Hand Rakes And Uses – When To Use A Hand Rake In The Garden

Hand rakes for the garden come in two basic designs and can make many gardening tasks more efficient and effective. This article will explain when to use a hand rake and what type will work best for each situation.

What is a Hand Rake?

Hand rakes are small versions of other rakes you use in your yard and garden and are designed to work in tight spaces and close to the surface. They are ideal for smaller areas, garden borders, and places where a large rake won’t fit or will damage plantings.

Hand Rakes and Uses

Here are the most common types of hand rakes along with how and when they’re used in the garden.

Garden Hand Rakes

Garden hand rakes look like bow rakes but smaller, like a trowel, and have a short handle. They have strong, stiff tines designed to dig into the soil to turn or till it. These rakes are especially good for getting tough weeds or smaller stones out of a garden bed. Since they can get into tight spaces, you don’t have to worry about garden hand rakes damaging your plants like you would with a large rake. With the short handle, you have much more control, making them ideal for using in flowerpots too.

Lawn Hand Rakes

Lawn hand rakes are smaller versions of a typical lawn or leaf rake and have short handled flexible tines. They are ideal for cleaning up dead leaves and plant materials and other debris in garden beds. Their small size lets them get in around plants without disrupting them, making them perfect for spring garden clean-up when new growth is just emerging from the soil. They can also be used to remove small areas of thatch in lawns where a large rake would not fit or cause damage. Using a hand rake can make gardening in tight spaces and small gardens much easier and more efficient and saves delicate plants from damage. They do require you to get down close to the soil, though, so make sure you have knee pads too!