Seeds of Change 100% Organic Seeds

by Steve Peters
Tending the fields on our New Mexico research farm.

Working in your garden can be a wonderfully rewarding activity that uplifts the body, mind, and soul, but it can sometimes be exhausting and frustrating if you don't have the right tool for the job. A quality tool performing the specific task at hand can be poetry in motion, while making all the difference in your gardening experience.

Choosing the right garden tool depends upon four basic criteria: effectiveness, versatility, quality, and cost. An effective tool gets the job done efficiently, without leaving you worn out, or worse, injured in the process. The degree of effectiveness is largely determined by the design and construction of the implement in question. Is the blade angled properly for slicing weeds? Can you grip the handle comfortably? Can you operate in those tight spots? Is the steel of a high quality that won't bend and can hold an edge?

The best tools are versatile, able to perform a variety of tasks, so that you don't have to lug around a wheelbarrow full of equipment. Usually a tool that is designed to perform one specific task is more useful if you are repeating that particular task many times. For example, if you had to transplant hundreds of tomato seedlings that required a narrow, deep hole, you would be smart to use a transplanting trowel, with its long, tapered and curved blade. However, the much more versatile hand plow (discussed below) would be perfectly serviceable if you only needed to put in a few plants, and it could also be used to loosen the soil and cut roots of weeds while you're at it.

With care, a high quality tool will last a lifetime, becoming like a trusted friend the more you work with it. The quality of a tool is determined by the design as well as the materials and construction methods used. For example, forged steel (tempered or heat-treated) is superior to stamped steel. Forged steel is thicker where maximum stresses occur and thinner where a sharp edge is needed. In contrast, stamped steel has a single thickness, making it much weaker because it cannot be shaped to accommodate the varying stresses that occur on a tool in action. The best made tools have added thickness where maximum stress occurs. For example, in the case of a digging tool made with a wooden handle (shaft) and a metal head, the primary stress point is the place where the two materials are joined.

Cost, of course, is also an important consideration, although you generally get what you pay for. I learned long ago that one quality tool that lasts is really less expensive than buying an endless series of cheap tools that break. An inexpensive tool will probably be a disappointment unless you don't mind accumulating scrap metal.

As we consider a particular tool, let's put it in context with the fundamental tasks that need to be accomplished in and around the garden. These tasks include the following: digging and soil preparation; bed shaping; lifting, turning and tossing organic materials; cultivating & weeding; planting and transplanting; and cutting and pruning.

Although there are literally hundreds of different tools that can perform each of these six tasks, the tools discussed below are a few of the best options available and were selected for their effectiveness, versatility, and superb quality.

Soil preparation is the foundation upon which every successful garden builds. Productive garden soil must not only have good aeration and drainage, but also the ability to retain moisture. Clay hardpans that restrict root growth and prevent the downward movement of water must be broken up and amended. Organic materials such as fresh cover crops, compost, manure, and leaf litter that sustain soil organisms and provide nutrients to plants should be thoroughly incorporated for long-term soil fertility. Developed in England only about 150 years ago when the technology of tempered (heat-treated) steel was perfected, the Digging Fork. is perhaps the single most important tool for achieving desirable soil conditions. The four sturdy square tines flex slightly without breaking. If one of the tines does happen to bend under severe stress it can be re-straightened without any loss of strength. The D-Handle allows you to grip the tool securely and push down with the heel of your palm, while simultaneously pushing down on the business end with your foot (or feet if you have good balance). Once the tool has fully penetrated the soil, you simply rock it back and forth to enhance aeration, or lift up the clod of soil slightly and flip it over if you are incorporating plant material. Each of the tines comes to a chiseled, dull point that exerts more pressure on the soil than a shovel, making it superior tool for penetrating hard and compacted ground. Furthermore, unlike the garden shovel, the narrow tines protect soil structure, earthworms, and root systems of nearby plants. This makes it the ideal tool for dividing, lifting and transplanting perennials. Several outstanding features make the Clarrington Forge Digging Fork the highest quality model available. The head and socket are hand-forged from a single piece of steel. The hardwood handle is crafted from smooth, straight-grained ash, then buried deep in the socket (about 10 inches) and secured with rivets, producing a tool of unmatched strength and resilience.

The D-Handle Spade is not to be confused with the ordinary garden shovel that has a rounded blade and is a lift and throw tool. Instead, the D-handle Spade is designed to do some serious digging, having a nearly flat, sharp blade beveled on one side.

The wooden shaft and blade are set in the same plane, allowing you to strike the soil directly and with considerable force. It's perfect for digging trenches and is also the best hand tool for digging out small trees and bushes that have deep taproots. It is also constructed of the same high-quality materials as the digging fork.

