Five Uses for a Spade
- Turning the Soil. One of the most common jobs a spade is best for is turning the soil. When you use a spade this way it...
- Creating and Maintaining Edging. Edging gives a crisp, formal look to your yard or garden. You can add edging anywhere...
- Removing sod. A sharpened garden spade is especially good at cutting through the tough matted roots of sod.
What is the difference between a spade and a shovel?
What is the Difference Between a Spade and a Shovel?
- Materials. Both spades and shovels are made from the same metals. ...
- Similarities. There are a lot of similarities between shovels and spades, which is why the two items are often confused for each other.
- Differences. The only difference between a shovel and a spade is the scooping tip. ...
- Uses. ...
- Benefits. ...
What is the function of a spade?
What is the function of spade? Digging tool In gardening, a spade is a hand tool used to dig or loosen ground, or to break up lumps in the soil. Together with the fork it forms one of the chief implements wielded by the hand in agriculture and horticulture. It is sometimes considered a type of shovel.
What is the best spade?
Some of the popular types of spades include:
- Digging spade – a squared-off, narrow blade used for moving and turning soil
- Border spade – a smaller version of the digging spade, often used in raised beds or around borders
- Pointed spade – curved blade with a pointed end
- Transplanting spade – sharp, jagged blades
What is the function of spade?
Spades come with steel blades with options like:
- Rounded/Pointed
- Narrow/Wide
- Serrated
- Flat
- Footpads
What is a spade used for?
Below are descriptions and tips for five of the tough jobs a spade is useful for: turning soil, creating edges, removing sod, digging up or dividing plants, and digging holes.
Why do you use a spade?
Some of the top reasons for spading are to bury small weeds, mix in plant matter, compost, and other fertilizers . Spading also loosens and aerates the soil which provides better drainage and increases access for beneficial earth worms.
What is it called when you dig a spade head deep?
Only going one spade head deep is called Single Digging, and is the fastest method. Going two spade heads deep is called Double Digging, and it is more difficult. Double digging down into the subsoil is best used for new beds of deep-rooted plants like potatoes, and for perennials like roses. Image Credit.
What is a good spade for digging?
Either a short or a long-handled spade will work well for all your digging jobs in a variety of soil conditions. A spade's handle-to-blade angle makes it easy to use your body's weight and leg muscles to do the work. This saves your arms from trying to push the spade into and through the ground.
How does a spade work?
Because a spade is designed to be a digging tool, its construction allows deep penetration, cutting of roots, and some gentle levering to remove plants from the ground. Plan on digging the recommended distance from the base of the plant.
What is a garden spade?
The garden spade is the workhorse of many digging jobs. If your garden plans include any project involving digging, you’ll want to use a good spade. With its sharp, straight blade and low angle you can easily use your weight to push it down into the soil.
What is the best tool for edging?
Since a spade is straight and sharp, it is the perfect tool for edging. You can step on the spade to use your body weight to push into the soil. As it is not nearly as tiring, this is preferable to using your arms to press into the ground.
What is a spade tool?
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. A spade is a tool primarily for digging, comprising a blade – typically stunted and less curved than that of a shovel – and a long handle. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades ). After the art of metalworking was developed, ...
Why is a spade placed in a pipe?
In the oil and chemical process industries, a spade is a round piece of metal with a small tab that is placed in between two pipe flanges to give positive isolation from the centre; usually to prevent cross contamination between fluids or to allow work on the line. The name comes from the shape: a little like a garden spade. The small tab lets one see that the spade is in place.
What is the difference between a shovel and a spade?
People often mistakenly use the word shovel interchangeably with spade but, strictly speaking, shovels are broad-bottomed tools for moving loose materials, whereas spades tend to have a sharpened edge better designed for digging.
What is the difference between an Irish spade and a sharpshooter?
An Irish spade is similar to a common garden spade, with the same general design, although it has a much thinner head. A sharpshooter is a narrow spade. A turfing iron has a short, round head, and is used for cutting and paring off turf.
Where does the word "spade" come from?
Etymology. English spade is from Old English spadu, spædu (f.) or spada (m.). The same word is found in Old Frisian spade and Old Saxon spado. High German spaten only appears in Early Modern German, probably loaned from Low German. In the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway the word is spade as well.
Can a metal spade move dirt?
With a metal tip, a spade can both break and move the earth in most situations, increasing efficiency.
What is a spade used for?
The various types of spades are suited to very specific tasks: Garden Spade – A typical garden spade moves light amounts of soil and prepares beds. Transplanting Spade – The deep blade of a transplanting spade can get out established roots when moving plants in the garden.
What are the characteristics of a spade?
Once you know the kind of spade you require, there are several other characteristics. Spades may have U-shaped, T-shaped or straight handles. U-shaped handles provide maximum leverage and ergonomic efficiency. Straight handles are slightly easier on the back but don’t transport soil as easily.
What are the different types of spades?
