"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
Kay writes:

| Breaking up the soil surface is your best bet (pick axe?)

An African hoe. They are made like that for a reason.

The only African hoe that I can bring to mind is the very broad faced one
that Africans also use to carry/move earth on. A bit like a very short,
wide hoe is the best description I can manage.

If this is the beasty you have in mind then it wouldn't suit here but
certainly would on more powdery soil. My soil looks and acts like a
concrete forecourt at an old local petrol station. Somewhat crumbly in
spots but lots of force needed to break it up.

If you have in mind a hoe with a very narrow or pointed cutting end then I
have a wonderful one of these which is made out of an old leaf spring of a
vehicle. About an inch wide at the narrow end and about 3-4 inches at its
widest end and razor sharp on both ends. Wonderfully effective but one must
keep an eye out for incoming dogs. It would kill one or severely maim it if
it connected.