Quote:
Originally Posted by halleone
And to help with loosening the soil, I have purchased a fabulous looking broadfork - I guess tomorrow I will find out just how fabulous it is!
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Lynn -
Congratulations on adding what I consider to be an essential tool to your gardening kit. Like most tools, I found there was a little learning curve to using a broadfork. If you've never used one or seen one being used a quick Google will give you some youtube hits and I suggest your start there. Then when you get it out in the garden, lean the handles a bit forward as you set the tines in the soil, about 15 degrees from upright or so, then step on top of the fork bar ends alternating from left to right back and forth until the tines are buried up to the bar. Then gently push and pull back and forth in a sort of rowing motion with the further you push and pull the more the soil will be worked. I've had my broadfork only one year now and my soil is so fluffy that I don't even have to step on the bar to bury the tines -- I just rock left and right a couple of times and the weight of the broadfork itself buries the tines up to the bar.