Best tool to remove weeds with long taproots

I have a shady garden under shrubs, and its infested with parsley like weeds that get 4 feet high! If I mow or weed whack they grow back from the root, and there are too many to pull or use weed killer.

I need a tool that can pull them easily out from the root, I'm tall so to save my back from bending I need a long handle. What can I buy online?

Do you know what the weed is? Can you post a picture?
I'm a veteran of clearing a woodland of invasive weeds, but I can't picture what you're describing.
Many years ago, I had a hand-made tool for pulling dandelion taproots which was basically a standard hand-weeder strapped to a pole with a step-plate which allowed for easy removal of tap-rooted dandelions from the lawn.
But I've never seen a commercial product like it.
Hopefully others have better suggestions.

This http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y-W5V9sgdpQ/T8-GRiiE0KI/AAAAAAAAEC0/sWI0-9XxgG8/s1600/weeds+002.JPG

This message was edited May 6, 2013 11:21 PM

I never go out weeding without my garden knife. The blade (not quite as sharp as a kitchen knife) is about 8" long and I use it to dig stubborn weeds out of my clay soil.

Keith -- I'd love to know the name of that weed. I think I have some of it -- mine is variegated in spots, but otherwise looks much like your photo.

Thanks, Keith. On mine, the basal leaves are a bit variegated, as I recall, but not later growth. Not sunburn. I'll compare it to Mugwort -- thanks for the information!

I just sit down and use a cheap steak knife I got at the dollar store. If I lose it or break it, well, there are a bunch more @ 4 for $1.00!

It is a form of artemisia that would not be so bad if it weren't so invasive/rampant.

I have a variegated artemisia....'Limelight'. It does move around quickly, but I have it in a spot where I like it. If it gets too far, I just pull it out.

Ach! 'Limelight' - gave my plant to DD when she lived in TN and it went crazy down there. No way to catch and corral it all.

Mine is in hard clay soil, so it moves slower. It is raining today, so it is probably on the move as we speak. Usually that bed is pretty dry during the summer...and I thought that summer had already arrived here.

Once it is here to stay, we rarely get any rain. I had better get my weeding knives ready once the ground dries out a bit, as once it is dry, the clay part gets very hard. Then weeding is really a chore unless I soak it first.

There are lovely and noninvasive forms of Artemisia, such a Silver Mound, which is soft like fur. It doesn't really survive the winter here.

'Silver Mound' does not like my clay soil, even though it is amended...I should try it again though. It really is a lovely one. Some areas are better amended than others...

Keith ~ Did you ever find a good weeding tool that you can use standing up? It really sounds like a good idea. I am not quite so tall, but after a day of weeding my back, shoulders and my arms really get sore. I think it would really be helpful.

The best dandelion diggers I found were made by Craftsman, but I can't find them anymore. I have had them since at least 1998. They are indestructible!

Gosh! Those remind me of the ones I used when I was a kid! (A LONG time ago...LOL!!) I actually got paid a few cents for each one I got out by the roots. (I WAS the weed killer!!) It wasn't a long-handled one though like that. I have never seen one with that long handle.

I did find one to use standing up, waiting for it to arrive

What kind did you get? And where did you get it? (Inquiring minds want to know.)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0030MIHAU/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/183-6761771-4470911?ref_=pe_309540_26725410_item

Good choice! ^_^

Yeah! Fiskers! Love those guys.

Try a Cobrahead for weeding. It's good for dandelions and pretty much everything. Well, maybe not nut sedge. I don't think anything works for nut sedge.

Steak knives for nut sedge! Dampen the ground beforehand. I get them 4 for a dollar at the dollar store.

Evelyn - are you saying that the nut sedge doesn't return? Those roots are deep and wide. And very fine so sometimes just break off before you realize it. I'll be happy to buy steak knives if I thought this is a fairly long term solution!

That tall parsley type plant(especially if it has dark spots in the stem) is poisonous Hemlock. Use gloves!! It starts growing earlier in the spring before Queen Ann's lace which it resembles.

I got this weed puller from Radius about a year ago.

https://radiusgarden.com/products/pro-weeder

I used t to clear a ton of deeply embedded weeds. The narrow tip allows you to get the weeds without killing anything else.

It's incredible.