I am looking for some advice on a good shovel to purchase this spring as a birthday present for a gardening friend.
— Paul Janson, Schaumburg
Good quality tools for gardening are very important as they are more comfortable to use and make the work of gardening easier. A lightweight, flat spade is one of my favorite gardening tools for general planting and garden maintenance. They work well for edging beds, dividing perennials, transplanting, weeding and planting. There are many different types of spades available to purchase, so choose one that you think your gardening friend will use. For me, the various styles of spades are dramatically different on how comfortable they are to work with. I prefer one with a fiberglass handle because it is light weight and comfortable to use. For the most flexibility, choose one that has a flat, smooth blade with a square point so that you can edge beds with it. Any curve in the blade makes it difficult to edge beds, though it may be fine for planting. Shovel blades with a serrated edge are harder to sharpen, so I avoid buying them. If your friend has large beds of perennials to plant in, you may want to consider buying them a floral shovel that has a smaller, rounded blade. These work well for installing perennials in beds with limited working space.
You may also choose a heavy-duty, all-metal flat spade with a square point for heavy-duty garden work such as digging out stumps of trees and shrubs. This type of spade is strong enough to use significant force to pry out stumps and cut through large roots up to 2 inches in diameter. Its weight will get tiring if you are using it for long periods of time. Have your utilities located before digging in your garden as a heavy metal spade can quickly cut through cable tv, phone, gas and electric lines.
A sharp garden spade makes work much easier to complete. Try sharpening the spade for your friend. Most home gardeners are working with dull spades. Generally, new spades require sharpening so they won’t be dull and difficult to work with. Use the angle that is already on the spade as a sharpening guide if you can see it. If the blade is too dull to find the original angle, an approximate 45-degree angle should work for spades and any other shovels. Sharpen the inside edge of the spade as it is a single-beveled tool. I hit roots and occasional rocks during normal work in the garden, so I sharpen the spade to provide a more durable edge by sharpening at a steeper angle. As you sharpen the spade, the metal will become shiny, so work to put the shine in the blade back about 1/4 inch into the blade. A longer and thinner edge produced by a lower angle of sharpening will have a sharper point but be more brittle and quicker to dull as well.
The sharpening process is noisy and throws off many sparks, so it is important to wear ear and eye protection while sharpening the spade. If you are using a hand grinder, position the spade on the ground with the blade pointed up. Use your foot to stabilize the spade while sharpening. Move the grinder back and forth across the blade at a steady speed with gentle and even pressure to avoid overheating the metal. Stop occasionally to let the metal cool. The metal will start to blacken if you are moving the grinder too slowly or pushing too hard. Keep moving the grinder back and forth until the blade is sharp. Move the spade back and forth if you are using a bench grinder. Focus on holding the grinder when using a hand grinder or holding the shovel when using a bench grinder at the same angle as you are sharpening.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at [email protected]. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.