A good garden fork will stand you in good stead and help in loosening ground and turn soil over. It has a handle and several, usually four, strong tines. It is used in the same way as a spade but in many circumstances it is more appropriate s the tines make it easier to push it into the ground. It can be used to rake, take out weeds and stones and break up clods.

There is a difference between a garden fork and a pitchfork used for moving loose material like compost, manure and piled up hay. They have shorter wooden handle with shorter, flatter and thicker and more closely spaced tines. Garden forks with broader and flatter tines are meant for lifting root plants like potatoes.

Based on the above distinction, garden forks may be classified as spading forks and compost forks. A spading fork is easier to use especially in compacted and rocky soil. Choose a spading fork that has tines with angular back and made from heavy duty forged steel to ensure that the soil budges before the tines.

A compost fork has thinner, curved tines that are spaced widely. This is to ensure that chunky material does not get stuck and loose material is easy to lift. If, after years of amending, the soil is fluffy, you can opt for a compost fork rather than going in a spading fork.

A smaller version, often called a border fork or ladies fork, is used for lighter work such as weeding between plants.