BroadFork… Has anyone used one in a No Dig System

[RedSkyOrganics]

Having watched many videos on soil development and creation. I’ve seen quite a few that say; “Don’t turn the soil”. All good and true. Then they say use a broad fork only to aerate and prepare beds for planting.

Does anyone have this tool and if so how does it help / or not, your garden prep processes. Thanks for any replies either way.

[Richard Bambury]

I have never used one but you can buy them from Dave and Val Taylor in Devon
Nice people to deal with.I have bought a couple of good tools from them.
http://www.blackberrylane.co.uk/toolshop2.html

[RedSkyOrganics]

Thanks for taking the time to comment and share the link Richard. I am probably going to make one as my Father In Law has all the kit to do it.

I like the look of that site and I’ve now found that the Taylors sell those Soil Block making Tools. What a great idea they are, from perspective. Kind of like a simple Air Pruning pots, without the large cost of the air pots. Gives the plants a chance to grow super vigorous roots before they even hit the soil.

Thanks again sir.

[Richard Bambury]

I had thoughts of making one
I was going to buy 2cheap garden forks and weld the outside tines together. Then weld a bar across the top as a tread.
Never got round to doing it.
If your do make one do tell us how you did it
Good Luck

[RedSkyOrganics]

Making it is only because there is one I really like the look and design of. That one is only available in the USA and sadly they don’t ship them outside of the USA.

I will not be doing it until I get back to Australia, as my F.I.L has all the welding equipment on hand. He was a welder tool maker / machinist.

I have also been reading about using tools made from copper/bronze on this site.
My F.I.L has some smelting equipment too. Not sure how we can make it work or if Bronze might be too brittle? Don’t know enough about metals sadly. It should be OK as a broad fork is not for turning soil, only creating aeration.

I like your idea for practicality though.

I want to use the broad fork, on every bed before I do a cover layer of cardboard etc and mulch, just to aerate the soil a bit more and allow the nutrients from compost/manure to soak/leach in more easily. I wouldn’t want to break it up too much as I don’t want to break any fungal strands that might already be in the soil etc.

Thanks for taking the time to share your idea.

[Richard Bambury]

Hello Red Sky
So called ” copper ” tools are , I believe , copper plated bronze. Copper is too soft a metal in itself and would easily bend.
Bronze ,I think , has to be cast or drop forged into shape. I dont think welding bronze is an option although it is a strong metal. They used to use it for making cannons!
Do you need to aerate the soil with a fork? I decided in November 2013 to go no dig. Bought a trailer and have been spreading old horse manure on saturated clay soil. From being worm free the beds are now full of worms which are aerating the soil. From being a no dig sceptic I am now convinced. You don’t need to poke into the soil unless you are digging out parsnips or horseradish. Let the worms do the hard work!
If you looked at the Blackberry lane site their oscillating hoe is just a brilliant piece of kit.
Hope I ‘ve not been too negative
Well I am off to Belgium tomorrow as I am running out of beer for the beer fridge, Belgian mustard and cheese. Very good gardening tools in Belgium.
Oh! If you have to clear top surface weeds,couch grass etc ,Google Chillington near Birmingham and buy the biggest trenching hoe they have

[charles]

 Richard you explain it well, the worms create air and drainage channels, and other soil life help out too. I find the channels made by worms create a more enduring structure than when soil is broken with tools. So David, this saves you a job.

Also an important aspect of compost, and old manure which is effectively compost, is that nutrients are held in water-insoluble form. A few will leach out but most just stay there until roots and mycorrhizal fungi seek them out, both in soil and near the surface in the compost. Undisturbed soil life is good at helping to feed plants.

[Rhys]

However, I have tested a couple of beds with a fork each month to see how easily they go in compared to areas where the no-dig isn’t being done.

Despite all the rains this winter, the fork goes in easily to full depth where no-dig has been practiced for 12 months. Worms exist (which I know because digging up carrots recently exposed about one per carrot removed).

So I”m thinking now that I don’t need to do any more tests and will trust the worms to do their best.

