Japanese digging knife

japanese garden knife
This is my most often used digging tool. I use it for stabbing through my deep hay mulch garden beds, and creating an opening in the mulch, for planting potatoes and plant seedlings. 

Japanese Hand Hoe

Italian Grub Hoes

Falci grub hoe, eye hoe, forged, Italy
Falci Italian Azada Grub Hoes 1000g, 800g, and 600g heads. Forged steel. 54 inch beech handle. The 1000g and the 800g heads have oval eyes and come with oval handles. The 600g comes with a round handle.

Falci Tempered Aircraft Aluminum Shovel

Falci tempered aluminum shovel
Falci Ultralight Aircraft Aluminum Shovel with beech handle. $45

The Broadfork - Not sold by us, but highly recommended

best broadfork
Scythe is to lawnmower, as broadfork is to roto-tiller. We never turn over our soil here, but incorporate compost and other soil amendments, into our heavy clay soil as needed by loosening it with a broadfork. To work a garden bed, we simply pull aside the thick mulch, spread on the compost, kelp, rock dust, pyrolized charcoal, etc., and then use the broadfork to loosen up the clay soil. We then finish the job with a 3-tine cultivator. (See blog.) My blacksmith friend, Larry Cooper (pictured at left) at Gulland Forge, now located in North Carolina, makes an excellent broadfork. See https://gullandforge.com/