A garden hand-weeding tool, which distributes, rather than concentrates, gripping forces in order to effectively grip and remove plants, including their roots, from the soil without crushing or severing them and without clogging the apparatus. The present invention generally comprises; pivotally connected specially contoured jaw and handle assemblies, a non-crushing gripping zone, and an opening for soil and debris to exit the gripping zone upon repetitive use. The jaws, biased to an open state, are positioned into the soil longitudinally about a weed and then closed via the operator's hand grip/force applied to the handles. The jaws when fully closed do not create a complete mating closure along their length thereby eliminating the chance of severing the weed or root. This allows the entire weed including roots to be easily removed from the soil. A jaw is self-cleaning with each new mouthful pushing the last out through the opening.