Greeman Garden long handled Dandelion Weeder.

Dandelion weeding – the ultimate garden therapy

I’m well known for my stress busting soil shifting sessions, friends and family can usually tell when something’s up due to the mole hill style mounds of earth appearing in the garden.

I’ve now discovered something equally if not more relaxing and slightly addictive but best of all, it’s legal!

I first came across the dandelion weeder as a half dog chewed specimen in the back of my grandfathers shed, sadly he wasn’t there to ask what it was and how to use it so it sat in my pile of tools ‘to mend’ until I found out what it was on a visit to The Garden Museum. This is quite honestly a magical place to me full of people that REALLY know about gardening and tools. It was here that I discovered the magic of the dandelion weeder in its fully restored glory in a display about Victorian tools.

So I now know the dandelion weeder or fish tail weeder as it’s sometimes known is a Victorian invention that uses a rocker to lift the tap root out of the ground and those Victorians knew what they were talking about.

The two tines which do resemble a fish tail are placed underneath the dandelion and then using the rocker as leverage rocking back and forth it lifts the tap root from the ground with a satisfying earthy pop.  It’s simple, effective mechanism is meditative and the perfect anecdote for a stressful day.

Photography by Nick Hook