Hoe Hoe Hoe...

I think I shall probably have to get a Dutch hoe tool at some point soon. It'd probably be best to have one over the Winter, in case it's mild and the weeds keep sprouting. I'll see what happens re: sprouting weeds when the digging-over stops, and the first frosts settle in.

Dutch hoes are surprisingly cheap on Amazon UK. There's even one there for less than a fiver... the Silverline 186817 Dutch Hoe. Apparently it used to be even cheaper in 2011, at an amazing £2.99 delivered. I guess there's not a great deal to a hoe. 50p of shaped steel at the end, and a tube. I'm guessing India or China probably knocks them out wholesale for less than £1 a time.

But UK home delivery is always such a huge hassle, with anything that can't fit in a letterbox. So I guess it's a B&Q superstore purchase for me, since (without a car) B&Q is my only accessible garden centre. The B&Q website tells me (while tediously pummeling me with Flash, and pop-up invites to take part in their site survey) that their cheapest Dutch hoe is £6.48. That one sounds like my choice, and it's worth the extra £1.50 just to avoid the hassle of dealing with courier delivery drivers.

Perhaps Amazon should offer to make an annual seasonal delivery of tools and equipment direct to an allotment gate, provided more than twelve tools are ordered at one time?

Mind you, if you have a sound old wooden tool shaft in your shed there's a slightly cheaper way to get a hoe. Just buy the steel hoe head on eBay, and get the seller to promise to send it my normal Royal Mail rather than a courier. You'd then fit the head with your own wooden shaft...