The various types of spades are suited to very specific tasks: 1 Garden Spade – A typical garden spade moves light amounts of soil and prepares beds. 2 Transplanting Spade – The deep blade of a transplanting spade can get out established roots when moving plants in the garden. 3 Border Spade – A border spade keeps clean edges around beds and makes holes perfect for smaller plants.
What material should a spade blade be made of?
The blade should be made of stainless steel or carbon for long life. Hammered steel is also a strong blade material. If you have wooden handles, care for your spade by rubbing some linseed oil into it annually. Keep the blade sharp on any type of spade to enhance its cutting properties and save your back.
How long is a spade?
First of all, a spade has a short handle that is usually about 4 feet (1 m.) long and a flattened, rectangular blade as opposed to a shovel’s scooped blade. Garden spade tools are used for light cultivation not earth moving, and the shape of the blade helps cut sod, reshape beds and digging out deeper planting holes.
Is a spade a shovel?
Don’t call it a shovel, as the spade is an altogether different implement. It is an all-purpose tool that most gardeners can’t live without. Ergonomic design makes using a garden spade less difficult and modern tools are increasingly being fashioned for comfort but also to accommodate certain handicaps and physical stresses. ...
How to use a spade?
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and have your shoulders and hips facing towards your spade. Keep the spade vertical, holding handle with both hands, and push blade into the ground using your foot.
How to use a spade safely?
Sure, using a spade may seem pretty straightforward; grab hold of the handle, shove the blade into the ground, scoop and lift.
What is a spade and shovel?
"Broadly speaking, a spade is for digging and a shovel is for lifting and shifting. But there are also all-purpose and specialist shovels which are suitable for digging, shifting, mixing concrete and general garden jobs," says Melissa King.
Can a spade cause injury?
But, while you may have the general motion down-pat, the force required and resulting impact of using a spade can easily cause injury if you're not aware or properly prepared. Before you set about planting that fruit tree or removing a tree root in your backyard, consider these golden rules to safe digging.
What Spading Forks Are Used for
This tool is one of the most versatile garden equipment as it can perform a lot of common and uncommon tasks. This is why getting good quality ones should be a priority for gardeners, farmers, and anyone that uses them. Some of the roles they play in the garden include:
How Do You Get the Right Spading Fork?
Listed and explained below are some things to look out for if you want a top-quality spading fork:
Conclusion
The spading fork is just one of the many necessary gardening tools. There are more and you need to know about them and how to get top-quality ones. For more on this subject, you can see: https://www.topline.ie/blog/project-ideas/top-10-must-have-gardening-tools
What is the purpose of spades?
Spades can do lots of things - edging some grass, destroying a snowman after a bitter Thanksgiving row - but their primary function is: “ Spades are for digging. ”. Their design is all about generating the most force for a downward motion. They have narrow blades - all the better to PIERCE that pesky earth.
What does "let's call a spade a spade" mean?
You’ve heard the phrase ‘let’s call a spade a spade’ meaning ‘let’s say things the way they really are’ . Which is ironic because there’s so much confusion about what is a spade and what isn’t!
Overview
A spade is a tool primarily for digging comprising a blade – typically curved and more pointed than that of a common shovel – and a long handle. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the art of metalworking was developed, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the introduction of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth, with picks being required to break up the soil in addition to a spade for …
Etymology
English spade is from Old English spadu, spædu (f.) or spada (m.). The same word is found in Old Frisian spade and Old Saxon spado. High German spaten only appears in Early Modern German, probably loaned from Low German. In the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway the word is spade as well. Other Scandinavian forms are in turn loaned from German. The term may thus not originate in Common Germanic and appears to be a North Sea Germanic innovation or loaned. Clo…
Designs
Spades are made in many shapes and sizes, for a variety of different functions and jobs, and there are many different designs used in spade manufacturing. People often mistakenly use the word shovel interchangeably with spade but shovel is a generic term for a variety of tools that include numerous broad-bottomed versions for moving loose materials, such as a "coal shovel", "snow shovel", "grain shovel", etc., whereas spades tend to have a sharpened edge, curved profile, and p…
Loy ploughing
Loy ploughing was a form of manual ploughing carried out in Ireland using a form of spade called a loy. It was done on very small farms where horses could not be afforded or did not have enough work, and on very hilly ground where horses could not work. It was used on poorer land until the 1960s. This suited the moist climate of Ireland as the trenches formed by turning in the sods providing drainage. It also allowed potatoes to be grown on mountain slopes where nothing else …
Currency
The blade of the spade was used as currency in ancient China. Later, they were miniaturized and then stylized into a flat piece. The Qin Dynasty replaced them with round coins.
Also called spades
• In the oil and chemical process industries, a spade is a round piece of metal with a small tab that is placed in between two pipe flanges to give positive isolation from the centre, usually to prevent cross-contamination between fluids or to allow work on the line. The name comes from the shape, which is a little like a garden spade. The small tab shows that the spade is in place.
• In kitchenware, certain ice cream scoops are called spades due to the shape. These scoops are us…
See also
• Tree spade
• Entrenching tool
• To call a spade a spade
• Digging bar