I recently recommended the Garden Claw to my mother who wants to remove large patches of weeds from her yard. The Garden Claw is a adjustable length long handed garden tool with 4 angeled prongs, and 2 exta shorter prongs. It has handles similar to a bicycle. To use it, grab the handles and stick the tool in the ground. Then twist clockwise. The twisting loosens the soil, and grabs roots.
http://www.gardenclaw.com

I sent my mother to Home Depot to buy a Garden Claw, which costs about $35. She came back with a Garden Hound, a similar tool made by Hound Dog. The main difference is that the Garden Hound does not have adjustable height. The Garden Hound costs about $20.

I used the Garden Hound to remove weeds in my mother's yard. It is very good at breaking up the soil. I found that twisting it back and forth several times would loosen a circular area of soil about 6" in diameter. It works well even with clay soil. Some effort is required to initially rotate the tool in this soil.

Removing weeds with this tool is simply a matter of rotating it at a greater angle. I found that turning it 360 degrees would usually grab a weed. It's roots wrap around the prongs, then it can be pulled out with ease.

I highly recommend the Garden Hound tiller to anyone that does common garden tasks. For more information, please click the following link.

http://www.hound-dog.com/garden_tiller.htm