What’s your favorite shovel? One broken, one threatening to. Digging shovel, not spade, recommendations wanted.
About Kathy Purdy
Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children
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I have found it best to just get the fiberglass handles they are not 100% unbreakable but I love them and use them daily for everthing from post holes to trenching to small holes for my plants.
I’m with Beth – I like the Radius NRG tools. I have the digging spade and it’s been terrific. I broke one of my shovels trying to dig up an overgrown Joe Pye Weed last year (6 foot maximum height??? not in my garden!! the thing was over 9′ tall) and almost impaled myself on the shovel shaft as it snapped. No risk of the NRG shovels doing that! For more details see my blog posting on it at http://gardenjunkiesblog.com/2009/03/09/ergonomic-digging-spade.aspx.
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Thanks, Beth and Garden Junkie. I’m actually shopping for the menfolk in my family and I think the radius handle would drive them nuts. They are traditionalists.
Twitter: @chicagogardener
I have been really liking the Radius NRG transplanter. Sort of a cross between a shovel and a drain spade. http://www.radiusgarden.com/products.html I really like the circular handle which is easy to grip, wide foot step, slippery stainless blade. I feel like I can really get some leverage on my dirt with this. This is a shorter model, the length of a traditional D-handle shovel. But they make a long-handled one too with a traditional shovel-shaped blade.
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