How to make a shovel for digging potatoes yourself

The main tool used by summer residents for digging up soil during planting and harvesting potatoes has always been a shovel. Regardless of the area, the process requires a lot of effort and time. Therefore, to make work easier, people have improved the device, adapting it for this type of work. How to build a shovel for digging potatoes yourself - read on.

Universal tool for digging and planting potatoes

Just a few decades ago, the farmer’s assortment included only two types of metal blades: a scoop and a bayonet.

The cuttings also did not differ in great variety:

• short;
• long;
• broken off.

In recent decades, the range has expanded significantly, and new types of shovels have appeared. The tool is selected according to several criteria. The main one is the type of soil on the site.

For loose and light soil with a large proportion of sand, a shovel is suitable, the blade of which has a rectangular, slightly rounded shape.

Attention! The effectiveness of the scoop lies in the blade lifting a large volume of soil.

To work on heavy, hard loam, you will need a tool with a blade with a sharp edge. The previous option is not suitable, since it is difficult to stick it into the ground. It is dangerous to use it in this case and for health - it puts a strong load on the spine and back. Here you need a bayonet shovel.

Attention! Among the modern universal tools from the 3-in-1 category is a manual plow-hiller.With its help, tubers are planted, subsequent processing is carried out and the crop is dug.

What kind of shovel should be used for digging potatoes?

Experienced gardeners prefer products whose canvas is not made of a solid sheet of metal, but with gaps, holes and crevices.

Main parameters:

• bucket size – 210x280 mm;
• four oval or oblong slits.

Advantages:

• such a shovel is lighter, and therefore working with it requires less effort;
• there is no need to regularly clean the blade from adhering lumps of soil and weed roots;
• This is a multifunctional device that performs several tasks simultaneously.

The working blades in such products are made of high quality steel, treated with special anti-corrosion agents.

Functions

The tool performs several important functions at once:

• digging up soil, digging tubers;
• loosening the soil;
• separation of the root system, stones;
• cleaning tubers from soil;
• Suitable for digging carrots, beets and other root vegetables.

Some farmers use a combination shovel-fork. The upper part of the blade (from the handle to the middle) consists of teeth, and the lower part is the tip of the shovel. The unusual design is easy to use and has functionality similar to lightweight shovels.

Types of shovels

The shovel is intended for working with bulk materials and soil. It consists of two parts - a scoop or ladle and a handle (handle). The first products were made of wood or bone (the material was elk antlers and bones). Over time, the canvas began to be covered with sheet iron, and then made from a whole sheet of metal. The latter option has acquired a number of advantages: it is lighter, stronger and more convenient.

Before choosing a tool, you should study its types and purpose.

Based on their scope of application, shovels are divided into several types.

For the garden:

1. The universal garden tool is suitable for performing various tasks on the site. Its tray is rectangular, curved forward, and resembles a scoop in appearance. Some have a cross handle on the handle.
2. The ripper shovel allows you to loosen the soil without turning it over.
3. For digging, use a shovel designed for cutting root systems and digging up the top layer of soil.

Loading and unloading:

• cereals;
• for crushed stone and sand;
• coal;
• metallurgical.

The snow plow is of the shovel type. Its peculiarity is a wide plastic, aluminum or plywood sheet.

Small:

• automobile version - to free wheels stuck in snow or ground;
• tourist shovel - telescopic or folding design (multifunctional device combining a scoop, axe, bayonet, saw);
• sapper blade - a design (often folding) intended for the military, often equipped with additional functions and used as a bladed weapon.

For working in a suburban area, garden tools with a classic bucket and handle are suitable. It is indispensable for long-term digging of the vegetable garden and garden area. Loading and unloading products are highly specialized and are used to perform a limited range of work.

According to their design, shovels are divided into the following types:

• folding is characterized by compactness, thanks to which it can be carried with you in the car;
• the bayonet type is intended for land activities and is actively used in agricultural work (flat with a pointed tip, in the upper part it has “steps” for the foot);
• shovel - a shovel with a rectangular-shaped bucket, designed for working with various bulk materials;
• The telescopic handle has an adjustable length, which makes it possible to obtain the desired handle length depending on the user’s height.

DIY potato digger

Shovels for planting and digging potatoes and root crops are made with your own hands according to your own or ready-made drawings.

There are many devices that make work easier during planting and potato harvest. Eat potato diggers for walk-behind tractors And manual. They are produced by domestic and foreign manufacturers. But folk craftsmen learned to make do with their own resources and improvised means to make this instrument.

We will examine in detail one of the homemade models of a potato digger, the so-called miracle shovel. Making it is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

What tools and materials will be needed:

• drill for metal;
• metal file;
• welding machine;
• corner, pipe or steel frame;
• metal handle;
• fittings

Step by step guide

The manufacturing process consists of several steps.

Step one

First, a frame for support is constructed. To do this, the pipe or corner is bent in the shape of the letter P. The crossbar should be approximately 38 cm, and the length of the legs should be about 80 cm.

Step two

The next step is to create a cross bar. Holes are drilled in it at intervals of 5 cm into which the reinforcement is inserted.Each piece, approximately 20 cm long, is fixed by welding.

Step three

The main ripper is being constructed. For this purpose, take a pipe whose diameter is 5 cm smaller than in the case of a transverse one. In this structure, holes are also drilled, where pieces of reinforcement are then mounted.

Step four

Eyelets are made from the pipe to attach the hinges. Their purpose is to hold the entire structure.

Drawings and dimensions

There are several options for a manual potato digger. In some models, the handle tilt and height are adjustable. The drawings are presented below.

How to use

As is the case with the standard factory model, the “lazy shovel” is installed on the ground from the edge of the bed or plot with potatoes (in a row). Holding the handle, the tool is raised slightly, pointing the fork into the soil. Press the frame with your foot (there is no need to apply any special effort). The teeth of the device go deep into the ground. After pressing the handle, the rods will cut through the ground and, together with the potato tubers, will appear on the surface. The counter teeth will loosen the soil and break up the clods.

Tips and recommendations from experienced gardeners

People with many years of experience working in gardens and vegetable gardens recommend starting work on building a miracle shovel by mounting a working part that resembles an ordinary garden fork.

In some models, experts advise using handlebars from an old bicycle for greater comfort while working.

Simple designs allow wooden handles, but professional gardeners warn that this material is short-lived and will need to be replaced after a few seasons.

The height of the handle is set to chest level. This puts less strain on your back.

This is interesting:

Technology for planting potatoes with a walk-behind tractor

Useful properties, cultivation features and description of purple potato variety

Conclusion

Modern man uses a universal device – a shovel – to dig soil, plant crops and harvest crops, in particular potatoes. Our contemporaries have a wide selection of tools that make work much easier. Potato diggers are purchased in specialized stores or made with your own hands. This will require a little time and appropriate materials.