The Steel Rake is designed to prepare soil for planting. The sturdy 3-inch tines, when pushed and pulled through the soil, will remove small stones, sticks, and other debris, leaving you with a well conditioned seed bed ready for direct seeding. The Clarrington Forge model won't bend or fall apart like cheaper department-store models and will tolerate a lifetime of rigorous use.

The Japanese-made Farmer's Hoe, also referred to as a grub hoe or eye hoe, is the supreme hand tool for moving large amounts of dirt and re-shaping the land in any way you desire, such as creating a set of terraces and swales in a permaculture design. The advantage of this tool, over all the other variations of hoes, picks, and mattocks that are used for the same purpose, is that it has superior balance and requires less effort to get the job done. An extremely rugged 5-inch wide blade is mounted on a finely crafted wood handle. It can dig rapidly (of course, you are sweating here) through a thick grass sod, heavy clay, or a soil loaded with big rocks, all while pulling and mounding the soil into raised garden beds or other landscaping features.

It is the ultimate hand tool for water harvesting by creating earthen swales, berms, and terraces, and is also great for digging around and prying up small tree stumps.

For bed shaping at a more intimate scale, the Hand Plow is a great choice. A sturdy plate of curved steel, formed to resemble the shape of your hand and coming to a point at one end, is mounted on an easy-gripping wooden handle. It is designed for versatility, allowing you to break up clods of dirt, cut out weeds, pull and mound soil, dig out rocks, form holes for transplants, or delicately cultivate around plants with the pointed tip.

The kinds of materials in the garden that are lifted, turned, and tossed are highly diverse. These substances, such as straw, leaves, weeds, compost, and manure, can vary greatly in composition, size of individual clods or chunks, length of grassy material, density, and degree of compactness. The Compost Fork, also known as the Scottish Manure Fork, is a great tool for the job because you can easily control how much material you pick up, thus avoiding a strained back or other debilitating injuries. Its 9-inch wide forged steel head has four, 12-inch long, rounded steel tines with pointed tips that readily penetrate dense clods of manure or grass clumps. In contrast, shovels and spades have long metal edges that make it almost impossible to pick up this type of material. Digging forks can penetrate manure and dense grass, but the heads are heavier and narrower than the Compost Fork, and so are less efficient and can lead to back pain. The broad, dished head on the Compost Fork also makes it is useful for rough raking and picking up light, yet bulky materials, such as straw and leaves. In addition, the wooden D-handle allows for a relaxed, controlled grip and flexible twisting motions. Other manure, hay, or bedding forks may be better designed for a specific task, but the value of the Compost Fork lies in its overall versatility.

The seemingly endless supply of persistent, incredibly vigorous weeds sprouting everywhere in your garden can be a pain-in-the-neck nuisance to you and your plants, or with the proper tool, you can turn this headache into a resource. You want to keep the area around your plants free of weeds, which are competing for water and nutrients, while simultaneously using those weeds in ways that benefit your plants. The quickest and most effective way to eliminate weeds, with the least amount of soil disturbance and physical effort, is by severing the roots of young weeds just beneath the soil surface with a sharp-bladed implement. This green plant material can then be taken to your compost or animals, left in place to serve as a moisture-conserving mulch, or incorporated into the soil with a Digging Fork, providing vital nourishment.

For a patch or field of, say, sprawling, prostrate plants along with a mix of upright bunch grasses, you can hack through this in elegant fashion with the wicked Weed Shredder. This device has a 5-foot wooden handle mounted to a 9-inch wide, uniquely shaped, double-edged, flat blade which is effective while being pushed or pulled. With a modest effort, you will be slicing cleanly all the weed top-growth, while the roots of the weeds are left undisturbed contributing to healthy soil structure.

The 5-inch blade and 4-foot handle of the smaller version of the Weed Shredder is better suited for tighter spaces and smaller gardeners.

The Dutch Hoe performs similar functions, although its 6-inch-wide straight blade, which is mounted on a 5-foot wooden shaft, only works on the push stroke, and can be a little more effective than the Weed Shredder for cutting stubborn roots, and is also useful for shaping beds. Keep these tools well sharpened for maximum effectiveness.

For more delicate and refined cultivating work we need to turn to some different implements&emdash;mainly the Smart Hoe and the Cape Cod Weeder.

The extremely lightweight Smart Hoe has a nearly 5-foot, flexible and durable metal shaft with a dense foam grip and a 5-inch wide multi-purpose blade. One side of the blade has a slightly curved sharp edge that cuts precisely, even in very tight spots. On the opposite side, the deep sawtooth-shaped blade can break up soil crusts and can act as a miniature rake. At less than 2 lbs, its lightness makes it easy on your body, yet it can easily withstand rigorous use.

