I've just come in from my first attempt at hollow-tining forking our
grass path. It was not very successful! Apart from being damned hard
work, the biggest problem was that the tines did not self-clear and
became blocked after only two or three 'insertions'. In effect I was
just ramming solid tines into the grass, which gives no better result
than using an ordinary fork, which eventually I went back to and which
was much less work and much quicker.

Either it's a symptom of just how compacted the grass had become, or
that it was the cheapest hollow-tine fork I could find, although the
tines are tapered so should self-clear. My wife tells me that in a
past life they had an expensive one that suffered exactly the same
problem.

Are there any tips on using a hollow-tine fork that makes it easier to
use, self-clearing and more effective? I had the feeling that mine
would only work properly on grass that was sufficiently uncompacted
that it wouldn't need hollow-tining in the first place!


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
I've just come in from my first attempt at hollow-tining forking our
grass path. It was not very successful! Apart from being damned hard
work, the biggest problem was that the tines did not self-clear and
became blocked after only two or three 'insertions'. In effect I was
just ramming solid tines into the grass, which gives no better result
than using an ordinary fork, which eventually I went back to and which
was much less work and much quicker.

Either it's a symptom of just how compacted the grass had become, or
that it was the cheapest hollow-tine fork I could find, although the
tines are tapered so should self-clear. My wife tells me that in a
past life they had an expensive one that suffered exactly the same
problem.

Are there any tips on using a hollow-tine fork that makes it easier to
use, self-clearing and more effective? I had the feeling that mine
would only work properly on grass that was sufficiently uncompacted
that it wouldn't need hollow-tining in the first place!


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

take the thing back as 'unfit for purpose' under the sale of goods act.

Chris
I have had the same problem with such a tool - the soil was heavy. So
fork and brush in a high grit sand mix to improve drainage. Normally 2
parts grit sand to 1 part peat or loam - if the soil is heavy could
increase to a 5:2 mix,
This task is best done in the autumn to improve drainage over winter,
rather than now, However - can do it now and repeat in the autumn.
There are powered types you can hire that produce satisfactory results
Good luck
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire