High-Quality Tools for Wiser Living

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High-Quality Tools: A Better Broadfork

Here at MOTHER EARTH NEWS, we’re big fans of broadforks for loosening soil before planting, and we’ve tested several models. We found that one heavy-duty design worked OK, but took quite a bit of effort to penetrate hard ground. A shorter-tined version was easier to use but didn’t dig deep enough. We tried a wooden-handled fork, but found the handles weren’t as rigid as we wanted, plus one of the tines bent when we hit roots while digging.

Then, eureka! We found it — the Vashon Broadfork with its sharp, super-rigid, slightly curved 14- or 16-inch tines. This tine design enables the fork to penetrate soil (sort of like how eagle talons work) with less operator effort than any other fork we’ve tried.

The Vashon Broadfork was developed by Bob Powell, whose company, Meadow Creature LLC, also designs and manufactures high-quality hand- and electric-powered tools for small farms and small-scale food processing. (Coming soon are a chicken plucker and cider press!) Part of the proceeds go to community supported agriculture programs and the BURN Design Lab to support the design and manufacture of efficient, non-polluting cookstoves for the developing world.

Vashon Broadforks sell for about $250, tax and shipping included, and come with an iron-clad lifetime replacement guarantee. If this fork breaks, you get a new one.

Both the Fiskars Easy-Pour Watering Can and the Vashon Broadfork are great choices for anyone who enjoys high-quality tools as much as we do.