FARM SHOW Magazine » Ergonomic Garden Tool Best Buy

Jim Ruen, La Crescent, Minn.: “When FARM SHOW asked me to try the EarthLifter tool, I readily agreed. I liked the potato fork look but questioned the value of the rolling fulcrum backside. Boy, was I wrong.

 

     “Yes, the wide, flat tines look like the old potato fork I use for everything from digging out weeds to loosening garden beds and harvesting potatoes once a year. However, little differences in design add up. The tines have a slight curve that makes it easy to slip just under the ground surface when digging shallow-rooted weeds and grasses. At the same time, the very gentle curves don’t interfere when going deep after dandelion and cocklebur-type roots.

     “I like the diamond plate, non-slip foot pads. I can’t believe the difference between them and my old flat steel fork. They’re heavy-duty pads that aren’t going anywhere, unlike the foot pads on a spade I bought a few years ago. They bent and broke off after minimal use.

      “It’s the rolling fulcrum that really impressed me. I tend to be a bit cynical about back-friendly or other ergonomic designs. At 73, I have my share of arthritis in my shoulders and knees. Most such devices don’t impress me…or my arthritis. That wasn’t the case with the EarthLifter Tool. Arthritis or not, the thing really works.

      “I put it to the test on two of my biggest challenges, digging out deep-rooted grasses and clearing shallow and deep-rooted weeds out of our gravel driveway. It passed with flying colors.

      “If my back and shoulders could talk, they would’ve been cheering how much easier the work was in both cases. Push it into the desired depth and rock it back on the rolling fulcrum. The extreme leverage made the heavy sod roots pop out of the ground. The curved feature also made it easier to slide the curved tines in at a slight angle when loosening up shallow-rooted weeds in gravel.

      “At $165, I thought the EarthLifter Tool a bit pricy. After using it, I think it’s worth every penny. A quick scan of potato forks online displayed prices from $40 to more than $300. Not sure if the latter was gold plated, but I do know it didn’t have the features of the EarthLifter Tool.”