It’s possible to use your garden cultivator to remove the weeds in your garden. Now that the growing season is coming to an end, this is the perfect time to do it.
A cultivator can impact the soil structure and so it needs time to repair itself. As plants become dormant over winter, there is sufficient time for the soil to heal to give your garden plants the best grounding come spring.
Before you start cultivating
Aside from a garden cultivator like the EGO, make sure you wear appropriate gear to keep you safe when operating the tool:
- Appropriate footwear such as protective boots
- Safety glasses like the EGO GS002E safety glasses
- Work gloves like the EGO GV001E Synthetic work gloves
Like we recommend before mowing your lawn, walk the area of ground first before you start cultivating. Check for stones, logs or other debris that could be harmful to yourself, your surroundings, or the cultivator blades.
Checking the conditions
The ideal conditions to start removing weeds with your cultivator is when the soil is moist. Too wet, and the cultivator will damage the structure of the soil too much, leaving air pockets that fill with water and damage the soil structure in the long term.
Using the cultivator when the soil is dry, hard and compacted will make it difficult for the tool to penetrate the soil. With that being said, EGO’s CTA9500 garden cultivator comes with a two-speed button on the power head to break through hard ground.
Weeding with your garden cultivator
Removing weeds with a garden cultivator requires patience. A battery powered cultivator like the EGO CTA9500 Cultivator is powerful, easy to manoeuvre and offers less strain on the user. With this being said, removing weeds with a hand cultivator is a process that should be carried out over several weeks.
The first week you should identify the weedy areas of your garden. We recommend using the cultivator only in areas that are overgrown with weeds. The odd weed growing among your desirable plants should be removed by hand with a garden fork.
Week 1
Start walking slowly over the area with your hand cultivator back and forth in the same direction. The cultivator will be breaking up the soil and ripping the weeds by the roots out the ground.
Once you have finished cultivating the area, walk over the patch and remove by hand any weeds that have been ripped out the ground by the garden cultivator. Leaving them on the surface may result in the weeds taking root again. This is especially true in cultivated soil where the soil is loose and easy for plants to re-root.
Week 2
The following week, repeat the process again, cultivating in a direction that is 90° to the direction you cultivated previously.
Subsequent weeks
After using your hand cultivator tool a second time, the majority of the weeds should be gone from the area. Keep repeating the process making sure to alternate between the different directions each week until all the weeds have been removed.
Maintenance of your garden cultivator
Removing weeds with your garden cultivator is a dirty job. You will encounter all sorts beneath the surface such as stones, roots, clay and possibly inorganic matter such as old china or pottery.
This all takes a toll on your cultivator, and so a simple approach to maintaining your tool after every use is essential.
We have a whole blog on how to approach garden cultivator maintenance, as well as how to store it properly too. Both of these practices are important if you want your tool to perform at its best every time you use it. Some general tips we have on maintaining your cultivator attachment are:
- Remove any excess debris from the battery garden cultivator by hand using a brush and protective gloves, making sure the battery is removed first
- Carefully remove any roots, stems or other vegetation that has wrapped around or between the blades, guard or gear box
- Remove the cultivator blades and wash them thoroughly
- After cleaning, wipe the surface of the blades and guard with a clean, dry cloth
Meet EGO’s garden cultivator
The EGO CTA9500 is just one tool that attaches to the EGO Multi-Tool power head. With a cultivating width of 24cm, and 21.5cm depth, the garden cultivator will take care of any size garden in little time.
Powered by EGO’s ARC Lithium™ 56v battery technology combined with a two-speed button on the Multi-Tool power head, you can be sure the EGO CTA9500 has enough power to tackle a variety of garden soils.
The tool is easy to operate too. Simply attach the cultivator to the Multi-Tool power head, attach the EGO removable battery and off you go. Coming with an exceptional warranty of 5 years for domestic use and 2 years for professional use, we have you covered for any faults or malfunctions.