2 - Locate Roots of Weeds with Tool

While gently dragging the hand cultivator across the surface of the soil, make sure that the blades go into the soil at least half an inch or so. Most weeds sprout close to the surface of the soil. So, root structures for the weeds will usually be very close to the surface. You can use the tips of the blades to locate the roots of the weeds so that you can remove them.

Step 3 - Use Cultivator to Pull Out Weeds

Once you have located roots for the weeds, give the hand cultivator a good tug and pull out the weeds. Once the weeds are removed, create a pile of them and then later discard them.