How to dig up the ground manually: with a shovel, quickly, easily, with a miracle shovel, in spring, autumn, photo, video

Plaid 220×200 cm

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Plaid 220×200 cm

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Ottomans with lifting mechanism

For some, the garden is an opportunity to provide the family with tasty and natural products, for others it is an interesting hobby, and for some it is even a real means of survival. In any case, tillage during the cultivation of a garden is the most significant and labor-intensive part of all work. Digging up a garden with a shovel is in some cases not so easy, but in small areas this method is still one of the main ones for cultivating the land.

Choosing the Right Tool

However, with the development of modern technology, many improvements to an ordinary shovel have long been invented. They allow somewhere to speed up the process, and somewhere to simplify it so that it is not so difficult to dig the ground by hand, and the consequences of physical exertion do not affect the general well-being so much.

Pitchfork

One of the most ancient devices that is often used to dig a garden is an ordinary pitchfork. However, digging forks are traditionally used to dig up the earth. They differ from ordinary pitchforks in more powerful and shorter teeth, which in their cross section are more reminiscent of a trapezoid. Most often they are not welded, but forged.

A pitchfork is a much more convenient tool for working the land than even a shovel. It is not for nothing that many subsequent modern improved devices were made precisely on the principle of a pitchfork. After all, they allow you to simultaneously raise the layers of soil, loosen them without cutting the roots of weeds. At the same time, the overall load on the body is significantly reduced due to the fact that a significant part of the soil passes through the teeth, and it does not need to be torn off the ground.

As a result, the forks are particularly suitable for digging up particularly wet and heavy soil, which can stick too strongly to the metal parts of the products. Therefore, they are most often used to dig up clay or stony soils.

In addition, the use of a pitchfork is more than justified in order to easily dig up an area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe vegetable garden overgrown with grass. Since sharp teeth are much easier to penetrate the grassy turf of the garden than a solid blade of a shovel. At the same time, they do not cut the roots of perennial weeds, but pull them out to the surface of the earth as a whole. This allows you to later more effectively get rid of weeds. Indeed, many weeds, such as wheatgrass, can easily germinate even from small pieces of rhizomes left in the ground.

Forks are also indispensable for two-tier digging of a site, when it is necessary to loosen the second, lowest layer of the earth with their help.

To dig a garden with a pitchfork, it is enough to make a minimum amount of effort. But for large tracts of land, even more facilitating devices were invented, which will be discussed below.

Shovel

The shovel, of course, is an unsurpassed tool in terms of versatility, since with it you can not only dig almost any area, but also dig a hole or trench of almost any size. With a shovel, you can also dig up annually cultivated garden beds, flower beds, and virgin tracts of land overgrown with perennial weeds that have not been cultivated for several years. Of the hand tools, perhaps only a shovel can fully cope with virgin soil. A pitchfork can be a good addition, but only a well-sharpened shovel can overcome too dense turf.

In order to quickly dig a garden with a shovel with minimal effort, the length of its handle should be such that its end reaches the elbow when the blade is immersed in the ground by 20-25 cm. Sometimes a shovel handle with a special grip is used. But digging with it is less convenient. It is suitable for those whose fingers do not have much strength.

A rounded shovel blade can also make the job easier because it goes into the ground more easily than a straight one.

Miracle shovel “Mole”

The constant striving for perfection and facilitating the hard work of digging up the earth on the site led to the emergence of a variety of devices, among which the miracle shovel is the most popular. She has many different modifications, but they are all created according to the same principle.

The Mole Miracle Shovel is a unit consisting of two counter forks, from 43 to 55 cm wide. The number of teeth can vary from 6 to 9. The main working forks are movable and are bolted to the frame on which the counter teeth are located. A foot rest is attached to it, which makes it easy, without additional load for the back, to drive the shovel into the ground. After that, the handles of the handle of the tool are tilted first towards themselves, and then down. In the last action, the working forks push through the layer of earth through the counter teeth, freeing the soil from weeds and at the same time loosening it. Properly digging the ground for a garden means trying not to mix the upper and lower layers of the soil without special need.

Despite the considerable weight of the miracle mole shovel, about 4,5 kg, it is not difficult for her to work. It can only be dragged across the site. But most of the efforts to penetrate into the ground occur precisely due to the weight of the tool itself.

In the video you can clearly see how to dig the ground with a miracle shovel:

In addition, thanks to more convenient work, the process of digging the garden is accelerated. In 1 hour, you can process from 1 to 2 acres of land, depending on its density. At the same time, fatigue, especially in the back and arms, is minimally felt. Therefore, the miracle shovel “mole” is especially popular with women and the elderly, for whom digging up a garden previously seemed almost impossible.

