broadfork
November 4th, 2010 by brooke
We have a new tool and i am in love with it! It is a steel broadfork made by a small company called Meadow Creature out of Vashon Island, Wa. The tool is wide horizontal bar (approximately the width of our beds) with four sharp metal tines and tall handles.
You use the tool with your whole body, stepping on the bar and rocking back and forth so that your weight wiggles the tines deep into the soil. The leverage of the tall handles makes it easy to pull the handles back and the tines up through the soil. I work backwards along a bed so that I never step on freshly aerated ground. Broadforking for a few hours definitely feels like an aerobic and upperbody workout, but it is an ergonomically designed tool that doesn’t leave me with an achy back.
The tractor that we rented a couple months ago had a roto-tiller attachment but no plough (we weren’t able to find a company in or near SF that rented a plough) and unfortunately the tiller only managed to break through the top four inches of soil. Most vegetable plants’ roots need a deeper aerated root zone to flourish. So we needed an efficient way to dig our beds a little deeper. The all-steel broadfork is the only hand tool that we have found that breaks ground and cuts through a hardpan. We tried the broadfork sold by Johnny’s Selected Seeds but found it not to be tough enough to do the job. It has lighter wooden handles that are bolted into a metal bar piece and the tines are thinner and feel too easily bendable. We will keep it to use for root crop harvest or perhaps return it because these tools aren’t cheap! Even though our new broadfork requires more physical labor, it’s also more pleasant to use than the roto-tiller and in the end creates far less soil compaction.
I love it! I SO need one of those.
I just ordered one from Meadow Creatures. I gave you gals credit for bringing it to my attention. Maybe they’ll send you a t-shirt or a mug or some other equally valuable token of thanks.
If anyone is looking to buy a California-made broadfork, a friend of mine here in Chico, CA has been making them for over a decade: Valley Oak Tool Company http://www.valleyoaktool.com/broadforks/ It looks like his prices are comparable to Meadow Creatures, though for our hot, hot climate his model includes strong, wood handles (they heat up less in the sun).
Hello, I am looking to buy this broadfork..I am a little nervous on how much they cost..I am gardener of many gardens..organic..have a tiller but really use as little as possible..pretty much just in the beginning of our season(MN).
We mulch to keep weeds down, hoe, and down on hands and knees, this tool is kinda calling at me..tell me do you use it..does it have home/purpose for you in your gardens??
Cheers, Charrie
Charrie — we use our broadfork all the time. For our scale (less than one acre), t’s one of our most valuable tools! It allows us to loosen up the soil down past the hardpan using only bodyweight (and the heavy weight of the tool itself). It’s easy to use and doesn’t feel too hard on the body. I also like that it aerates the soil without disturbing the soil structure as much as a tiller does (it’s doesn’t pulverize and stir the soil up quite as much). We’re pretty happy with ours!
Thank you. ☆d(o⌒∇⌒o)b ★Happy★ d(o⌒∇⌒o)b☆. Will purchase.
Enjoyed reading about your garden adventures! I live in MN, in the country..small organic farm. Never been to San Francisco, love to make it there and see what you are doing with your gardens..they look beautiful. Just ordered seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds..lovely choices.
Namaste, Charrie