I’m so excited and happy with my new garden tools which I bought yesterday I just had to share them with you! I got me a pitch fork and a shovel! 🤗
All you gardeners out there are probably thinking “is she getting all excited over a pitch fork?”. Well, every nursery and hardware shop I went to did not sell pitch forks. The owners and staff had no idea what I was talking about even after I showed them pictures! I guess that’s because it’s not used here in Malaysia. We don’t have hay to work with.
I’d been looking for a pitch fork for over two years. Actually, I found one last year but it was heavy and very expensive, more than RM100! But yesterday I found one which is lighter and cost me just RM29.90! Can you believe the price difference? Well, this one is made in China 😅
Garden tools like shovels and rakes (that I’ve seen) normally have metal ends with a wooden rod shoved into them (like the one you see in the pictures below). In time the ends of the wood would rot and come off. What I like about the shovel and pitch fork I bought is their look (plain and simple) and that they are 100% metal welded together. Hopefully they will last longer.
You might be wondering what the heck I want a pitch fork for. Well, about two and a half years ago, after viewing loads of videos on composting, I decided to give it a go. I found some wooden pallets and made a very simple enclosure by stapling some wire mesh onto them and tying the edges together. I try my best to simplify everything I do, thus the hours and hours of research. This is it 👇🏻
What I had to do was make a huge pile of alternating layers of grass clippings, garden waste, paper, kitchen scrap, some used coffee grounds and ready compost, dampen it and cover it with a tarp to protect it from rain. And every 3-4 days I have to turn the pile with a pitch fork to aerate it. Turning the pile with a shovel was tough, but it did work. I made me some compost!
I never made another pile of compost after that. Not just because I didn’t have a pitch fork but because I hadn’t started a proper vegetable plot. But now that I’ve got my little plot and my pitch fork I’m going to start composting again. Wish me luck!
The longest long beans I’ve harvested, 25” & 26”
For great tips and fast results check out CaliKim29 and MIgardener on their YouTube channels.