There are also limitations in the work of the miracle shovel “Mole”. It will be difficult to dig up virgin lands with it, it is more suitable for digging up beds or flower beds in the country, slightly overgrown with weeds.

In addition, due to the rather high handle, it will be difficult for them to manage in a low greenhouse.

Ripper “Digger”

The principle of using double forks to lift and loosen the earth is used in many designs, in particular in the “digger” ripper. Compared with the mole, the digger has differences in design:

• The forks are mounted at an angle to each other on hinges, while there is no fixed frame.
• The device initially has two cuttings, which are then connected together in the handle.
• The foot rest takes up more space, which allows you to make the tool wider and makes work even easier.

But all these differences are not fundamental, in general, the principle of operation of the “Digger” ripper is not much different from the miracle shovel.

But it is precisely for the same reason that the unit may not be suitable for narrow beds or flower beds.

Shovel “Tornado”

Tornado is a fairly well-known brand under which many garden tools are produced. The “tornado” shovel in its design and principle of operation is practically no different from the “mole” miracle shovel.

But there is also a popular tornado ripper, which is a long pin with rounded long handles at one end and sharp teeth twisted clockwise. It allows you to dig up and loosen the earth to a depth of 20 cm. The handle of the tool can be easily adjusted in length to the height of the person working with the “tornado”.

Due to the small size of the tool, it is especially convenient for them to work on small plots of land, under trees or shrubs, in small flower beds or narrow beds. “Tornado” allows you to process even slightly overgrown with grass plots of land, but for large areas it is of little use.

Turning Wonder Views

A somewhat similar principle of operation is used in the operation of the rotary wonder-forks. They consist of a long pin with a T-shaped long handle. The main rod also has an adjustment in length in order to adapt as much as possible to the height of the person working with it.

At the bottom of the rod, a fork is attached to it, which cuts into the ground and then turns due to the force of the handle used as a lever.

When working with the rotary miracle forks, efforts towards the back or legs are also excluded. Naturally, labor productivity also increases. But the tool is poorly adapted to work with heavy or stony ground.

Fokine flat cutter

This amazing tool was invented not so long ago, at the end of the last century. But it has already managed to gain great popularity due to its lightness and versatility.

Fokin’s flat cutter can quite easily carry out the following types of work:

• loosening of the soil;
• crushing pieces of land;
• the formation of beds;
• pruning and removal of weeds;
• hilling;
• cutting grooves in the ground for sowing different crops.

At the same time, there are several models of a flat cutter that differ in blade size. Thus, the flat cutter is suitable for processing relatively large plots of land (up to several acres), and for narrow places where it is difficult to get close with any other tool.

Hand cultivator

Hand cultivators are a whole class of tools designed to dig up a garden, loosen and create beds.

In total, there are 3 main types of hand cultivators:

• rotary or star-shaped;
• cultivators-rippers;
• root removers.

Based on the name, in the cultivators of the first type, several star-shaped rippers are planted on the central axis.

When pressing on the handle and simultaneously driving the unit along the ground, the soil is loosened with the simultaneous destruction of weeds. But these models are not well suited for handling heavy soils, especially if they are covered with hardened clay crust.

In the latter cases, it is necessary to seek help from a cultivator-ripper. It has several rather short, but very hard and sharp curved teeth scrolling on its central axis. With their help, this unit, with the application of some effort, is able to cope with fairly dense and heavy soils.

Root removers are ideally suited for point loosening of the earth, removal of weeds with a powerful and deep rhizome, as well as for digging holes when planting seedlings of garden crops.

How deep should you dig the earth?

There are several approaches to land cultivation. Some gardeners believe that the earth must be dug up annually, at least to the depth of a spade bayonet, that is, 25-30 cm.

Others, who advocate a more natural, organic approach to growing plants, consider it necessary to only loosen the top layer of the earth annually, up to 4-5 cm deep. This should be enough for sowing and for the initial development of seeds. In the future, the roots of plants themselves make their way, using natural passages in the soil. True, with the second method, it is necessary to annually create a significant layer of organic mulch on the beds, at least 10-15 cm thick.

In any case, if you deal with virgin lands, that is, a piece of land densely overgrown with grass, then initially it must be dug up at least once. This is necessary, first of all, to remove the rhizomes of weeds, which will not allow young seedlings of cultivated plants to fully develop.

