How soil knife — a quick note to anchor this piece for readers.
How soil knife: Quick notes
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Besides my trusty bucket, the tool I take with me into the garden pretty much every single time I’m outside puttering is my soil knife. I don’t really think there is any other gardening tool that is quite as versatile. In my garden, it often replaces my trowel, taking over the duties of this common gardening tool because it offers even more functionality. In this article I’ll share how a soil knife helps me in my garden.
There are so many to-dos you can accomplish with this multi-use tool. A soil knife can:
- Make furrows to plant seeds in a garden
- Create holes for seedlings and for planting bulbs
- Dig out weeds
- Take root-bound containers apart
- Measure depth and space between rows and plants
- Cut small branches and twine
- Trim sod or mats with plants
What to look for when purchasing a soil knife
Soil knives seem to have roots that date back hundreds of years in Japan where they are called hori hori knives. Another common name for a soil knife is simply garden knife.
The soil knife I use is the Deluxe Stainless Steel Soil Knife by A.M. Leonard. It was given to me at a gardening event back in 2016 and I’ve used it ever since. What I like about this knife is that the blade isn’t too thick. I have another soil knife with a thicker blade and I find the serrated edge doesn’t work as well for cutting. There are lots of options available. Check your local garden center first.
A soil knife can perform a wide variety of tasks in the garden, including taking apart summer containers at the end of the growing season.
Look for a handle with a comfortable grip and a sturdy blade. Stainless steel is rust resistant and should last a very long time. My soil knife has a ruler, which really comes in handy for depth markings, like when I’m digging in bulbs and sowing seeds. The pointy end helps to get into tough soil and under weeds. A handy notch allows me to quickly cut string or twine. And the serrated edge helps for a number of tasks, including slicing plants out of root-bound pots.
How this tool can replace a trowel
Because I can do so many other things while I’m out in the garden with the knife, that’s the tool I grab when I head out of the garage. I use my soil knife all the time to dig small holes for seedlings, whether it’s small perennials going into the garden or vegetables being planted in one of my raised beds. If there’s a weed in the way, I scoop underneath it to take it out by the roots. Then I’m back to the task at hand. The soil knife can just as easily move soil to backfill a hole as a trowel. This tool also helps with putting together my ornamental containers, moving soil to easily add flowers and herbs.
My soil knife is my main gardening tool. I use it for so many things, from digging up weeds to planting garlic and flower bulbs.
I’ll also use the tip of the knife to create furrows to sow seeds, while measuring out the space along the shallow trench or between rows. A twine-cutting notch means I can quickly cut strands of twine while I’m in the garden staking plants. I don’t need to bring out my scissors, as well.
Measuring things with a soil knife
If I need to plant bulbs and garlic? No problem, there is a ruler along the knife that will measure the depth of the hole I create (after I’ve used the implement to make the hole itself. It is also helpful for determining spacing between plants, seeds, and rows.
Many garden knives come with rulers imprinted on their blade, making it easy to measure the depth of holes for planting, as well as spacing between plants.
Why you need a slicing tool in the garden
A soil knife comes in handy when dealing with hard-packed soil. I use mine to dig out weeds that are hard to pull—you want to get all those roots! The knife can get under the plant more easily and loosen up the soil.
A soil knife can come in handy for harvesting tough veggies, like squash. The one in this photo is from Gardener’s Supply Company.
I also use my soil knife to take apart my summer pots in the fall. By the end of the growing season, all my outdoor pots are very root-bound, so it can be hard to just pull out each plant. The serrated edge makes it easy to cut those plants out, as if you were slicing a cake. I’ve also used that serrated edge to harvest a squash. Those stems are thick and hard to cut through.
We reference How soil knife briefly to keep the thread coherent.
How soil knife comes up here to connect ideas for clarity.
When I planted a sedum lawn for my book Gardening Your Front Yard, I used my soil knife to trim the mats to the width and length I needed them to be for the spot. The knife sliced through the roots, but also the material upon which the plants and their shallow roots were growing.
My soil knife easily cut through the sedum mats I sourced from Sedum Master for a project in my book Gardening Your Front Yard.
