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WEAPONS of the WEED WAR.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

This spring, instead of reaching for the Roundup, many weed warriors will be unsheathing their Weed Hounds, firing up their Weed Dragons and unrolling the weed cloth.

It's all part of a movement away from chemicals toward Earth-friendly alternatives. The popularity of such methods is reflected in the fact that there are now more weeding gadgets available than most gardeners can shake a dandelion fork at.

"Gadgets work for some people and don't work for others," says Ross Penhallegon, an Oregon State University Lane County Extension horticulture agent. "Most of the time an old hoe is all you really need to very quickly accomplish what needs to be done."

Troll through Web sites such as Lee Valley Tools and scan the aisles of retailers such as Down to Earth and Jerry's, and you'll find dozens of long-handled diggers, short-handled grubbers and propane-powered "flame weeders" that reduce chickweeds to piles of wilted leaves before you can say, "Spring's here."

Some of the devices are designed to help people avoid bending over to pick up weeds and others claim to hasten the weeding process. These gadgets may be Earth friendly, but their names are anything...

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