10 Days Till Christmas, Give a Spade

To the average person, there’s no difference between a spade, trowel or shovel.  But to the avid gardener, knowing the difference means spending a few minutes on a task versus struggling for hours & not getting the task done.  So what's better than gifting the right tool to save a friend or family member time, effort and maybe even help them avoid hurting their back?! If this sounds like a good idea to you, it's time we talk about my favorite tool in the tool shed, the Drain Spade!

​All holes are not dug the same.  Sometimes you want to dig a deep, narrow hole and other times you need more of a trench that is long and wide.  Sometimes you need to get dirt in a wheel barrel and other times you need to get snow off your front walk.  So which tool do you use for all these different task?  The best rule of thumb to remember is that shovels are for scooping and spades are for digging hence snow shovels for removing snow and Drain Spades for digging holes to get your new plants in the ground.
 
Drain Spades come in different shapes and sizes but all of them have a slightly concaved blade with a rounded cutting edge.  In this post, I'm only going to cover drain spades that have short shafts and handles called “D Handle”.  All of this really means is that the spade is built for maximum digging with minimum effort. 

​The D-Handle basically resembles a "D" and allows for a strong grip while the short shaft gives you the ability to do light jambs into the soil or to really force the spade in when necessary.  Of course, there’s an art to digging a hole.  Last spring I had a workshop with a bunch of folks to help them better understand how to use shovels, spades and trowles in the most effective ways to get the greatest result from gardening tools.  I’m planning on doing the workshop again in 2017, and I'll post about it when spring is closer.  

If you give a Drain Spade to the gardenista in your life, they will most definitely appreciate it.  If they have never used a spade of this type before, it might take them a bit to get use to it.  Once they see just how awesome it is, it’ll be their “go to” tool in the gardening shed.   

​Maybe the best option out there for this type of spade is made by Jackson Professional Tools.  They have seven different options on the market, but the Kodiak 16 in. Drain Spade can be grabbed at Hayneedle.  If you are really interested in the exact right Jackson spade to get, you can check out the entire line on their website. 

​Another option is the Fiskars 46 inch Steel D-Handle “Transplanting” Spade.  It is essentially the same as a Drain Spade but with a slightly larger D-Handle.  It’s not on the same level as the Jackson, but it will totally get the job done.

​If you need to grab one of these gems in a hurry, you can pick up the Razor-Back drain spade at Home Depot.  Razor-Back makes heavy duty tools.  They keep their tools to the minimum required elements that keep the price down too.  It could, literally, be the last spade you’ll ever need to buy.

Lastly, a variation on the Drain Spade is the planting spade.  It’s a bit more fancy and not as versatile as the drain spade.  Spear and Jackson (different company than Jackson Professional Tools mentioned above), has a very incredibly designed spade of this type.  It features sharpened edges to assist in cutting into the soil.  Instead of a D-Handle, it is equipped with a T-Handle and the shaft is made of wood.  It does look nice and will do the job just fine. 

Other Holiday Gift Ideas:
11 Days Till Christmas, Time’s Running Out