Many great weeding tools are available for various uses and purposes. The “Yankee Weeder” or “Cape cod weeder” is a favorite hand tool in the gardening community. Like many great tools, it does come with a price. However, you can easily make one out of a used generic paint roller handle. Here is how.
What is a Yankee or Cape Cod Weeder good for?
The Yankee Weeder is a versatile tool for maintaining your garden. It’s great for edging gardens, removing weeds from walkway cracks, or weeding around closely spaced plants. The Cape Cod Weeder design slices through the soil, cutting weeds below the surface. It also aerates and loosens the soil. All in all, it’s a must-have tool in the garden.
The DIY version has the advantage that you can sharpen both sides, making it even more versatile and useful.
What will you need to make a DIY Weeder Tool?
I want to emphasize that this is an option for people who enjoy DIY projects and already have all the tools needed to complete them. If you are also planning to do the painting yourself, then there is probably nothing you will need to buy.
You will need a Paint Roller handle to make a DIY Yankee or Cape Cod Weeder Tool. It can be a used one. Since we do not need the roller, just the lightweight handle. Choose one that sits well in your hands.
To flatten the tool, you can use a light sledgehammer and anvil. Since I don’t own an anvil, I used a large sledgehammer instead. After flattening the end part of the handle, I sharpened its front and back sides with a bench grinder.
You can also optionally harden the blade by heating it to glowing red(approx. 1700F) and “quenching” it in cold water.
Step by step on how to make the DIY Yankee or Cape Cod Weeder Tool
- Use a sledgehammer and anvil to flatten the end part of the paint roller.
- Now, sharpen one or both sides of the tool.
- Optionally harden by heating to 1700F and “quenching” in cold water or oil.
How to use the tool in the garden
The DIY Yankee or Cape Cod Weeder Tool is useful for various purposes. Move it back and forth to loosen the soil’s surface. Small weeds will come right out, while bigger weeds can be cut off below the surface.
This tool is great for keeping the edges of a raised bed weed-free. Use it towards the board to cut off all the weeds.
This tool also makes weeding between plants easy. Unlike the loop weeder, however, you must be careful not to cut off a plant accidentally.
I love my DIY Yankee or Cape Cod Weeder Tool. It’s always in use all summer long. It gets a new sharpening at the beginning of the season, and it’s good to go for another growing season. That being said, I don’t overdo it with weeding. Read more on how to deal with garden weeds.
What is your favorite gardening tool? Please share it in the comments below.
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have you thought about, researched, or heard from anyone wha has tried a tube sky lite in a setup like your garage/greenhouse?
We have not. It sure would add more light, but for my understanding not sunlight, since the rays are brocken. Correct me if I am wrong. It still might be better than any grow light, worth doing some research if that is the only way to get light. The other thing to consider is the sun angle, during the winter up north the sun is low.