[SnooziSuzi]

once your into a rythm well me ,, i find i can pitch n turn a full plot in a day no worries .one of those sections in the pic i mean ,i dig a half dozen turns have a break to catch my wind and then on again.one of the old fellas who died a year or so back would do his whole plot ,.the end one in a day no messing he would start at about 9 and be finished for 3 ,,,, was up n down like a little jackrabbit .all he did was sup from a hip flask and chew liqourice stick    

 :shock:  Do you charge by the hour, Munts!

[muntjac]

lol i actually charged £25 for rotavating a plot not so long back lol

[gobs]

You expensive.

Spader here, as said. Besides, I tried the fork, broke three, no chance of driving it into heavy clay. But then, if you have sandy soil(I would not no) doesn't it just fall through? :?

[splodger]

i must be ampi do dah - i use both - equally

each job needs a specific tool - you use the right tool - the job is easy - you use the wrong one and you'll f*** / sorry mess up - same rule applies for any job - bad tools - bad job - right tools - job done  

[frazzy]

same  here . i use both

[Fenland Girl]

Used to use just a fork as thought it was easier (i'm only little!) until OH bought me a lovely Joseph Bentley spade and it really makes a difference having a well-made tool - I can actually get it into the earth and lift it out again without breaking my back or toppling over, unlike with the previous rubbishy Focus spade! I've actually broken two forks lifting my giant parsnips

[Trillium]

Like some others, I use both a shovel and a fork wherever it's needed most, but I like the fork more. I find the shovel holds more than the spades which I just use for edging. For big jobs, I use the rotovator.

[sparky]

once your into a rythm well me ,, i find i can pitch n turn a full plot in a day no worries .one of those sections in the pic i mean ,i dig a half dozen turns have a break to catch my wind and then on again.one of the old fellas who died a year or so back would do his whole plot ,.the end one in a day no messing he would start at about 9 and be finished for 3 ,,,, was up n down like a little jackrabbit .all he did was sup from a hip flask and chew liqourice stick    

Fork fer me then

[sweet nasturtium]

I was just going to ask this question, I started last year using a spade but learned about weeds so started using the fork.  Now I'mlearning that the weeds seem to fall through the fork deep into the hole. So I'm now looking for a rotovator so I don't have to use neither.

Munty - your man - was it the liquorice stick, hipflask or digging that killed him I wonder?

[Rampant_Weasel]

i`m on clay so i use the spade and after i dig again with fork and rake to make it fine.
i enjoy the digging i find it peaceful ( cos everyone is at work in the day and i work nights) and theraputic, i get into the rhythum and feel satisfied as i look over the freshly dug squares of soil  

munty - are those plots all yours or just one of them?

[brucesgirl]

Well it seems most use a fork here, but at our allotments I seem to be the only one. Must admit it seems to take me longer, but I do get a better end result.
I think I will try the spade this weekend just to see how it goes, now I have been told to use small slices with it.
I agree with Munty a hand-dug plot does look nicer than a rotovated one, but I suppose it depends on your circumstances.

[paintedlady]

fork - I found using a spade was too much like hard work.

[Selkie]

our soil's SO stony that we use a fork - broken a couple of spades :cry:  so it's fork from now on

[muntjac]

fork - I found using a spade was too much like hard work.

 its all in the wrist action ................. using a spade  

[paintedlady]

I'm so glad you added that last bit to finish the sentence!

It's hard work because the soil is too heavy when wet, too "solid" (clay) when dry and I'm forever bending down to dig up the bindweed, its easier when the fork has partially broken up the soil to expose the root.