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Recommendations for a Mulch Fork?

 
Timothy Norton
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Good Afternoon Permies,

I have a strange addiction to digging and moving mulch by hand. I am currently using a wheelbarrow and a flat shovel but I have heard there is a better tool out there. I have heard that a mulch fork would be even better for handling mulch. My biggest issue with the flat shovel is when you hit a patch of mulch that is more stick pieces than chopped wood and it puts a lot of the shoveling shock into the back. I'm hoping a fork might resolve this?

Any modern brands that make a decent tool? A certain amount of fork tines better than other configurations? Certain kind of steel?

Thank you for all of your collective knowledge.


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Samantha Lewis
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Hello Timothy!

I love pitch forks!   So much better than a shovel for moving mulch.  

A shovel will be ok if you are at the bottom of the pile, scraping along the ground as you grab a scoop.  

If your mulch is light and bulky you will want the fork you have pictured.  If it is wet heavy stuff that fork may scoop more than you can easily lift and you may want more of a garden fork with the flat tines.  It takes smaller scoops but it will dig into the pile easily.

Either way it will be easier on you than the shovel.

I am currently moving a mound of wood chips and I use both kinds.


I think now days the best brands are going to be at a garage and estate sales.

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John F Dean
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Many variables are in play.  I agree with everything in Samatha’s post.  I would add that I favor a narrower fork with flat tangs.  I move a good deal of muck that gets heavy.   I see little point wearing myself out trying to prove how strong I am.

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greg mosser
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i’ve found that i can move plenty at a time with a standard 4- or 5-tined pitchfork.
 
Mike Musialowski
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I agree with others. a 5 tined pitchfork works great. Many tines are nice, but heavier and harder. to get into the pile. Shovels suck for wood chips!

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Holly Windsong Greenwood
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Hi, Tim. I use a lot of different tools for moving mulch and turning compost piles. The first fork you showed, with "D" short handle is excellent for close quarters where you don't have a lot of elbow-room clearance or turning radius. That fork can handle wet and heavy loads.

The second fork, which is made in both long- and short-handled versions, is best for moving lightweight, fluffy materials. Because the tines are many and close-set, the fork grabs and holds a lot with little falling through. I've moved loads of sawdust with one, for example. The one caution is that it's only suited for lightweight materials. If you repeatedly move heavy stuff or jam it into hard surfaces, eventually the welds will pop
 
Christopher Weeks
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It's weird to be recommending plastic, but the flex in these tines is great when digging through a giant pile of woodchips.

https://www.amleo.com/leonard-8-tine-all-poly-scoop-fork-with-30-inch-d-grip-handle/p/APF800
 
Ela La Salle
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I'm with everyone who said pitchfork. 2 years ago, i pitch-forked 2 trailerfuls free woodchips, but unloaded with a shovel.
My 2 cents however would be to pick a pitchfork that won't kill you. Too big, and your shoulders/back be very sore. Too small, and you'd feel like you're pedaling for ever and see little done. LOL
There are just some  jobs, one shouldn't knock one's self out doing.
By the way...Be careful of woodchip dust. My friend who decided to help out a little, ended up with a very sore throat  and cough that lasted for around 3 weeks!
 
larry kidd
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It's going to depend on the mulch you're moving.  If it's your typical stringy hardwood bark mulch then a basic pitch fork with 5 tines is the answer. If it's pine bark then a bedding fork like you pictured will be okay.  Like anything the right tool can make or brake the job. I have about 5 different kinds of forks that work best for different things. You have digging forks pitch forks bedding forks mulching forks and there are likely others.

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John Duffy
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My favorite mulch moving tool is my neighbor's teenager....He'll work for pizza;  (and a cash gratuity)
 
Patrick W Kelly
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I've done landscaping for several years. A pitch fork works well for the stringy mulch. For screened chips, normal shovels usually works well. If you have mulch dropped on a driveway, a snow shovel or large transfer shovel makes the job move faster. Fiskars is a good brand along with True Temper.
 
Barbara Simoes
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I have my mulch delivered to the corner of a paved driveway where it is out of the way.  I, too, use a snow shovel and work around the edges where it has tumbled down.  To be fair, I have not used the pitch fork with many tines, and I can see how it would work maybe better.  My pitch fork is one with maybe four or five tines, and most of the mulch slips through.  Next time I'm in a hardware store, I will be looking for one like is shown above...And Tim, if you're looking to feed your addiction, I always have mulch that can use spreading; it is not something I enjoy!
 
Timothy Norton
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I might of been a little bit too much of a little goofy mulch moving guy.

Twinged my back! Nothing serious but a reminder that ergonomics are incredibly important when doing manual labor. Lost a day of labor because I didn't pace myself very well. Nothing a cold pack and some time can't fix.

I have a six tine fork on order that is a bit smaller to try out. I will adjust based on how effective it is.

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Holly Windsong Greenwood
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Timothy, please post a photo of your new mulching fork, when it arrives, or when you've worked with it long enough to also post an evaluation of its merits and drawbacks. This was an interesting discussion for a handtools nerd. 😊
 
Eric Hanson
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I have used a garden fork to move piles of chips, but a pitch fork works much better.  Mine is nothing special--a round tine design slightly wider than a flat-bladed shovel.  If you are stabbing into the middle of a pile, then this is the way to go.

