For a few years, I've been using a wheel hoe around the garden, and I must say, to great effect. It's an efficient, simple, power-free tool that makes plowing rows orders of magnitude easier. My particular model, an EarthWay 6500, is an excellent one, made in a high-quality manner and perfectly competent for my purposes.
A very handy thing to have is the assortment of implements oftentimes included (at least, with my model, and a few other models I'm familiar with). Surprisingly enough, this rather simple and cheap tool came with a plow, a set of cultivating forks, and my personal favorite, a furrow. Mind you, I'm using only the terms I'm familiar with, so I do offer my apologies in the event that I've used a misnomer.
My applications for the aforementioned hoe are weeding, row-making, and turning over soil. As I grow a variety of higher-volume vegetables (potatoes, rows of lettuce, corn, and so on), I find that being able to walk in a straight line is highly preferred to my previous method of whacking at a row with a hoe, and then moving a few inches up.
Being able to process a row, and then immediately use my seeder to plant said row, and bury the seeds, expedites the planting process by a factor of five, at the very least. In extremely hard, clay soils, you might have a bit of trouble, and for such soils, a manual tilling might be required. Over a few years, with proper permaculturing technique, said soil can be enriched into a much more processable, and agriculturally viable, topsoil.
I particularly enjoy the mechanical advantage that it offers when tilling soil - having the large wheel to use as a pivot is incredibly handy around the garden. You are able to both process softer soils quickly - by rapidly walking along the row - while having the ability to get under stubborn weeds, and remove them with a firm tug upwards, using the cultivating forks.
The construction is very sturdy - with metal used all throughout, and the only plastics being those on the lock nuts, and the rubberized handles. Having a solid, steel-band wheel with spokes is a very nice touch, considering that it's a much more solid, and maintenance-free solution compared to a pneumatic tire. Moreover, the delicate construction enables a great degree of maneuverability.
This is truly a wonderful tool, and I strongly advise anyone interested to purchase one for themselves. Mind you, this is not a paid or sponsored review, but merely, my desire to reommend a helpful solution for those in need of a more ergonomic way to process the soil in their yard.
Hopefully, this tool review has given you an idea of what exactly a wheel hoe is, what it's useful for, and perhaps, something to think about for the next growing season.