How to easily and quickly dig a garden

To quickly dig a garden, it is advisable to adhere to the following technology:

1. First, with the help of pegs and a stretched rope, the approximate boundaries of the future garden are marked.
2. Then a trench is dug along one of the sides, about a depth of about a spade bayonet. The width of the trench in this case is also equal to the width of the shovel blade.
3. All extracted land is immediately freed from weed roots and possible mechanical additives (stones, debris).
4. The earth from the first trench is put in a separate place so that it can be used later.
5. Parallel to the first, the next trench is dug up, from which the previous trench is filled with earth.
6. According to this scheme, they continue to dig up the ground until the marking of the plot prepared for the garden is completed.
7. Then the last trench is filled with pre-deposited earth from the first groove.

How to quickly dig up virgin soil

Virgin land is usually called land that has not been cultivated for 10 or more years. They are usually covered with a thick layer of turf, which makes it difficult to both sow and care for garden plants. But on the other hand, a lot of substances useful for the growth and development of plants have been accumulated in the rested earth, which can serve the benefit of the gardener. It will be possible to quickly dig up virgin soil in the country, maybe not immediately, but the result will be worth the effort.

There are several ways to process virgin soil, but only one can be called fast – the creation of bulk beds. In this case, the surface of future beds is covered with cardboard or other materials, and the aisles are treated with herbicides. Then, from above, the future beds are covered with pre-prepared fertile soil. It is used for sowing seeds or planting seedlings.

This method, despite its speed, is very material-intensive, since the land for planting will have to be specially mined on the side. If time allows, you can do otherwise. Just cover the areas reserved for the beds with a layer of cardboard, press down with heavy objects and leave the ground to ripen for the whole season. In this case, by autumn, the entire grassy part of the turf will rot and the earth will be ready for processing using any of the above tools.

You can also dig up virgin soil in the country with your own hands by simply turning the cut layers of turf with green grass down. Potatoes are planted in the gaps formed, which, after germination, are abundantly mulched with any organic matter.

By autumn, on the former virgin lands, it is possible to harvest potatoes and get land that is quite suitable for further processing.

How to properly dig up the ground under the bed

There are several basic rules on how to properly dig the ground with a shovel so as not to cause much damage to your health:

• You should not try to dig up the entire piece of land at once, especially if its area is quite significant, and the experience of physical exertion after winter is reduced to zero.
• The shovel must be installed vertically in relation to the ground, so that with minimal effort, the bayonet will be able to enter the ground to a maximum depth.
• You should not collect too much earth on a shovel at a time. It is better to do more small, but frequent movements.
• There is no need to dig up the still wet after winter or frozen soil. This can lead to even more compaction of the earth. It is better to wait a bit until the soil dries out a little.
• You should not walk on an already dug up piece of land before sowing or planting seedlings, so as not to reduce all the efforts spent to zero.

How to dig an overgrown area with a shovel

There is another way to dig a grassy area. To do this, it is pre-treated with one of the herbicides. After a few weeks, the site is dug up according to the technology described above. A week later, a complex of mineral fertilizers is applied and the soil is loosened again.

The land is ready for sowing and planting.

How to dig frozen ground with a shovel

As mentioned above, digging up frozen ground for a vegetable garden does not make much sense, since after this procedure the soil can become even more compacted. But if there are some special circumstances that force you to dig frozen ground, then you can use the following tricks:

• Make a fire at the place of future digging and, after it burns out, dig the already warm earth.

  

• Use a jackhammer or pick and only after removing the upper frozen horizon, continue digging with a shovel.

Do I need to dig a garden in the fall

Autumn digging of the earth is especially necessary for the initial development of an overgrown area or virgin land. In this case, it is best to dig up the earth in large layers and leave it in this form before winter. Frost penetrates into the gaps formed and more reliably freezes weed seeds, preventing them from developing further in the spring. It is best to dig the ground in the fall with the simultaneous application of phosphorus fertilizers to the soil so that they become available to the roots of plants by spring.

In addition, after autumn digging, the soil, as a rule, is well saturated with oxygen.

But if the garden has been developed for quite some time, then there is no special point in digging it up in the fall. It is better to lay it with an additional layer of mulch, which, having rotted, will serve as a good fertilizer for plants in the spring and summer.

Conclusion

To dig a garden with a shovel means to carry out a more thorough and reliable cultivation of the land before planting cultivated plants. And the abundance of improved models of shovel and pitchfork will allow you to carry out this work as soon as possible and with minimal effort.