A garden shovel is a multipurpose tool that’s used by gardeners, landscapers, and many other people who need to dig up or move plants. The best garden shovel will have the right blade shape for your specific gardening needs and will also be easy to use. The handle is another important factor in determining which shovel will work best for you, with longer handles better suited to digging deep holes and shorter handles for more precise tasks.
Shovels come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes to suit different types of gardening tasks. For example, a garden rake is designed to create straight lines in a row of plants, while a garden spade has a rounded tip for digging into soil. Other types of shovels include edgers, which have flat blades for cutting through plant offshoots and roots. If you want to cut through a tree stump, then a tree saw might be the right shovel for the job.
The most common type of garden shovel is a round-point shovel, which features a heavy-duty metal blade with a pointed tip to make digging, lifting, and transplanting easier. Some shovels also come with a step on the blade, which you can place your foot on to help add extra pressure to your shoveling efforts.
Other types of shovels include a scoop shovel, which has a slightly curved blade that’s better for scooping up and moving gardening materials than a flat-edged shovel. There are also drain shovels, which have narrow steel blades that can dig narrow holes to unearth flowers or dig out clogged pipes. These kinds of shovels can also be used to chop up organic matter, such as leaves and compost, to break it down faster.
Choosing the right shovel depends on what gardening task you need it for. A round-point shovel is the best all-around shovel, while a drain shovel or spade may be better for digging and lifting. A garden edger can be used to create a defined border around a lawn, while a tree saw is ideal for cutting down large trees and trimming the tops of their branches.
To use a shovel, first grip the handle of the tool in your hand, with one hand near the base and the other about two-thirds of the way up. Position the tip of the blade into the soil or gardening material, then push and lift to dig or move it. To cut into tough roots or turf, a pointed or rounded tip might be better, while a flat tip is ideal for cutting into hard soil, clay, and grass. The collar, which is the portion of the blade that connects to the shaft, can also be a good indicator of how strong a shovel will be. Some have a collar that screws into the handle, which can be loosened or tightened to adjust the tool’s strength. Others have a collar that’s welded to the shaft, which can be easier to replace in case of a break.