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  • From: Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>
  • To: gardenwriters-on-gardening <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [gwl-g] Spades/shovels, was moving miscanthus
  • Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 08:50:21 -0500

At 12:46 PM 6/10/2004 -0400, you wrote:
Other than getting a small backhoe, are there any techniques or tips someone can offer on how to get this monster out? I already have to go to the hardware store for a new shovel, so if there is a reasonable purchase involved, I'm open to it.

I don't know how much 'heavy' digging you have to do, but I don't have a backhoe, and fiddle around primarily with taprooted species like pecan, hickory, walnut and oak - and hand digging is quite a chore - most store-brand shovels/spades just can't stand up to the abuse I put them through - neither the wooden handles nor the blades are typically strong enough for what I need - I've even broken some of the 'unbreakable' fiberglass handles.

Forestry Suppliers has a 'tree planting spade' - a heavy-duty draintile type spade, with a reinforcing plate welded on, that has worked pretty well, but I broke the hickory handle that it came with within 30 minutes of its inaugural trip into the ground.
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/view_catalog_page.asp?id=1604

Best one I've found yet is one of the "King of Spades" series from W.W. Mfg. - very heavy duty spades/shovels, one-piece construction, with aircraft alloy handles, my favorite is the one with the 50" handle - I can really 'rear back' on it to pry those trees out of the ground.
http://www.wwmfg.com/product_detail.asp?idcategory=1&idproduct=36

Lucky Pittman
USDA Cold Zone 6
AHS Heat Zone 7
Hopkinsville, KY



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