Choosing planting

What is a hoe used for?

A funny name for an essential gardening tool

Contents

Modified the 1 September 2025 by Olivier 2 min. Difficulty: Débutant

The hoe is undoubtedly the most versatile gardening tool. Not far removed from the hand hoe, it is used for weeding, tilling, digging, raking, and hilling… in the vegetable garden, as well as in the ornamental garden and even in pots and planters. The hoe is characterised by having “two tools” on the same handle: always a blade (for hilling, digging, and weeding) but either a tines (for creating furrows) or a mini-fork for raking and aerating. The hoe, sometimes referred to as “ray floret”, is so practical that you will use it daily in the garden. Whether it has a long handle or a short one, no gardener should venture into the garden without their hoe.

Difficulty

What is a hoe?

The hoe, sometimes referred to as “black ray“, is a small, lightweight tool that always features two different tools opposite each other on the same handle. The hoe is either made up of a blade and a tongue (in which case it is sometimes called “furrow tracer“), or a blade and a fork. The blade is a flat, square edge, resembling a mini hoe. The tongue (or tongue of an ox) is sharper than the blade and shaped… like a tongue. The fork consists of two or three tines depending on the model.

This quirky and friendly name “hoe” comes from its use: “to hoe or to scratch the soil“, meaning “to stir or scrape the earth”. Over time and across regions, the hoe has been given other names such as “binochon”, “houette”, “black ray”, “marochon”, and even “bêchelon”.

The hoe can be mounted on a short or long handle, the latter being perfect for preserving the back. If you choose a short-handled hoe for small tasks in your flower beds or planters, feel free to squat while keeping your back straight.

The head of the hoe, whether it has a tongue or a fork, should be made of steel. The handle can be made of wood, steel, or plastic. Opt for a simple and sturdy tool, as this is a tool used daily in the garden. Some hoes can be fitted with removable handles, allowing you to choose between a short or long handle at your leisure.

Hoes

How to use a hoe?

The hoe allows for multiple uses in both ornamental gardens and vegetable plots.

Weeding: this is a generic term for aerating, loosening, and weeding the soil. Regardless of the type of hoe chosen, it can be used to weed your vegetable garden and flower beds;
Weed and hoe: the blade allows for weeding by scraping the surface of the soil like a mini-hoe, which is known as hoeing;
Digging and creating furrows: the blade and the tongue can alternately dig small planting holes or sowing furrows;
Hilling: the blade can also be used to hill certain plants or vegetables like a hoe.
Griffing and Aerating: this is the main role of the fork. The tines allow for aerating the soil for better penetration of water and air into the soil. The tines of the mini-fork can also griff the soil to assist with weeding or to incorporate compost, manure…

gardening tool Regularly griff the soil!