They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?

They are useless on heavy clay soil. If yours are soft and crumbly i guess
it might be useful. For me I wasted £40


"eddy" wrote in message
...
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?

On Thu, 15 May 2003 22:37:37 +0000 (UTC), "Lain"
wrote:

They are useless on heavy clay soil. If yours are soft and crumbly i guess
it might be useful. For me I wasted £40

Perhaps you'll sell them cheap then? :-(

"eddy" wrote in message
.. .
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?

They are excellent for a quick turnover on fairly lite soils and
flower beds. Will never replace a good forking over, but very good
nonetheless, they are expensive, but secondhand quite cheap :-)
--








So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/)
/¯../
/..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

"Lain" wrote in message
...
They are useless on heavy clay soil. If yours are soft and crumbly i
guess
it might be useful. For me I wasted £40



We've got very good soil, but found this thing useless and we too
wasted our money :-( Teach us not to fall for gimmicks. It is never
used now. Back to good old ordinary digging.

Iris McCanna

We've got very good soil, but found this thing useless and we too
wasted our money :-( Teach us not to fall for gimmicks. It is never
used now. Back to good old ordinary digging.

Iris McCanna


Personally I use a spade or fork all the time for my veg plot, but my wife
is a bit frail and she uses a garden claw occasionally for loosening soil
and weeds in her flower borders. It does what she needs. She is not strong
enough to use an ordinary spade or fork.
--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

"eddy" wrote in message
...
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?



I bought one for my Father (80s) who was finding digging and hoeing his
borders a bit hard going, and he swears by it. I've borrowed it a few times
to try out round my borders, too, and it works fine, IMO.

I've since bought a cheapo imitation from a cash and carry for under a
fiver, and that works, too, but not as well as the 'real thing'. These
devices do not replace the fork or spade, IMO, but they have their place,
especially if you are finding normal cultivation hard work.

In article , eddy
writes
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?


Don't touch one if you have back problems - the twisting action will do
mare damage to your back than to the soil!

Thoroughly agree that a good old fork is better for most jobs.

Having said that, the *hand* garden claw (e.g. mini version) is useful
for loosening crusted soil on top of pots etc. - but that's about all.
--

Roz Cawley
Autumn Cottage Diary http://www.autumncottage.co.uk

On Fri, 16 May 2003 17:25:35 +0100, Roz Cawley
wrote:

In article , eddy
writes
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?


Don't touch one if you have back problems - the twisting action will do
mare damage to your back than to the soil!

You dont twist it your back! maybe that's where people have been going
wrong.

Thoroughly agree that a good old fork is better for most jobs.

Also very hard work and impossible in dense plantings.

--








So, you dont like reasoned,
well thought out, civil debate?

I understand.

/´¯/)
/¯../
/..../
/´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
/'/.../..../......./¨¯\
('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
\.................'...../
''...\.......... _.·´
\..............(
\.............\..

"eddy" wrote in message
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?


I was bought one as a present by a non-gardener. I only use it a few times a
year for softening up the soil in the carrot box and incorporating compost
before sowing as the big handles allow me to do that without standing in the
box. Also for loosening the compost in the compost bin before shovelling it
out.
I find it's worse for my back than a normal fork and it gives your shoulders
a good workout too.
A bit of a gimmick.

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

On Fri, 16 May 2003 18:42:47 +0100, "Sue & Bob Hobden"
wrote:

Also for loosening the compost in the compost bin before shovelling it
out.

Now that is a GOOD idea. I also had one as a present and used it
twice. It was useless on my sticky clay soil as it clogged up with
soil every time I pushed it in.
Maybe if I at least use it for turning compost I won't have to confess
to my son that I never use it!!
Thanks for the idea.

Pam in Bristol

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer ^W^W^W^W uk.rec.gardening, I
heard eddy say...
They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?

I have one that I use for loosening the ground before weeding. Mine has
the height adjustable handle, which means that I don't have to bend to
use it. It's good for certain circumstances, but as mentioned
elsewhere, the twisting action can be hard on the arms. I'm glad I
bought it, although I do think they are expensive. The genuine ones
have a better layout of tines than the cheap imitations and seem to work
better. It doesn't replace a fork, so if funds are limited, don't buy
one.
--
Fenny
I can read your mind, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

eddy wrote:


They seem very expensive .
is the action of turning motion a labour saving or a gimmick ?
Garden centres dont seem to keep them but B&Q do.
35 -39 pounds seem a lot ,
they dont cost much to produce i should imagine
any opinions to share ?

They are cheap to produce, but relativly hard to sell (in marketing
terms). (Theres a term for products like these but its a coupla years
since I did marketing and my memory is like swiss cheese;-)

Hence the price and the heavy advertising.

Personally I wouldn't buy one..

Did buy a Kirpi though and find it very useful for weeding cultivated
soil, even on our london clay.
//
Jim

On Sat, 17 May 2003 15:10:55 +0100,
(Jim W) wrote:

Did buy a Kirpi though and find it very useful for weeding cultivated
soil, even on our london clay.

My Kirpi is my favourite hand tool for weeding etc. Monty Don uses
one, so it must be good.
I got it via an ad in Organic Gardening magazine.

Pam in Bristol

In message , Pam Moore
writes
On Sat, 17 May 2003 15:10:55 +0100,
(Jim W) wrote:

Did buy a Kirpi though and find it very useful for weeding cultivated
soil, even on our london clay.

My Kirpi is my favourite hand tool for weeding etc. Monty Don uses
one, so it must be good.
I got it via an ad in Organic Gardening magazine.

Here's a link to the Observer article. The Kirpi is mentioned in the
last paragraph. It costs GBP14.95 and it appears to be a Fair-Trade
item.

--
dave @ stejonda

?why do Americans chatter during live theatre?

In message , "dave @ stejonda"
writes

Here's a link to the Observer article.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?F5CF13A94

The Kirpi is mentioned in the last paragraph. It costs GBP14.95 and it
appears to be a Fair-Trade item.


--
dave @ stejonda