Broadforks

The opinions on broadforks seem to be very divided, some people use them as an essential part of their gardening, others say they are overrated.

I think these opinions have a lot to do with the soil they're working with, and if there are any back problems to consider. I imagine that very stony soil would be tricky to use a broadfork with. For people who can use normal short-handled tools without back damage, they probably can't imagine just how good it is for someone that can't use normal forks to have a tool they can use without pain.

I like mine a lot. I chose a very strong one which looks similar to the Meadow Creature but is made closer to where I live. One day, I might get a 7 tine one for quickly working established beds, but for now I am working with compacted soil, and a smaller 5 tine broadfork is great for that.

I use mine for opening up my heavy and compacted soil to help roots go down, for loosening soil before digging a hole, and I can use it as a small-scale chisel plough to improve pasture and perennial plantings. It is an essential part of the way I homestead on this land.

What are your thoughts on broadforks? Do you use one? What do you use it for?

I love mine.  Lately I have been using it to aerate my dad's lawn.

we use ours for, digging in general, we dig our root vegetables with them. We have 3 tine forks and some 5 tine forks. The 3 we use mostly in the garden to either turn soil over or to dig root vegetables out. The 5 tine one we use mostly for turning compost, cleaning the goat pens, shovelling sawdust/woodchips.


I would use a normal shovel for digging a hole for a tree, or to excavate a drain. somewhere where i need to move soil out of the spot i am digging in.

I don't have one personally, like scythe it is just for folks with different soil and terrain.

However I love the idea. Both broadfork and scythe and great tools for the area they are usefully in.

I've had one for a couple of years and my experience has been mixed. It's been great for renovating existing beds that I haven't dug since forming them (and don't want to dig again, because I'm a no-dig kind of guy). But our land is rocky, a former river channel, with varying sizes of stones from gravel to 30 cm boulders at a range of depths from the surface to over 1m down. If one of the tines hits a decent-sized rock, it usually bends, and even if it doesn't it means that section won't get broken up effectively. I might weld some gusset plates into the curved part of the tines to stiffen them and see if this helps, or I may sell it on to someone with easier soils and get a model with stiffer tines.

Mine also bent in our rocky soil.  If I ever get another, I will probably get a Meadow Creature, which seems to have reinforced, blade-like tines.

This is the kind that I use. Probably only available in Australia, but I can recommend it: https://www.fdryan.com/store/p69/broadfork.html

That looks like it could actually be fun - if not for my land being almost entirely one, big rock. I think a smaller version might do better for me - is there such a thing?

They are fun : )

I wonder if this one would work for you on any not-so-rocky bits Carla? It has shorter tines and width than the one I use: https://meadowcreature.com/collections/frontpage/products/peoples-broadfork-12

Ooooooo! Definite possibilities, there!! Thank you!

Way Cool Tools also make a range of "Unbreakable" broadforks in various sizes : https://waycooltools.com/t/broadforks

I have not purchased one yet but am trying to make up my mind which size to get...

This is the one I use from Jonny Seeds. I've used it mostly on established beds but I also used it to reseed a freshly created berm. I love it for prepping beds for root veggies!

I love my Meadow Creature! We don't have rocks, but we do have roots that may as well be! I can use the broadfork to pull them up closer to the surface to get cut with a pruner or the grub hoe so they can get pulled out in pieces. Before the Creature we had to prep new planting areas with a pickaxe! This is much easier...and more fun