Do you know what this flower is? I’ll give you a hint: it’s part of an edible plant.
Feel free to post your guesses in the comments section. The first person who answers correctly wins major gardening cred and a CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator.
No cheating!
Hey, I’m so glad I found your website. I am–believe it or not–a professional weeder. For some reason I love to weed and have discovered people are willing to pay handsomely for this service. I bought a Cobrahead at a garden show (Providence RI, maybe?) a couple of years ago from the daughter of the man who invented it (I think I have that right).
My Cobrahead has become my go-to tool for every weed imaginable. I totally adore it and can’t do without it. The balance is perfect, the colourful handle is sturdy, firmly attached, attractive (unlike the usual blaze orange recommendation) and hard to lose.
Nonetheless, I seem to have misplaced mine which caused me to search for your site. I was just looking at it yesterday and, thank goodness, noticed the name of the tool. I’m sure I’ll find it but am thinking of getting a back-up Cobrahead because I certainly don’t want to be without one.
By the way, can you put some more info on your site about your hoe? I’d love to see a close-up of the head, know more about how it’s attached. Am I correct in thinking that having a handle on the hoe like the one on the short handled Cobrahead would by physically impossible or prohibitively expensive?
By the way, unless you’ve changed the design since I bought mine, I find the tip to be not overly sharp. It’s sharp enough to take care of those weeds but I’m never in danger of cutting myself. Your information makes it sound pretty sharp and people might worry needlessly about cuts. ‘
Keep up the good work.
You’re getting close, but no cigar (I mean CobraHead)!
Duckladynh,
Thank you for your very enthusiastic feedback! I am, in fact, the daughter of the man who designed the CobraHead, and I was at the Providence, RI Garden Show two years ago with my brother. We are hoping to update our website in the near future, but in the meantime, I’ll tell you a little bit about the CobraHead Long Handle. The blade tip is the same as the hand weeder, but the angle is a bit different to adjust for having it on a long handle. The blade is secured to the handle using a set screw, and therefore it’s replaceable should you manage to damage it.
OK, here’s another hint: By edible, I did mean food and not just “it won’t kill you” (someone asked me this). This food is fairly common, but the average person would never recognize it in its unprepared form.
Please keep guessing!
Hooray, hooray! I found my beloved Cobrahead–under a pile of weeds at the very bottom of my garden cart. Phew.
I’m definitely going to get that hoe. I worked on an organic farm two years ago and fell in love with that hoe or one very similar. My boss thought he got it at Johnny’s but nope, it’s not there. It looks like YOUR hoe. It was the best hoe I’ve ever used, in fact the only one I’ve ever really liked.
One more question and then I’ll shut up: I’m 5’2″ with very short arms and legs. Do you recommend the shortest sized hoe? I’m kind of on the cusp, not under 5″ but definitely made of spare parts with quite short arms and legs and someone else’s long torso. I’m thinking I should go for the shortest hoe.
If you are the young woman who sold me this hoe (and it seems you are), you were very nice and did a great job of describing the Cobrahead. I remember you as being genuinely proud of your dad’s invention. Now I know why. I practically kissed that sucker when it fell out of my unended cart today.
No, it’s not kale, but you can guess/vote as many times as you like. 🙂
I think I probably would recommend the shortest handle length for you. If you use one that’s too long for you, it might feel a bit nose-heavy.
I’d have to say I am genuinely proud of my dad’s invention. I’m also quite happy to be working for our small family business. It can be challenging, but it’s also very rewarding — especially when we hear back from people like you who tell us how much they like using the CobraHead!
At some point I suppose I should stop…
By the way, I just realized today that I can bicycle to my in-town weeding gig, thanks to my Cobrahead. It’s become the ONLY weeder I use. I’m actually thinking of getting rid of the rest of my Cape Cod and other weeders because this thing does it all. If I only need to loop my trusty Cobrahead over my handlebars, then I’m good to go. My local greenhouse has had an enquiry for someone wanting my services so my tiny business is growing as the weeds grow.
Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend in Cobrahead Land.
Go ahead and keep guessing!
I’m so hooked on this now.
Duckie (who’ll be planting her brassicas tomorrow)
Don’t forget that I said most people (especially non-gardeners) wouldn’t recognize this particular food in an unprepared form. It’s relatively common, but it almost always accompanies other food.
Good luck with your brassica planting today!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Those are Horseradish flowers! Way to go, Annie – you get a CobraHead tool!
Carol was quite close when she said radishes, but radish and horseradish, while in the same family, are not the same plant.
Thanks for your comments, everyone!
We used to grow horseradish in IL but don’t know if it can survive in Texas. A family story is that my grandmother Kitty liked horseradish so much instead of using it as a condiment she ate it with a spoon. Guess I should try to grow some in her honor.
Annie