Oh and yeah, the rocks... there is another challenge to producing marketable crops on a small scale.
We have gotten many requests for a broad fork that will stand up to the kind of soil conditions we have around here. A permaculture instructor we met told us that the round tine broad fork she was using snapped a tine in the soil she was working over in Nelson County, VA. What is a gardener to do!
Well, as you may have read in a prior blog post of ours we set out to meet that challenge head on and come up with a better broadfork. The end result is the Ultimate Broadfork - available at our online store: www.waycooltools.com listed under digging tools.
The secret to the success of this amazing garden tool in heavy soil is the wedge shaped tapered tines.
They are heat treated for strength and flexibility. They will flex but they will not bend or break.
The wedge shaped tines slice into the soil and break it apart as you pull back on the two heat treated tubular steel handles. The broad fork is light enough to chop the soil clods up by dropping the fork onto the clods or just using an up and down chopping motion that you would naturally use with your "D" handled fork.
Now instead of taking the better part of a day working the soil in your vegetable beds with your "D" handled fork, you can do the same job in a few hours using the Ultimate Broadfork.
For really heavy soil like ours, I still use the "D" handled fork from Clarington Forge to fine tilth and shape the beds for seed planting.
Now a word about heat treated steel tools.
Heat treating is a special process that allows for a lighter weight, stronger tool. Less metal, less weight and more strength.
The handles are stronger than wood and won't break or splinter.
One of the nicest things about using a broad fork, besides the fact that you can get more done in less time is that it's easier on your back. You can break up even the heaviest clay soil without stooping.
After all these years of bending over to prepare garden beds, it sure is a relief to have the Ultimate Broadfork.
