Broad Fork Build
With the Spring garden preparation underway the arrival of some very skilled volunteers, we have built a Broad Fork on the farm from recycled materials salvaged from the tip.
Matthais from Switzerland , a skilled tinsmith and craftsman extraordinaire was given a rough design plan and the resources to build the tool. The recent arrival of Francois and Shahnaz at this time coincided with Francois having the plans of the Broad Fork from a French project which we utilized along with my own ideas. Barry from the US assisted Matthais with putting tips on the prongs and was able to get some lessons on weld technique.
The fork handles are 25mm water pipe 1400mm long, a width of 700mm. Fork prongs are 250mm long spaced 100mm apart. Fork prongs are 15 degrees forward of the handles when vertical. We also added leverage heals at the base but have found they may not be necessary. Still trialing the tool though.
We plan now to fork all the beds prior to planting to aerate the soil and disturb the structure at a minimum.
Matthais from Switzerland , a skilled tinsmith and craftsman extraordinaire was given a rough design plan and the resources to build the tool. The recent arrival of Francois and Shahnaz at this time coincided with Francois having the plans of the Broad Fork from a French project which we utilized along with my own ideas. Barry from the US assisted Matthais with putting tips on the prongs and was able to get some lessons on weld technique.
The fork handles are 25mm water pipe 1400mm long, a width of 700mm. Fork prongs are 250mm long spaced 100mm apart. Fork prongs are 15 degrees forward of the handles when vertical. We also added leverage heals at the base but have found they may not be necessary. Still trialing the tool though.
We plan now to fork all the beds prior to planting to aerate the soil and disturb the structure at a minimum.
