Dirtmechanic
Garden Addicted
Oh the lawn scissors come out for weeding under squash and other fussy cucurbits. No way to disturb the roots pulling weeds and have them survive. Thats why I was looking lovingly at the stihl version of this idea.Hmmm, edge trimmer as weeder. As much as I would hate to add one more gadget, I like that idea. I'm not sure a hedge trimmer is precise enough to get in close without the risk of damage, maybe a powered shears would work better. Regardless of what powered tool we settle on, it will no doubt be another big time saver - and ideas that save time & effort are my main focus this year. Thanks for the idea, @Dirtmechanic .
DD & DW did something similar under several rows of soybeans last year, using scissors. Those plants did OK, so I know the idea has potential. It may be that cutting weeds off to prevent them from getting larger & going to seed is better than pulling them out; no root damage. The weeds would try to grow back of course, so the "haircut" would have to be repeated once or twice. It does remain to be seen whether the remaining roots will stunt the plants to any degree... I think this method could be my lab experiment for the year.