Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Equipment Shed => Topic started by: MJS on May 09, 2011, 17:17
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We took over our allotment at the end of January and have got by with a fork, two spades, a hoe, rake and trowel.
Since then we have been learning about the work involved and have bought a wheelbarrow too. After reading the forum and seeing how things have panned out effort-wise on the allotment, and now having actual plants growing, I am about to buy a canterbury hoe and and onion hoe. I'm hoping these will see us through for this year without buying more , but I must admit, I'd never heard of these till I joined the forum. :D
What wouldn't you be without? :unsure:
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Well, my Brian's rotovator once he gets round to using it on my veg plot, as I can't dig for very long, and the weeds grow quicker than I can get rid of them!
But everything is useful. I prefer my border fork as it isn't as heavy as the ordinary garden fork, and I got a spade back in 2006 for nothing, which is lovely and sharp and digs well in hard ground. We've also got 4 other spades and shovels, collected over the years. a rake, a lawn rake, 4 hoes and an azada thingy, which I also love for when the ground is hard, and 2 wheelbarrows.
One winter when the ground was really hard, we had a lot of rain and the chicklen runs were swimming, so I went down with my azada and dug a trench from one end of the big run to the other. I did it in a couple of hours. Normally it would have taken me 2 days the way I work! :D
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has to be the azada, its great for earthing spuds an digging its a dream, and easy on the back too. more knackring than a spade as I can go hammer and tongs and dig a yard wide strip the width of the plot in 10 minutes, but it does leave me out of breath.
Grendel
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Thank you both, that's another tool that's new to me :D I'm hoping we will get a lot more done, more quickly once we have the most appropriate tools. :D
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An azada and my trusty Ibis hand cultivator hoe thing, a Korean tool which is great for weeding, making seed drills, whacking clumps of soil to break them, cultivating soil in my raised beds etc. It's my most used tool :)
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Is an Azada similar to a Canterbury hoe? Only looking at things online and not being able to see "in the flesh" , so to speak, they look similar. :unsure:
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the azada is like a spade head on the end of a long shaft, at roughly right angles to the shaft, its weight and sharp edge carry it into the ground,and a little tug toward you breaks the soil away, no excessive bending or lifting.
Grendel
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the azada is like a spade head on the end of a long shaft, at roughly right angles to the shaft, its weight and sharp edge carry it into the ground,and a little tug toward you breaks the soil away, no excessive bending or lifting.
Grendel
Thank you, certainly sounds like a good tool. :D
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The azada is like a Chillington hoe here
http://www.chillingtontoolsonline.co.uk/digging-hoes-and-handles-c1
The handle on mine is much shorter, possibly a bit too short, but it is a great clouter, and as said above, earthing up is a doddle with it!
And you must get a 'Growster Wheel Hoe'...;0)
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The azada is like a Chillington hoe here
http://www.chillingtontoolsonline.co.uk/digging-hoes-and-handles-c1
The handle on mine is much shorter, possibly a bit too short, but it is a great clouter, and as said above, earthing up is a doddle with it!
And you must get a 'Growster Wheel Hoe'...;0)
I've just had a look at your thread, very impressive :D I have notices two jalo wheel hoes on Ebay, so I am watching them to see what they go for. :)
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My must have tool is my opinal Knife. Always carry it on me when i go to the plot.
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I'd call it an enxada, but that says more about me than the tool!
Irish spade (long handle, easier on the back)
4" Opinel knife
Sturdy 12" wooden tent pegs - too many uses - dibbing, marking out, securing cloches, measuring sticks.
String
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List of my tools will be long, so i will call just most useful - chainsaw :wub: , Honda F200, wheelbarrow, spade, canterbury fork, mesh on the frame to separate stones from sand. And i didn't count tools for building :D
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Nice to hear from you Vit. Why don't you introduce yourself to us in the "welcome" thread. :)
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There are certainly some good tools here. I have bid on, and been successful in getting a Chillington hoe on Ebay for £10.00. :D
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There are certainly some good tools here. I have bid on, and been successful in getting a Chillington hoe on Ebay for £10.00. :D
Good price M! It should have a wide neck for a strong, thick handle, in which case, you can bash just about anything with impunity...
They're great for taking the top layer of greenery off the plot before you dig!
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There are certainly some good tools here. I have bid on, and been successful in getting a Chillington hoe on Ebay for £10.00. :D
Good price M! It should have a wide neck for a strong, thick handle, in which case, you can bash just about anything with impunity...
They're great for taking the top layer of greenery off the plot before you dig!
collecting it tomorrow night, so there will be plenty of bashing going on this Saturday, weather permitting. :D
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Three prong cultivator is my favourite.
When weeds appear after turning over some soil my cultivator soon scuffs up the little blighter's. It also leave the surface looking fresh for little effort!
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Three prong cultivator is my favourite.
When weeds appear after turning over some soil my cultivator soon scuffs up the little blighter's. It also leave the surface looking fresh for little effort!
i was wondering what the three pronged one was for. Sounds good. :D
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My RoLo, a Chillington hoe and a plastic garden chair to cart round the plot for sitting on while I recover my puff and work out what to do next!
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I've got a patio weeder which I would be lost without for general weeding.It's great for useing as a little hoe between you'r crops and for digging up more stubborn weeds.As well as the job it was designed for ,weeding the patio
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@vit - Canterbury fork - great to know the English name - I imported mine from Portugal and think that it's a wonderful bit of kit, especially to break up a hard pan when double digging