[wildgoose1uk]

Hi all

I am new to all this having reached middle age without a garden big enough to grow anything in.  Well now things have changed!

My garden was just grass to begin with.  Not a cultivated level lawn you understand but just grass.... In the dim and distant past it was part of an orchard and more recently an unused paddock.

I have cut some beds in.. It really is hard work isn't it.  The soil is heavy claggy clay.

My question is would I be better carrying on cutting the beds in with my stainless gear or would I be better using an Azada?  From what I read there seems to be some advantages but I just need some more information before I shell out for more gear.

Thanks

[Nobbie]

I've got an azada and clay soil and they are good once the soil is broken up, but I reckon you'll do your back in if you try to cut through turf on heavy clay with one.

[operabunny]

You can use an Azada to cut the grass off first by using a 'skimming' motion rather than a digging motion. Personally I would kill off the grass and pull the dead stuff up before digging. I found clearing my plot much easier once I did that. Before I killed the grass and weeds it was practically impossible to get through the mass of roots and the soil.

If I could only have 1 garden tool it would be an azada because it is so versatile and you have a better digging action that spreads the load over more different muscles and doesn't stress points in your knees and back like using a spade on heavy soil does.

[stentman]

I am a recent convert to azadas. What sold them to me was who uses them, if the standard spade/fork combo was the best soil working solution then the farming/gardening world would use little else. But it's not so, subsistance farmers from Peru to Kenya via Bangladesh use something more like an azada than a spade. For me it's far easier to use than a spade, produces turned earth results quicker and with less effort. Also with my dicky ticker (hence the user name) excessive physical exertion is a no no, so the lower effort needed to get the same result is another reason why I have mine. For me neither the azada or the spade/fork is the perfect option but I use the azada more often these days.

[grendel]

another vote for the azada here - worlds best tool until I got my rotavator, without it I would never have got as much of my plot planted up.
Grendel

[noshed]

I have an azada and I find it very good for rough clearing like you describe. Just make sure you get one you can handle. Mine is a medium weight which is about as much as I can manage for extended periods of hacking.
If you're cutting out beds it might be worth considering edging them so you can just break up the clay in the bottom and then fill the beds with council compost or somesuch. My brother has just done that on his very claggy clay soil and he's had brilliant results in just one year. You just need a source of cheap compost/rotted manure/home made compost.

[wildgoose1uk]

Sounds like an Azada is the way to go then.  Many thanks for the input.

What are the differences between the Azada's at Get Digging and the Chillington Hoe?  Is one better than the other?  They both seem to do similar weights and handles.

[joyfull]

here is an old thread on the very same subject:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=13559.0;topicseen

[kosh42|EFG]

I've been working a lot with my new mattock this weekend and love it. The action is a lot more natural than fork and spade digging for me, and I got a lot more done in a few hours that I expected. This was on hard, root filled ground.

Got me thinking about this thread and I reckon I may well try and azada for digging over already cultivated soil.

[Nige2Plots]

Mattock (Azada) for clearing ground and earhting up Potatoes.
Fork and Spade for everything else.

[TerryB]

Another vote for the Azada.
Didn't have one when first dug over the plot, mores the pity but use it each Autumn and Spring when digging the plot over for next season. Twice as fast with half the effort as a spade or fork. Got mine from Tool Shop for about £10.50 including postage.