When speaking of a hand tool, a fork is an implement with tines aligned with the handle, used for digging, lifting, tossing, and working soil, There are a variety of forks that can be useful in a garden, and both the terms gardening fork and garden fork are used to describe a category of tools as well as a specific tool. Some gardeners use a single fork for various garden tasks, while others prefer to have several specifically designed tools. Here are some of the various, highly useful types of gardening fork:
Border fork. A border fork is a flat-tined gardening fork used for digging, often made with a tee-shaped handle. Border fork is also a British term used for a potato fork or garden fork.
Cultivating fork. This gardening fork has the head fastened at a 90º angle to the handle, making it look something like a three-tined hoe. Unlike three-pronged cultivators, which have curved prongs, a cultivating fork has broad and straight tines and can chop weeds.
Digging fork. A digging fork is a multipurpose gardening fork used for turning soil and working compost into the soil. It can also be used like a potato fork for harvesting root vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, and onions.
Flower fork. This is a shorter-tined general purpose gardening fork that digs to only a moderate depth, ideal for tilthing, breaking up surface clods in soil that's been initially dug. The practice of tilthing was popularized by Alan Chadwick, founder of biodynamic/French intensive gardening.
Pitchfork. A pitchfork is a three-tined fork, the outer edge of which is shaped like the letter U. It is used for pitching or tossing hay or other light material. It has obvious agricultural use for pitching hay, but as a gardening fork, it can be useful for spreading mulch, among other tasks.
Potato fork. A heavy gardening fork with flat, long tines, the potato fork is used to scoop and separate potatoes from the dirt; the potatoes are caught on the tines without being damaged, and the dirt falls through. This must be done carefully. The same technique can be used to harvest parsnips, carrots, and beets. Sometimes this fork is referred to as a root and potato fork.
