Over two weeks ago I was reminded that I should continue my discussion of garden tools as soon as I had finished discussing sudden death syndrome of oaks. Among the various “horror” movies which are commonly broadcast prior to Halloween, was “Frankenstein’s Monster.” I actually thought it to be a rather dorky movie, until the scene in which Doctor Frankenstein and his assistant are going to dig up a grave. I was horrified to see that they intended to do it with square-end spades! If only I had written this column earlier, they might have known how to select the appropriate tools necessary for this task.

I should first describe the difference between shovels and spades. Spades are designed to be pushed into soil with the foot. Shovels lack the rolled rim on the top edge and are designed to be “shoved” into soil by hand. This can be confusing because most shovels are very often used as spades. Handles of both spades and shovels may be long and straight or short ending in a ‘D’ shaped grip, depending on intended use. Both may also be round-point or square-point.

The round-point shovel and the garden shovel are very similar. The round point shovel has a straighter shank and is used for digging holes with vertical sides. (It appears flatter in profile.) The shank of the garden shovel curves downward to a deeper curved blade. It is also used for digging holes in loose soil or for scooping loose material such as gravel or mulch.

The square-point shovel is designed mainly for scooping loose material from a harder surface, such as compost from a bin. The scoop shovel resembles a very large square-point shovel and is used for scooping large quantities of light material, such as fallen leaves. With the exception of scoop shovels which normally have ‘D’ grips, most shovels have long straight handles for lighter work. However, many have ‘D’ grips useful for more aggressive work.

Round point spades are likely the most common digging tool, with a rolled rim which can be pressed into soil with the foot. The square-end spade is a less common tool, used for cutting clean edges on grass or ground cover areas. Like shovels, both types of spades may have long handles, or ‘D’ grips.

Spading forks are normally used for breaking up and loosening soil. Pitch forks are designed for picking up and “pitching” hay and are also useful for moving loose materials which stick together, such as large weeds or prunings. Both types of forks are available with both types of handles; although, pitch forks usually have long handles and spading forks usually have ‘D’ grips.

Hoes are about as variable as shovels and spades, but they all have long straight handles. The common garden hoe is about six inches wide, but may be much narrower or wider. They are useful for cutting weeds off at ground level and soil cultivation. Hoes are also used to cut off weeds which grow up through expansion joints or cracks in concrete pavement. However, square-point shovels are also useful for this application.

The eye hoe has a heftier blade and stronger handle. It is used for cutting through tougher weeds or brambles. It is also useful for invasive ground cover or dense surface roots such as those produced by willow trees. The weeding hoe is about as light as a conventional hoe, but usually narrower. Opposite the blade, is a claw for pulling weeds. It can be used for light cultivating and plucking out loosened weeds. Furrows for planting seed may be cut with a warren hoe. This devise lacks the flat cutting edge, but has two curved edges which converge at a sharp point. Consequently, the blade is “arrow” shaped. It is not normally used for weeding, but for cultivating soil.

The push-pull weeder is a tool I could never quite figure out. It can be scraped over the soil surface to cut young weed seedlings off at the root. It can do the same when pushed away. This is because it has two blades; one coming and one going. The blades are held loosely so that they can move according to the direction in which they are going. The blade in the cutting position is always going in the right direction. It is one of those tools which may require practice for proficiency.