The Cape Cod Weeder has a two foot wooden shaft attached to a slender 3-inch blade. When pulled just under the soil surface it cleanly severs weeds without disturbing the surrounding plants. The sturdy blade comes to a point, making it useful for digging in tight places. The versatility of these tools is especially valuable when you are seeking two or three special tools that will almost do it all.

My all-time favorite weeding tool is the Farm-Tested Hula Hoe. The thin, spring steel, stirrup-shaped blade provides minimal soil resistance, and its effectiveness on both the push and pull strokes enables you to fly (well almost) down a garden row, slicing and dicing everything in your path. Of course, it works better when the weeds are less than the size of a small tree! Although not quite as precise as the Weed Shredders, this lightweight, low impact tool can cover a large area quickly with minimal wear and tear to the operator, making it a useful tool for the small market farmer with a few acres. Recently, my wife fell in love with the Hula Hoe when she used it to prepare a 500-square-foot area for a new lawn. She easily undercut the weeds and simultaneously loosened the soil, creating an ideal seedbed with minimum effort.

Warren Hoe - This V-shaped hoe is the perfect instrument for forming a planting furrow. It makes easy work of planting larger-scale row crops such as corn and beans. After the seed is sown, the Warren Hoe pulls the soil back over the seed, and then the backside of the blade is used for the final tamping to assure good seed-to-soil contact. An indispensable tool for the market gardener! Its Clarrington Forge durability and sharp, pointed blade make it useful for loosening compacted soils as well.

Garden Knife - If you were limited to one tool for a small garden, your best choice might be the amazing Garden Knife, also known by its Japanese name of Hori Hori. The rugged, 6-inch-long knife blade with a comfortable wooden handle is ideal for transplanting seedlings, digging, cultivating, and cutting roots (the blade is serrated on one side). It is particularly effective for severing tap-rooted weeds several inches below the soil surface. Even a stack of plastic pots that are stuck together give way to the Hori Hori. You'll find a hundred uses for this versatile garden tool.

Transplanting Hoe - A smaller version of the Farmer's Hoe, it does everything its big brother does&emdash;but up close and personal&emdash;making it great for cultivating in close quarters. Its narrow blade and comfortable grip make it a very ergonomic choice for transplanting large quantities of seedlings. Former research farm associate Lee Gearhart repeatedly demonstrated the effectiveness of this tool at our yearly transplanting parties as he always finished his row well ahead of everyone else: it is because of him that we sought out and found this high-quality tool for our collection.

The primary considerations for a pruning saw are the quality of the blade and the ability to cut effectively in tight places such as the crotch of a small tree. Both the saws we offer are equipped with tempered-steel teeth precision-beveled at three angles, allowing for smooth and rapid cutting. These lightweight, yet durable saws are highly maneuverable and can cut effectively at any angle. The Japanese Pruning Saw has an 11-inch blade with 8 super-sharp teeth per inch. Its curved wooden handle is shaped perfectly for a good grip on the pull stroke where the bulk of the cutting occurs. It comes with a handsome wooden sheath that cleverly attaches to your belt without removing it. This saw easily cuts a 2-inch red maple sapling in less than 10 seconds and makes a precision cross-cut on a 1x8 inch pine board in around 15 seconds.

The Gomboy Folding Saw utilizes the same technology in a 9 1/2-inch fold-out blade with 10 teeth per inch for a very fine, precision cut. In the closed position the blade is protected and you can conveniently slip it into your back pocket. The solid rubber, easy-gripping, long and nearly straight handle allows for a powerful pull stroke. It took us about 15 seconds to cut a 2-inch sapling and around 20 seconds to cross-cut a 1 x 8. Either of these saws can handle anything less than 4 inches in diameter quite readily and are great for everything from pruning to making trellises and even fine woodworking.

The ideal hand tool for cutting tall grass on uneven terrain or in close quarters is the sickle. The premier choice for hand sickles is the Japanese-made Kama. This hand-crafted tool is pure joy to use. It has a 7-inch long, slightly curved, razor-sharp steel blade and a 15-inch-long ergonomically shaped wooden handle. With an almost effortless flick of your wrist you can cut rapidly in small strokes a patch of succulent, foot-tall winter rye, for example. The superb maneuverability allows you to avoid rocks and other obstacles that could damage the blades of larger implements. A slight tug on a 45 degree angle and it easily severs corn stalks or other tough stems.

We've been working for many years to bring you the finest line of tools available to make your gardening a joy. These are some of our favorite tools that we use daily at our research farm and trial gardens. Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions about these tools or about any other of your own special tools that we might add to our collection.

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