From the ergonomic point of view the traditional British garden fork and spade are a bit of a disaster. Just think about it: to turn over your vegetable patch you have to drive in the fork by standing in it, physically lift up the clod of earth, break it up, extract any perennial weed roots, and then replace it upside down – all whilst bending over. You then have to do it again, and again and again…..  At the end, if you’re lucky you’ll simply have a sore back, unlucky and you’ll be incapacitated for a few days.

This is where digging hoes – or adzes – have a major advantage. The blade is at right angles to the shaft, so you can use gravity to drive it in – rather like using an axe. You can then use the considerable leverage the shaft provides to turn over the clod of earth. All whilst keeping your back straight. They’re really good, and this sort of tool is used all over the world with good reason.

But, I hear you say, doesn’t that simply chop up all the weed roots into smaller pieces and multiply the amount of couch grass you have to deal with when summer comes?

You’re right, of course, which is why you need that wonderful tool, the CANTERBURY FORK.

What it does is combine a three pronged fork with a digging hoe to make a unique tool that is part fork, part hoe, part rake, as shown in the featured image above. So if you have some neglected land to conquer, full of brambles, nettles, and god knows what else, it’s the only tool you need.  You wack it in, loosen the ground, pull out the intact roots and flip the earth over.  It’s brilliant. I bought one about a decade ago when we had an allotment, and it rapidly became my favourite tool.  So much so that when I eventually broke the handle the other day, all work stopped until I could find a new one.

Drawbacks? Well yes, a few.  First it’s not a precision tool, so neat lines are unlikely unless you can swing accurately. Second, it does lend itself to a pulling action; thus you tend to end up with a pile of earth at your feet, just where you need to stand to attack the next bit.

Anyway, that’s my top gardening tip for you, just at the time you need it for this year’s garden prep.   They’re available online from Chillington tools. You won’t regret it, I promise!