[Richard Bambury]

I took up veg growing when I retired a few years ago . I didn’t have to learn how to grow veg etc because I lived with my Grandmother during the 1950/early1960 ‘s in a cottage in the Clyst Valley in Devon and gardening was what you did. You had to grow your own veg. We lived opposite a farm. The farmer gave no manure for free and we didn’t have the money in those days to buy it. The cottage had no taps ( we had a well and a pump ) a tin bath , a cast iron range and 2 Primus stoves for cooking. Aladdin lamps provide lighting. The toilet was a wooden shed with a large bucket
Our only compost came out of the large bucket but was obviously not spread on top of the ground. It was always buried in a fallow area of ground in a very deep trench so the bucket contents were 2/3 feet below ground . I spent several years digging holes and emptying buckets. But we always had wonderful veg all year round. This was ,apparently , the way we enriched the ground in those days. I am not sure how all this was converted to plant nutrients but we always had super veg and fruit.
We never in those days dug the soil as such but used what my grandmother called a ” rounding up ” hoe to clear any weeds for the next planting . Nor did we have wooden sided beds because nobody did that in those days. Just weed free earth paths!
I can now understand why I am a convinced no digger. I shall continue to spread old horse manure. I have no desire to have a wooden shed or a large bucket or to dig deep holes around my allotment.

[charles]

 Thanks for sharing this Richard, a good reminder of times past, not long ago in fact. I wonder if nightsoil was always buried like that.
By comparison it makes no dig attractive, with old manure on top. A rounding up hoe sounds good!

[bluebell]

the current use for it is to heat treat it and spray on the top of farm land and pasture. Apparently a cheep source of nutrients.

[Richard Bambury]

Thank you Charles for your comments. Times past were interesting . I remember that horse power on the next door farm was provided by a couple of pairs of shires. The plough, harrow and seeders were all horse drawn. Harvesting was done by a horse drawn reaper/binder which tied the corn into sheaves which the women and children would gather into “stooks” . These were later loaded on to horse wagon and off to the “Dutch barn” . I still remember threshing machines being pulled onto the barnyard by a traction engine and the harvested corn being bagged up. When Tractors arrived ( Strange orange painted Allis-Chalmers macihines with narrow front wheels, the original grey Ferguson which was ajoy to drive and the Fordson Major which was a pig) the horses didn’t last long . The arrival of the Combine Harvester and mechanical baler was the end of them.
Nights oil has always been used in the soil and urine collected for some processes eg cloth making
I found you can still get my grandmothers original rounding up hoe .Now called a trenching hoe from chillingtontoolsonline.co.uk
I have one and most people on my allotment site now have them!

[Richard Bambury]

I knew s smallholder who did that once. Instead of the expected crop he got a field of tomato plants.
Remember that cows and horses don’t eat tomatoes!

[RedSkyOrganics]

Thanks for your input. I was/am planning to broadfork only because it was how I did it years and years ago when in Queensland, Australia (1994/95). It was the way I was taught no-dig veg production back then. I used a simple garden fork and my hands and back paid for it for a week. The ground was properly baked after a long dryish summer. I am almost 20 years older now, so the concept of a broad fork spreading the load just made sense. The pain barrier was met back then forever… so I am a coward for all un-needed pain now! I avoid it like the plague… Oh, and Belgium drivers.

I don’t think you sharing your experience is negative at all. It’s great!

We’ve just come back from being on Loch Lomond. We went to a small local farmers market and I listened to their stories with real joy. Thanks for taking your time to comment.

I have to say Belgium is one place I hate driving in. I’ve done it twice and both times it was pouring with rain and they drove like maniacs… lol.

[RedSkyOrganics]

Thank for your sharing your comments/experience Charles. It simply makes sense.
I like the whole permaculture/no-dig thing. Let animals like chickens, ducks and other appropriate helpers like worms, microbes, fungi and nature itself do the work as it loves to do it.

I am reading Teaming With Microbes right now. I can only take it in in bite sized chunks as it’s all new to me.

Also, my wallet thanks you too. Any tool not needed is a tool not bought. My wife would also thank you too.. LoL

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