Not An Ordinary Shovel: The Multi-Use Gardening Tool That Cuts Through Tough Soil

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The standard American shovel, with its long pole handle and rounded or pointed steel blade, has been around for hundreds of years. Most of the time, it works just fine. If it has one drawback, it's that, although the pole offers good leverage, it limits the amount of downward force you can apply when trying to cut through tough soil. One popular solution is an English-style 'D' handle, like you'd find on the Berry & Bird garden digging spade. This design allows you to apply more pressure, and the increased grip provides better control.

A spade is considered one of the 15 most essential tools for gardening, and there are numerous reasons why this model from Berry & Bird is so effective. The blade is made from polished stainless steel, which not only looks good, but also gives long-term resistance to rust and is a breeze to clean up. It is also very strong and won't flex, and the top edge of the blade is folded over at 90 degrees, giving a solid platform to apply maximum pressure with your foot without hurting yourself. The ergonomic handle is made from ash, a hardwood that combines good strength with a little flexibility, so it absorbs the shocks of hitting the ground hard when digging through tough soil or fibrous roots, and the wood is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). The Berry & Bird Garden Digging Spade is currently available on Amazon for under $50.

The Berry & Bird spade is a great tool for the kind of hard digging often required to create new beds and borders — particularly if you have heavy soil. It will tackle tasks like digging the perfect tree-planting hole, and is ideal for turning the vegetable garden over and incorporating manure or compost before the new growing season. The flat edge to the blade also makes it a great tool for sharp DIY lawn edging and even, with a little practice, for cutting sod. And while most of these things could technically be achieved with a standard American round-point shovel, the Berry & Bird spade makes each job considerably easier.

Amazon customers give it an average of 4.6 stars. The majority think it is good quality. "A really well-made digging spade," said one. Another thought it "made digging in tough soil soooo much easier," underlining its performance advantage over traditional tools. Complaints are almost unheard of, although one person did have a handle crack. In that unlikely event, it should be replaceable under warranty, which is two years on the handle and 10 years on the blade. So, should you buy this spade for your own garden? You'll certainly find cheaper garden digging shovels around. However, you might struggle to find one that is this robust and durable, or that can deliver the same sort of power and control when you need to dig tough, heavy, or root-bound soil.