Dawn419
Almost Self-Reliant
Doc and I had an old, wooden handled post hole digger that was on it's last leg and wasn't going to be any help out here with our rocky soil. We set it off to the side as we just knew we'd find a use for it eventually. During our first winter here (2009), we were going through our stack of old Mother Earth News magazines and came acrossed a neat idea for turning post hole diggers into shovels.
The tools doc_gonzo used:
The building process:
Grinding the edge of a piece of rebar to act as a "foot hold" for the shovel:
Drilling out the old screw hole to add rebar:
Beating the rebar into submission, um, I mean the hole:
And finally, the finished product:
Now, it might not look like much of a shovel but it has turned into one of my favorite yard/gardening tools as it is small enough to fit between the rocks to help get them loose from the soil. If I can't get the rock loose with just this, I break out the dandelion digger and between both of them the rock is conquered.
I finally killed the old handle earlier this season and was surprised it lasted out here as long as it did!
I also like using it in our established raised beds as I can dig a hole for transplants and not tear up too much soil (using the no dig/no till method).
Dawn
The tools doc_gonzo used:
The building process:
Grinding the edge of a piece of rebar to act as a "foot hold" for the shovel:
Drilling out the old screw hole to add rebar:
Beating the rebar into submission, um, I mean the hole:
And finally, the finished product:
Now, it might not look like much of a shovel but it has turned into one of my favorite yard/gardening tools as it is small enough to fit between the rocks to help get them loose from the soil. If I can't get the rock loose with just this, I break out the dandelion digger and between both of them the rock is conquered.
I finally killed the old handle earlier this season and was surprised it lasted out here as long as it did!
I also like using it in our established raised beds as I can dig a hole for transplants and not tear up too much soil (using the no dig/no till method).
Dawn