I find that a flat bladed shovel is good if the chips/compost is laying on flat, firm ground (even better on concrete).  But I rarely have chips on that type of surface so I find a pitch fork indespensable.

Eric

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Ben Zumeta
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This ensilage/silage fork is by far the best manual woodchip moving tool I know of. I have moved hundreds of cubic yards with this. I am too lazy and impatient to move chips with a pitchfork, When I work next to people with pitchforks, I move around 4x as much as they do, and they usually give up and go get the extra ensilage fork I offered them at the outset. I have found them at tractor supply as gifts for $75 on sale for gardener friends who i have watched with empathic pain tediously moving chips with a pitch fork. The one in the picture is an antique I was given from a neighbor.

On a similar note, 2-wheeled barrows are at least twice as efficient as a single wheeled barrow, which might be mor accurately called a weeble wobble barrow. With double wheels, almost no effort is needed for balancing, and tip overs are far less likely. I will bring my own double wheel barrow and ensilage fork to every work party or job site, as I cannot abide their inefficient and tedious alternatives. I say this out of laziness and empathy for other lazy people who still like to get stuff done.

(could not attach photo, so here is a link):

https://www.coburn.com/10-tine-forged-silage-fork-wsteel-d-handle

This is all just my opinion based on a flawed memory

 
Timothy Norton
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Ben Zumeta wrote: I am too lazy and impatient to move chips with a pitchfork, When I work next to people with pitchforks, I move around 4x as much as they do, and they usually give up and go get the extra ensilage fork I offered them at the outset



You should be a fork salesman because I am sold. You are speaking my language.

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Kenneth Elwell
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The fork is superior to a shovel for wood chips or mulch. Forged tine forks are superior to welded tines, I've broken both... heavy use + welded tines, versus blatant misuse + forged tines (digging with a manure fork).
For mulch I prefer the D-handled, 10 or more tine, silage fork (like the Coburn one linked to, or the "8 scoops" one from the first video), but will use my 5 tine manure fork with a long handle as well.
The wider fork just holds more, and if the target is a trailer or a wheelbarrow it's perfect for getting the job done fast. If filling 5 gallon pails, I'll use the manure fork so that more lands in the pail than outside!

Nails are sold by the pound, that makes sense.
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J Garlits
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This is what was available to me in the local stores. The tines are flat and it picks up just the right amount of soil, mulch, compost, etc. It also works well for "fluffing" the soil for double-digging. I've been able to get a lot more done with this in combo with a shovel. I was concerned when I bought it that the welds at the base of the handle would be problematic, but I haven't had a problem with it yet. It's been sturdy and has done everything I've asked of it.

j



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Cécile Stelzer Johnson
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It is pitchfork hands down for me: the stirrup handle helps me keep the stuff on the fork until I unload it. Also, I feel that I have more strength pushing it in if the stuff is somewhat compacted.

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Mary Ross-Renard
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Since I discovered I could get free wood chips from the electric company, I’ve used them quite happily.  I use a shovel to load them into a cart I pull behind my lawn tractor.  50 shovel-full to fill the cart.  My record is 12 cats in 1 day.  Not bad for an old woman!😁
 
Timothy Norton
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Welcome to Permies Mary.

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Cécile Stelzer Johnson
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Mary Ross-Renard wrote:Since I discovered I could get free wood chips from the electric company, I’ve used them quite happily.  I use a shovel to load them into a cart I pull behind my lawn tractor.  50 shovel-full to fill the cart.  My record is 12 cats in 1 day.  Not bad for an old woman!😁



Well done, Mary! Old women rock! And welcome!

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Timothy Norton
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I got to admit, I think I get the appeal of the fork now.

I'm a bit of a city slicker, I'll admit it. My practical knowledge of pitchforks comes from watching movies of angry crowds and then poor quality 'loot' from video game lackies. I never put my hands on one and used it for a task. Now that I have, I see why the tool has persisted as a symbol of farm workers! I'm still forming my opinions on this particular fork for this particular purpose but in general I have a better understanding and respect for all kinds of forks.

I got restless waiting for some good quality antique forks and ordered a model currently being produced and was in multiple stores. I'll make sure to create and add a review for the Permies Gear Review Grid.

Now to put some miles on it!
Pitchfork2.jpg
Fork
Fork
Pitchfork1.jpg
Fork
Fork

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Holly Windsong Greenwood
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Ah, yes, the trusty old all-around useful compost/mulch fork. Have fun.
 
Timothy Norton
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I'm so mad at myself.

I have been fighting mulch piles with a shovel for so long, and using a fork is like setting a game difficulty to easy. I'm so happy that I can move the parts of the pile that didn't get chipped up well now with little effort. The little mats of the flexible twigs/branches no longer prevent me from moving decent sized scoops eat time I am trying to fill my wheelbarrow.

I thank you all for your suggestions in this thread, my back thanks you for easing the burden on it, and my gardens thank you for the quicker establishment of some deep mulch.

I have reviewed this particular pitchfork here.

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