Garden lovers today enjoy great new garden tools. Ergonomic designs are perhaps the most practical investments while heritage tools are a fashionable. Here I review design features, specialized garden tools and, the best typical spade click here.

Long Handled Spades & Forks

EXTRA LONG SHAFTS
Many gardeners love long shafted spades and forks - when you dig and lift soil the extra leverage saves back ache. So while smaller tools are a fashion of small gardens nowadays, the Sneeboer longer handled spades and forks (U.K.) on this link, deservedly gained acclaim among some professionals for their robust design. The tool heads are stainless steel *  - forged, sharpened and polished by hand. Organic gardeners may agree that the ash wood shafts and T handles impart a natural earthy style.

It’s not just the comfort of a longer handle but greater leverage that eases lifting and turning soil.

GARDEN FORKS
Forks have broadly flat faced tines, v-shaped to break open compacted soil more easily and lift more soil than ordinary forks.

Cautionary note: extra handle length transfers more force to the tool head - very suitable for heavy soils. Don’t be tempted to apply it to giant immovable rocks or in loosening concreted post holes where you might damage join and shaft.

The rose fork on this link has 2 carbon steel^* tines, foot tread and long shaft. This is a great tool for aerating compact soiled. Loosen soil around your roses, ornamental trees and shrubs and give the roots a new lease of life.

GARDEN SPADES
The longer handled Sneeboer digging spades and ladies spades are available to U.K. gardeners - click here . Check below for specialized garden tools - spades, forks, planters.

Long-handled pointed American Shovels penetrate soil well, but are mainly adapted to throw soil onto a pile from a deepening hole. Squared off English Spades however, are great for digging neat straight sided holes. Spade links are mostly for U.K. gardeners. Find link to English Spade available in America from here.

Spades tasks are many, including the small task or planting perennials, potatoes, and bulbs, as well as working in rocky soil, and making post holes. The ordinary spade is simply not adequate in tackling all these tasks. However, there are specialized tools that do these jobs in a breeze.

PERENNIAL PLANTING SPADE
You’ll find the shorter handle on this special tool>>> very useful for planting. Ordinary border spades lever out whole soil clods. But you won't disturb neighbouring plants with this garden tool. Its pointed blade cuts a precise hole suitable to the size of most border perennials. It shreds open even hard soil into loose material to settle around the roots. Stainless steel perennial spade is on this link for U.K. gardeners

GARDEN SPORK
Here’s a new garden tool design by Robert Todd, launched into production by DeWitt. It is lighter than a spade, stronger than a fork.

The V shaped cutting blades are well adapted to cut through roots to clear or prune. The 4 blade points give the spork better soil penetration than a typical spade and it can be used to make seed drills.

The flat face makes this garden tool good for skimming weeds off the soil surface and for edging lawns. It moves more soil than a conventional fork. The bottom blade cuts a full width clean slice and lifts soil clods from beneath. The fork-like tines sift and seperate finer soils. To get the Garden Spork - U.K. click here

PLANTING POTATOES AND BULBS

These long shafted planters take the back ache out of planting bulbs and potatoes. Like spades they are cutting tools, and this bulb planter easily slices through turf to sink bulbs beneath. In my experience it is unusual to find a high quality stainless steel finish in a planter - but you pay for what you get.
The Sneeboer planter stands a comfortable 85cm high with foot tread to apply your weight to cutting and wide handle for balance and twisting power when to withdrawing.
The Sneeboer Potato Planter (U.K. gardeners click here for details)

With a similar design the potato planter stands 95 cm high cuts a wider hole and makes easy work of long rows. Soil cores emerge from the top after making subsequent holes. Sneeboer Potato Planter (U.K. gardeners click here for details)

ROCKY SOIL SPADE
A normal spade is impossible to work with in rock gardens or boulder strewn soil. Fork tines are damaged too. So, to penetrate stoney soils and work within the confines of a rock garden you need this narrow spade with long handle shaft and foot tread. You need look no further... Click here for the Sneeboer Rocky Soil Spade - U.K.

The Best in Spades & Forks - Bulldog & Wilkinson Sword

BULLDOG (established 1780) make the best typical design garden spade - should be seen in shops more often - well here it is.
Bulldog Evergreen - the ash wood shaft is strong and light, the inclined D handle feels soft as velvet, warm to hold, adheres to the hand for a firm grip.
The blade of durable carbon steel is forged in one piece. The powder coating resists soil adhesion.
My best spade - comfortable, light... and reasonably priced too, You can buy the Bulldog Evergreen Spade for U.K. Gardeners - click here

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Bulldog Premier – a little heavier more robust for professional landscape gardeners. Polished steel blade, shaft of varnished wood spliced into 'wish-bone' handle with a colder harder feel. Bulldog treaded spades are offered in this range.
Click here for Garden Spades available to American Gardeners

Alternatively, consider the outstanding designs of Wilkinson Sword spades - see links to 2 examples down this page.

SPADE OF SPRING
I describe the ergonomic BackSaver spade - my Spade of Spring – on this link, but it is rarely seen these days. This link describes more about ergonomic tools.

