The garden fork is a useful tool for loosening soil prior to removing invasive plants and for planting natives, while doing less damage to the roots of adjacent natives than a shovel. Provided it’s a well-made fork with tines and shank forged from one piece of steel, it’s strong enough for even the toughest jobs.
Using the Garden Fork to Remove Invasive Plants
To remove a large invasive, Himalayan Blackberry for example, I sink the fork as deep as it will go next to the plant, then lever the handle back and forth and side to side forcefully, loosening (but not overturning) the soil around the roots. Then I grab the root crown, wiggle it vigorously to find out how well the plant is rooted, pull side roots one by one, and then, with a strong yank, get at least most of the taproot. After the plant is removed, I tamp the soil back in place and use the fork to rake some duff back over any bare ground.
To remove a patch of smaller invasives mixed with natives, like Creeping Buttercup growing with Large Leaved Avens, I use the fork to pry up small sections of ground, loosening the soil just enough to hand pull the Buttercup without overly disturbing adjacent Avens. This is more efficient than using a hand-held digging tool to loosen the soil around each individual weed. After weeding a patch like this, I use my foot to gently tamp the ground down so the natives maintain good root contact with the soil.
The fork also helps with solo Ivy rolls. Instead of getting on the back side of the roll and pulling with my arms and back, I get on the front side with the fork and incrementally lever the roll forward. As it advances, I use the fork to loosen the ground where the Ivy is deeply rooted. Before the roll gets too big to carry, I cut it loose from any surrounding Ivy and use the fork to lift it, shake some of the soil out, and carry it to the compost heap. This beats getting my frontside all muddy from picking up a wet, dirty bundle in my arms.
Using the Garden Fork in Planting
In planting, I use the fork to probe the ground at the spot where I would like to dig the hole to see if there are obstacles like large roots or stones. Once I find a good spot, I rake the duff away from the planting site with the fork. This also reveals where any natives are rooted that need to be salvaged. Next, I use the fork to loosen the ground to the desired width and depth before scooping out the soil with a shovel. In this way roots of adjacent native plants are less damaged, and there is one more benefit — fewer earthworms are cut in two by a shovel blade!