Shovel Tips

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

It is difficult to imagine garden tools without this tool. It can dig holes for seedlings, loosen the ground, cut stubborn roots, etc. But in order for the shovel to serve well and for a long time, you need to choose it correctly

Before choosing such an important and, perhaps, irreplaceable garden tool, it is useful to ask some questions:

1. Who will use the shovel more often - a man or a woman? For a man, a shovel is acquired strong and heavy. The ladies' one should be a little lighter and smaller in size.

2. What kind of soil do you need a shovel for? Clay soil is easier to dig with a common bayonet shovel with a pointed blade. A shovel with a rounded or rectangular blade is suitable for digging light sandy loam or peat soil.

3. What is a shovel for? If you need to dig up virgin soil or a turfed area, you will need a sharp and sturdy shovel. For digging planting holes or trenches, it is convenient to use a rectangular shovel. It is better to dig a well with a tool with a short handle.

Varieties of shovels

Now on the market there are shovels of various types, shapes, sizes, made of different materials.

But its main varieties include:

* Bayonet. It is a versatile tool that lends itself to hard soil with tree roots.

* A shovel with a rounded blade. She is good at digging loose earth.

* Tool with curved handle and blade. It is easy and convenient to work with it.

* Specially designed for earthworks. Thanks to the elongated, pointed blade, it is convenient to dig trenches with it, especially if the soil is hardened, with stones and clay.

* Sovkova. Suitable for digging sandy and soft soil.

1. How to choose the type of shovel?

If there is no need and place to store several types of shovels at once, then it is better to stop at one, universal one. A bayonet shovel is suitable for processing small vegetable gardens, which will help to plant and dig up potatoes, dig holes for planting trees and perform other garden work.

2. How to choose a shovel according to the shape of the blade?

The blade of the shovel is selected taking into account the soil characteristics of the site. The rectangular blade is used on areas with loose or sandy soil, the rounded blade is used for working on hard or clay soil. A shovel with a blade resembling a saw will help remove weeds from the roots.

3. The material of the shovel

When choosing a shovel blade, you need to know that the material should not succumb to rust. It can be stainless steel or titanium. Alloys of aluminum with titanium are also used, which are characterized by strength, durability and low weight. When buying a shovel with a stainless steel blade, you need to knock on the blade. If the steel rings loudly, then it is of high quality.

* The steel standard blade of the shovel is durable, can be used on any soil. Shovels are inexpensive but prone to rust, so they need to be cleaned regularly. They are distinguished by a large weight, it is often necessary to replace the stalk. Best used in areas with heavy soils.

* Stainless blade. Due to the relative lightness of steel, a shovel made of it is very comfortable and not heavy, but at the same time it will hardly withstand serious loads with difficult soil.

* Galvanized steel blade, painted or Teflon coated. The blade material reduces friction, the soil does not stick to it, but the coating is short-lived and expensive.

*

Titanium blade

… It does not rust and is light in weight. The soil does not adhere to it well. At the same time, the blade is expensive and not always of good quality. It is better to use it already on the treated areas.

4. Shovel shanks

They are most commonly found in wood, plastic and aluminum. For a wooden shank, the material should be smooth, without knots and splinters. The best shank is made of hardwood, painted or varnished to keep the wood dry. There are plastic or aluminum cuttings with individual advantages and disadvantages. The handle can be telescopic (sliding) or removable - very convenient to use, but not always durable.

5. Convenience

It is convenient to use a spoon-shaped hybrid of a bayonet and a shovel, since it does not require constant bending, so that the back is protected from unnecessary stress. And this is very important for gardeners.

6. Shovel height

When choosing a shovel, you need to remember that it must have a height corresponding to the height of the person who will work with it. The ideal is the height of the shovel, which does not reach the shoulder by 10 cm.

7. Unusual shovels

If the garden arsenal already has shovels, then you can diversify them with new "comrades". Here are a few of the popular models on the market:

* High tech lightweight shovel. Its handle is made of plastic or beech, the blade is of a comfortable shape.

* A shovel with several longitudinal slots on the blade, or its blade is made in the form of a pitchfork. It is called a "reduced friction" tool.

* Shovels equipped with a stop, with which you can rest against the ground when digging for more convenient work.

Little tricks:

If an unnecessary rectangular canister (or a large bucket) made of plastic is lying around in the country, it can be used to clean the iron shovels from rust. It is necessary to cut off the top of the container, pour sand into it and pour in the used engine oil. The blade of the shovel should be thrust into the sand several times, and then wiped with a newspaper and removed to a dry place.