Forget Basic Garden Forks: The Heavy-Duty Alternative Makes Breaking Up Soil Easier

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Even a small-scale farm or garden takes a lot of work to manage. If you've been neglecting garden maintenance and are dreading tackling the weedy, compacted mess, choosing the right tool can make all the difference. For larger plots, a garden fork is insufficient, but for smaller jobs, electric tillers are overkill. A broadfork, like the Walensee 9-tine broadfork, is a popular tool for working on less than 2 acres thanks to its ability to quickly and easily aerate topsoil, tear up weeds, or churn in cover crops for healthier spring soil, without disturbing deeper soil layers.

A broadfork (aka a grelinette) is considered a better garden tool for aerating soil compared to tillers, but the Walensee broadfork operates like a combination of both. To use it, stick the gray tines into the earth, stepping on the orange crossbar to apply your body weight. Once the gray tines are embedded in the soil, pull back on the tool's handles to lever the tines up through the orange tines. The motion will break up soil clumps and tear up the plant matter growing there.

At time of writing, users had given the $89.99 Walensee broadfork a 4.4-star rating from over 90 reviews, most of which praise the tool's ability to churn through compacted soil, even heavy clay soils. A few users noted that while the broadfork is easy to operate, it is a workout, while some taller users found the 38 1/5-inch-tall handle too short for them to use comfortably.

As noted, the Walensee broadfork also operates as a hand tiller, allowing users to break up soil as well as aerate it. A typical broadfork usually has at least five long metal tines on a metal base, with tall handles that make the entire tool form a U-shape. Note that the Walensee has one handle, like that of a hand truck, allowing you to grab the top or sides as needed.

To aerate soil, a broadfork user stands on the tines' crossbar, then tilts the handles back toward them before pulling the tines out. If the goal is to tear up sod, the user needs to lever the broadfork's handles all the way back to the ground. The Walensee broadfork's double-tines design helps reduce some of that labor by including the orange tines perpendicular to the broadfork's body. The leverage of the double-fork design speeds up the process of fixing compacted soil and weedy growth.

While the manufacturer notes this tool shouldn't be used on roots or large rocks, a few users did report successfully digging rocks out of their gardens. Some gardeners or small-scale farmers might prefer the speed and ease of an electric tiller, but if you like the feel of manual tools to do the job, the Walensee broadfork could be a good fit. Said one recent verified reviewer, who rated the tool five stars, "The second set of forks do a great job of breaking up compacted soil. And, it's so easy to use, even on the slightly rocky, clay soil I have to work with in NC. I wish I'd seen this decades ago."