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Hand Cultivator Guide: 5 Top Choices for Your Garden

Before you plant your garden in the spring, you have to till. It’s simply necessary to get the most of your garden plants. But what hand cultivator do you use? In this article, we’re going to talk about the top five hand cultivator choices that you can find today.

A hand cultivator is an essential tool for any serious gardener, so let’s get started!

Yard Butler TT-4T Hand Cultivator

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Yard Butler is a well-known gardening tool brand because their tools are designed to be durable and work wonderfully.

With this hand cultivator, the blade side can be used to dig into the soil while the three-tined fork side is used to break the soil up. You don’t have to worry about the handle separating from the head because of the all-steel construction of this tool. It also fits comfortably in your hand.

Overall, this hand cultivator made by Yard Butler provides you with great functionality for the money that you’ve spent. Whether you’re working in a planter next to your porch or a raised bed, this tool is great for loosening up the soil.

Pros:

  • Dual head
  • Heavy duty
  • Plants, tills, digs, and chops

Cons:

  • The tines will bend if they’re overstressed
  • The blade is dull

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Yard Butler TNT-4 Hand Cultivator

yard butler hand cultivator image

Several tools are similar to this one, but Yard Butler has made one that uses the best aspects of them all and combines it into one tool. Plus, the construction of this tool is great because it’s made from steel from grip to claw.

The tines are perfectly spaced for tilling and cultivating, and with only a few twists, you can turn a hard patch of soil into loose aerated soil. It even features a wide footplate so you can add weight to this hand cultivator to push the spikes into the ground.

The grip is very lightly padded and slightly textured to ensure that you have a good grip on this hand cultivator. It’s 36” tall, which is great for most people. However, taller people might want something a couple of inches taller.

Overall, the ease at which you can use this hand cultivator makes it worth the money.

Pros:

  • Made completely from metal
  • Loosens, turns, tills, and aerates
  • Great for raised beds

Cons:

  • Handle needs to be more ergonomically placed with handles angled to a more natural position

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DeWit Hand Cultivator

dewit hand cultivator image

This hand cultivator is designed to be an heirloom tool. The steel tines are shaped into a perfect claw and will cut through the soil like it is butter. The tips are nicely sharpened to help you dig deep into the soil.

Another great thing is that it’s easy to work with.

It also features a P-grip handle, which is long enough that you can use it with a two-handed grip so you can easily rip out deeply rooted weeds.

While the long handle can be helpful, there are times when it can be a drawback. Gardeners of small spaces don’t need a tool that has length; it can be too awkward to use in a two-foot border bed. The lack of a bladed side also requires you to find another tool if you need to pry anything up.

Pros:

  • Cultivates beautifully
  • Leaves soil finely tilled and loose
  • The tines won’t bend

Cons:

  • The wooden handle blends in with the grass
  • The handle can be too long for some people

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Fiskars 79906935J Hand Cultivator

fiskars hand cultivator image

Fiskars is a well-known company when it comes to quality gardening tools. The spikes that make up the claw are positioned close together. While this can be beneficial, it can be a drawback if your garden has large rocks hidden in the soil. The footplate is also quite small, only allowing your toes to be placed on it, so there’s not much room for you to put weight on this hand cultivator.

It’s 40” high, which means that taller gardeners will find this model comfortable to use. It also features comfort grips and has a solid weight to it. The spikes come pre-sharpened, so you can get right to work with this tool.

If your soil doesn’t have hidden rocks or hard-packed clay that can get caught in the claw, this hand cultivator will work great for you.

Pros:

  • Great for breaking up hard soil when tilling
  • Six arrow tipped tines will penetrate the soil easily
  • Made to be durable

Cons:

  • Small footplate

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Garden Weasel Hand Cultivator

garden weasel hand cultivator image

Garden Weasel is known for making great tools, but this hand cultivator is unusual and great for some gardeners.

It features adjustable tines with three spacing options: small, medium, and large. This is great but can present some minor problems. To adjust the tines to these spacing options, there must be a joint moving. If you have hard soil, this adjusting might not be the best thing for you because the moving tines mean that you can exert as much cultivating power unless they’re tightened down.

The footplate on this hand cultivator juts out to the side. This makes it easier to step down on the plate when trying to push this hand cultivator into the soil. However, the footplate is quite small.

This hand cultivator is great for those gardeners with soft soil because you can adjust the tines so you can work in smaller or larger areas. But if you’re searching for a hand cultivator that you can use in all cultivating situations (i.e., hard soil), the price of this hand cultivator isn’t worth it.

Pros:

  • Adjustable tines
  • Footplate is located on the side, making it easier to step down on
  • Great for soft, already-worked soil

Cons:

  • Not great for hard soil
  • Requires quite a bit of exertion to work

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Final Thoughts

Hand cultivators can help you out in the garden because they are easy to use and work wonders on the soil. If you’re in search of a great hand cultivator, we hope that this article has given you some ideas of the best on the market.

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