Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: sarajane on July 24, 2016, 23:56
-
Does anyone have experience of this tool. Lillileaf has posted about them but I,'ve never heard of them. The reason I ask is OH late last year ended up with 3 month's in hospital and a high leg amputation and now confined to a wheelchair.
We're NOT giving up the plot but seriously need to reconsider our methods of cultivating. I work full time and fitting this in with everything else and I can see us struggling. I've somehow managed to get this year under control by just chucking in the seeds and hoping for the best.
Raised beds will need to be made but he needs to be able to cultivate himself for his own sense of worth. He's not one for sitting around feeling sorry for himself and is itching to get back to growing and any tool's that can help we will buy if we think they can help.
He obviously can't dig so what exactly does this tool manage to do?Thanks folks
-
Sorry to hear of hubby's ill health & amputation. It sounds like he is adjusting well which is great news. Have you looked in to no dig gardening, there's various books by Charles Downing/Dowding, that would work well in raised beds as after preparation you don't walk on them again. As for the digging hoe the only thing I can think of is an Adz which is basically a short handled wide blade set at 45 degrees to the handle. Hubby might be able to manage a raised bed by going along the length of the bed from each side. Have you been put in touch with any agencies/charities who might be able to give more specific advice?
-
Hi
The digging hoe i use has a 4ft long handle, you need to swing it fast and hard so the blade goes well into the soil,i use it standing up as long as i have my balance,and i have also used it kneeling down,that way saves my back,i do use kneeling pads,keeps the knees dry and stops the stones digging into the joints.
The blade is about 8" wide,i bought it online handle and blade were £12.00 with free postage.
I am not one to sit about,i need to be outside its good for the health and temper ;)
-
Do a forum search for azada, lots of people use them ;)
-
Sara, I've often thought something like this would be good for someone in your OH's circumstances.
If Mr Jane is able to stand on crutches, or similar, it could be a tool which may just work?
http://www.terapeak.com/worth/hand-held-garden-soil-tiller-aerator-claw-cultivator-twist-weed-xl-long-handle/172194177771/
-
These digging hoes are brilliant tools and come available in a huge variety of sizes and shapes - my guess is that if he gets one of an appropriate size and weight then it will serve just fine. Personally I've got about half a dozen and find the most useful one the medium sized one (blade width about 4 inches) which would be light enough to wield from the sitting down position if he's able to use both hands and twist his upper body, or lean forward. Remember that it's the weight of the tool that does the work so the majority of the effort is used in raising the tool from the ground (especially if clods get stuck to them) or using it to 'pull soil etc'. As a consequence they are significantly harder to use in compacted/wet/heavy,sticky clay soils than in light/friable/sandy soils. If you're using raised beds this is likely to be less of a problem I would have thought.
I'm also fond of my lightweight one which has a 2.5inch wide blade on one side and a pointed blade on the other so it's good for making furrows etc. and looks similar to this:
http://www.planfor.pt/comprar,enxada-sacho-forjada-enxada-e-ponta-leborgne,M956,PO
Personally I'd call the larger tool an 'enchada' or 'enxada', and the lighter weight/double sided tool a 'sacho' but they are both variations on the same theme. Problem is getting all of the options in the UK, but they are readily available in any decent hardware store in Spain/Portugal (and I daresay elsewhere in europe) if you know anyone who's going.
If you're ever in my neck of the woods then PM me and you're welcome to heft them and see if they'd serve the purpose.
Philip
-
I think a full size azada, great tools though they are, might be too unwieldy to use effectively from a wheelchair, however, one of the hand held azadas from Get Digging would be very useful. I often use the pointed one to draw a row for planting seeds in our raised beds.
http://www.get-digging.co.uk/tools.htm
-
And following up from AnneB - there is no reason why you shouldn't put a long handle on small 'hand held' one, although in practice you may need to use some ingenuity if they don't have one that will fit.
-
I got a Silverline azada from my local hardware shop and now my spade hardly sees the light of day. It is great for clearing weeded areas, general digging and digging holes; soil flies everywhere and it is moved very fast.
Then after using this tool I invested in a Canterbury Fork so my traditional garden fork hardly sees the light of day. These lift over the head tools which allows the the tools weight to do the work are used all over the world. I read somewhere that the spade and fork we associate with gardening came from the mining industry which is understandable in restricted spaces.
I think long handle tools will be best suited to a seated position. I often see garden tools at car boot sales so it might be worth getting a variety and see what works for him.
-
Well thank you folks _ I knew you would all be fonts of information. I've researched the Ozada and think he could manage this really well. Can't believe I.'ve never heard of them.
Raised beds will hopefully be going in later this year(and next year) I'm looking into the lasagne system and collecting cardboard already. We 've been making 2 large areas of compost every year and have a good supply of leaves I collect every Autumn from work.
I know it's going to be a different way of gardening but he's such an inspiration I KNOW whoever we do it it will work for us.
Thankyou again folks. It's really helping knowing that we've got such a brilliant forum of people willing to share their knowledge.
I'll be ordering an ozada ;)
-
Another (though slightly unrelated) toll that I've discovered this year is an "oscilating stirrup hoe" or "swiss hoe". Unlike a traditional dutch hoe or an ordinary stirrup hoe, the head swivels chnaging the angle of the blade as you move it backwards and forwards so it cuts on both parts of the stroke. Its the best type of hoe I've ever found and makes short work of weeds even on my heavy clay.