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The Essential Features of Garden Tool Design - spades & forks

STRONG AND LIGHT MATERIALS

Wood is organic and needs proper care. U.K. gardeners click here for garden tool maintenance kit - includes linseed oil to condition wood, blade sharpening stone, cloth and keep-clean containers.

Although the wood structure and machining limits design shape, it does have down to earth good looks. Ash wood gives the highest strength to weight ratio. Moving on from hardwood there are ergonomic moulded synthetic handles of polypropylene and, strong light-weight shafts of fibre glass and nyglass. Nyglass is a new fibreglass/nylon composite; scratch resistant and virtually unbreakable (also a popular choice on long handled cutting tools). Wilkinson Sword use Nyglass to make the shaft of their superb Telescopic Digging Spades & Forks - U.K. . The strong shaft is easily adjusted to a comfortable working height. see below Wilkinson Sword shock absorber spade

Tool heads are usually forged from steel and polished, or from carbon steel with powder epoxy coating. Some are of heat treated spring tempered carbon steel like my 'Spade of Spring'. The size of the tool head largely determines the weight. Carbon steel garden tools usually feel lighter.

JOINS

The joins between head and shaft can be a potential weakness to your garden tool. A single piece of forged carbon steel beats welded stainless steel anyday.

Look out for long strapping or shaft socket. The strap or socket is that part that wraps around the handle. They're usually fixed with 1 rivet. The S&J Neverbend Professional has 2 rivets the long handled Irish spade requires 3 rivets. Check out garden spades on this link - U.K.

HANDLES

Comfortable D shaped handles (collar and rivet fixture) have replaced the old T shaped crossbar handles (tongue groove & wood sprig fixture). You can wrap your fingers straight around the top of a D and grip along the sides as well. This gives more powerful grip, control and easy sideways movement.

Yellow lines demonstrate the extra lift on this fork due to the inclined handle

The shaft may carry a forwardly inclined handle for more leverage and comfort when digging.

If you suffer from arthritis or frozen shoulder, or wish to reduce risk of developing Repetitive Strain Injury then shock absorbing handles are for you. Wilkinson Sword Digging Spade with Shock Absorber is first class - and one of the lightest spades available. Shock absorber tools should have straight rather than inclined handles.

'Wish bone' handles are similar to D handles in functionality. They are made by splicing and shaping the top of a wood shaft into two struts and inserting a cross piece. I find they have a colder, harder feel.
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FOOT TREADS

Foot treads are a small platforms at the top of the blade. They steady the digging action and allow the boot to apply more pressure. They seem to rise then fall in popularity among manufacturers trying to get an edge. For digging apply down force to the blade through your boot and your weight over the top.

English style spade available in U.S.A.

BLADE

English spades have squared off or slightly curved blades that steady the digging when compared to pointed American shovels. However the pointed blades concentrate down force.

BLADE FACE

The front face is often gently concave. This curvature concentrates force on the soil volume infront of the spade. The narrow Irish spade is an example with more curve on the face.

METAL

Polished stainless steel looks smart. It has low friction, is easy to clean off and resists corrosion e.g. attack by soil lime. However, steel polishing is a relatively time consuming manufacturing process done individually on each tool.

Traditional high quality stainless steel production has met very stiff competition from China. Most is now imported and so the stainless steel blades are often welded to the socket or strapping. This results in garden tools that break too readily.

Clear advise from those in the know indicates that carbon steel is more durable. Carbon steel tools are lighter but not as rust resistant. If exposed to high temperatures like a bonfire, it may become deformed.

Most garden tools are given a coat of paint to enhance their looks. Protective epoxy powder coats are applied to steel by spraying highly charged epoxy/metal powder at the electrically grounded tool, followed by baking. Teflon and enamel/gloss coatings may also be used.

Every garden tool is made for a purpose. Do remember that spades are simply not intended for jobs like levering apart heavy rocks. Large underground stones can sometimes snag a single fork tine when you should resist the temptation to apply too much to force.
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GARDEN TOOL RANGES

Most garden tools are available in complete matching ranges. 'Digging' spades and forks are wider than the 'border' versions. The digging tools should be treaded. However some garden tool ranges have become less distinct as manufacturers seemed to want all things for every range they made. For the organic gardener who appreciates the rugged look of by-gone-days, traditional garden tools are still available. I discovered this 'Heirloom' range based on an original 1890 design from the Stockton Heath Forge. Such tools excavated the canals of England's industrial revolution. S & J and Wilkinson Sword also do heritage tools.

For long handle and small cultivators I suggest you look at the Wolf Garden interchangeable tools. Find Tools at GoneGardening U.K. compare with Garden Tool Centre

The Long Handled Garden Claw is an alternative to a garden fork for some jobs such as double digging.

The digging fork is used for transplanting fruit and shrubs, and working over larger areas. Forks have curved tines are not suitable for digging, but are used for moving course compost material, turves or hey. Forks with fewer tines are used for moving course material like hey. Long handled pitchforks are essential when adding material to bonfires.

If you have any advice or particular experiences etc... with garden tools, that you wish to share with the Organic Gardener and my readers, then please send them to me by the form below.

BACK OF THE SHED - more information and links on garden tools

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