Might it be possible to elaborate of the benefits of using a broadfork please? Would it be useful for aerating a lawn? And does it have magical properties for aiding in turning turf or pasture into workable garden beds?Yes, it has a wooden fence with 2x3" non-climb horse mesh. There is a water spigot there too.
He is the proud owner of a Meadow Creature broadfork and keeps looking for more areas to dig up!Best purchase ever!
Just read through all of the FAQ's on their website and it was very informative. It would still be good to hear first hand accounts though. I am already thinking that I need one of these things.
It certainly has magical properties for turning a husband into a bed digging machine, lol. For clarification: one of my 'backyard' gardens took quite a while to be dry enough to work last season, so we wanted to raise the soil somewhat to allow better drainage and faster warming next season. That's when DH decided to get the broadfork (he hadn't been interested in them before, liking to use his regular garden fork instead). He was so pleased with how well it did, and how easily, that he is a big fan.
I've looked at this list and there is really nothing I should take off the list so everyone have at it.
Too funny! I think I am the bed digging machine in our family, but DH will retire soon and could possibly find a second career as a Broadfork engineer, lol. As we get older being able to use the weight of our body and leverage for loosening and aerating is definitely the way to go, and this tool seems to do that. My lower back is often cranky with me at the end of the garden day now, so easy on the back would be an excellent feature. The lifetime guarantee is attractive as well. Many of my hand tools once belonged to my grandparents who farmed in the Seattle area beginning in the 1930's, and they are still in good condition. I would love to have another quality tool like that. The one FAQ that they did not address was regarding the care and maintenance. I note some rust on the tines in their photos, which I suppose is to be expected?
I never met or knew Robert Lobitz or collected anything directly from him. I collected my first Robert Lobitz bean from a Synergy Seeds located in Orleans, California. They were two beans I got from them. Cedar Lake and Eden Prairie. I recall anything about the order coming through my mailbox. Also in September of 2011 I collected 4 more Lobitz beans from Peace Seedlings in Corvallis, Oregon. Those beans were Wanamingo, Victoria Brown Eyes, Rose Creek Beauty, and Maggie's Cresent. After seeing these six beans it seemed to occur to me that Robert Lobitz who at this time has passed away over 5 years before seemed to have a number of unique looking beans. Colors and patterns that I had never seen before. I rejoined Seed Savers Exchange in late summer or very early autumn of 2011 and I would be on the look out for more Lobitz beans. I had made a trip to visit Heritage Farm in November of 2011 and in that trip had recollected a number of my original late 1970's and early 80's beans that had been turned in by various members over the course of the late 1980's and through the 1990's. I had collected six more Lobitz beans in March of 2012 from one single member of SSE. I ran across this purple seed with the white ring around the eye in April of 2012 when I purchased Blooming Prairie from Annapolis Seeds in Nova Scotia. I ran into more of Robert's beans with this Blooming Prairie pattern and color when I ordered six more varieties of Lobitz beans from Peace Seedlings in early 2015. Among those six beans were Purple Rose Creek, Purple Diamond, and Purple Dove. When I saw that color and pattern three more times I wondered what was the difference between all those look a like beans. You know I have never grown them and compared them in the same season. Between 2011 and about 2016 I was buying quite a few beans from little businesses I would find on the internet. Also collecting beans from SSE members and some from Seeds Of Diversity Canada. Not quite so much interenet purchases anymore. Some trading of beans with people in Europe. I have had some people donate beans to me which includes our network growers. The beans just seem to keep coming. But I buried in this narative is my discovery of those Blooming Prairie patterned purple podded beans that don't have the solid tan seed coats. It still amazes me how Robert got so many of those that way.
Can't see if you said, is it the 12", 14", or 16" one?Yes, it has a wooden fence with 2x3" non-climb horse mesh. There is a water spigot there too.
He is the proud owner of a Meadow Creature broadfork and keeps looking for more areas to dig up!
).
I have to say that the fork he chose ("Tall") is too large for me but it is just right for him and gives extra leverage. He did say that it is better to 'drag' it back rather than lifting it up into the air for repositioning as you see most youtubers doing.
14 inch. I'll ask him if he thinks it would be useful in taking out brambles (he's working right now but I'll ask as soon as I hear him move from his desk.).
