Hi Cooked ,

What is a pendlehacke ? Could you give us a photo ?

It's also known as a scuffle hoe or stirrup hoe.

Steely Dan; I was convinced that a dutch hoe would be better for weeding here, so I got my daughter

to bring me a head of one when she visited from the UK.

I soon found that in the dry clay soil in my part of Isan it was useless. No wonder the Thais have

never bothered with it and use a jop!

Yes, I know what you mean. The greyish concrete clods devoid of organic matter they jokingly call din dam does not lend itself to using a Dutch hoe. However, I'm stubborn and have been breaking up the hard clay soil with biocharcoal rice husks laced with chicken manure and the wonderful rich chocolate brown compost your kitchen waste becomes given time. Our soil is still far from the finished product, but I think it will be ready for some serious hoeing next year, and in the meantime our cucumbers and pumpkins are growing very nicely indeed.

I have a hoer, her name is Mem. She is capable of many more things than just weeding.