How to make a shovel for digging potatoes with your own hands

The main tool of summer residents for digging up the earth during planting and harvesting potatoes has always been a shovel. Regardless of the area, the process requires a lot of time and effort. Therefore, to facilitate labor, 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

A few decades ago, there were only two types of metal blades in the farmer's assortment: a scoop and a bayonet.

The cuttings were not very diverse:

• short;
• long;
• broken off.

In recent decades, the range has expanded significantly, 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, in which the blade has a rectangular, slightly rounded shape.

Attention! The effectiveness of the scoop is to lift a large amount of soil with the blade.

To work on heavy, hard loam, you will need a tool with a blade that has 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 - there is a strong load on the spine, back. Here you need a bayonet shovel.

Attention! Among the modern universal tools from the 3-in-1 category is the hand-held hiller plow. With its help, tubers are planted, further processing is carried out and the harvest is dug.

What should be a shovel for digging potatoes

Experienced gardeners give preference to products, the canvas of which is not made of a solid sheet of metal, but with gaps, holes and slots.

Main parameters:

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

Benefits:

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

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 the earth, digging tubers;
• loosening the soil;
• separation of the root system, stones;
• cleaning tubers from soil;
• suitable for digging carrots, beets and other root crops.

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 designed to work with bulk materials and soil. It consists of two parts - a scoop or bucket and a shank (handle). The first products were made of wood or bone (the material was the horns and bones of elk). Over time, the canvas began to be upholstered 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 the scope of application, shovels are divided into several types.

For the garden and vegetable garden:

1. The versatile garden is suitable for various tasks on the site. Her tray is rectangular, bent forward, in appearance it resembles a scoop. Some have a transverse handle on the handle.
2. The ripper shovel allows you to loosen the soil without turning it over.
3. For digging, a shovel is used, designed for cutting root systems and digging up the topsoil.

Loading and unloading:

• cereals;
• for gravel and sand;
• coal;
• metallurgical.

Snow removal belongs to the shovel type. Its feature is a wide plastic, aluminum or plywood sheet.

Small-sized:

• car option - to release wheels stuck in snow or ground;
• tourist shovel - telescopic or folding structure (multifunctional device combining a scoop, ax, bayonet, saw);
• Sapper shovel is a design (often folding) designed for the military, often equipped with additional functions and used as a cold weapon.

For work on a suburban area, garden tools with a classic bucket and a handle are suitable. It is indispensable for long-term digging of a vegetable garden and garden area. Loading and unloading products are highly specialized and are used when performing a limited list of works.

By design, shovels are divided into the following types:

• folding is characterized by compactness, so that it can be carried with you in the car;
• bayonet 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 leg);
• shovel - a shovel with a bucket in the shape of a rectangle, designed to work with various bulk materials;
• telescopic has an adjustable handle length, which makes it possible to obtain the desired length of the handle depending on the height of the user.

DIY potato digger

Do-it-yourself shovels for planting and digging potatoes and root crops according to their own or ready-made drawings.

There are many devices that make it easier to work during planting and harvesting potatoes. there is potato diggers for motoblocks and manual... They are produced by domestic and foreign manufacturers. But craftsmen have learned to make do with their own forces and improvised means for the manufacture of this instrument.

We will analyze 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 are needed:

• drill for metal;
• file for metal;
• 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 support frame is designed. 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. In it, with an interval of 5 cm, holes are drilled into which the reinforcement is inserted. Each piece, approximately 20 cm long, is fixed by welding.

Step three

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

Step four

Lugs are made of the pipe for attaching the hinges. Their purpose is to hold the entire structure.

Drawings and dimensions

There are several options for a manual potato digger. On selected 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 placed on the ground from the edge of the potato bed or area (in a row). Holding the handle, raise the tool slightly, directing the forks into the soil.The foot is pressed on the frame (there is no need to apply special efforts). The teeth of the attachment go deep into the ground. After pressing the handle, the rods will cut through the ground and, together with the potato tubers, will be on the surface. The opposing teeth will loosen the soil and break up clods.

Tips and tricks from experienced gardeners

People with many years of experience in gardens and orchards recommend starting work on the construction of a miracle shovel by mounting a working part that resembles an ordinary garden pitchfork.

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

In simple designs, wooden handles are allowed, but professional gardeners warn that this material is short-lived, and after several seasons it will need to be replaced.

The height of the handle is done at chest levels. This puts less stress on the back.

It is interesting:

Technology of planting potatoes with a walk-behind tractor

Useful properties, cultivation features and description of the purple potato variety

Conclusion

A modern man for digging soil, planting crops and harvesting, in particular potatoes, uses a universal device - a shovel. Our contemporaries have a wide selection of tools that greatly facilitate work. Potato diggers are purchased in specialized stores or do it yourself. This will take a little time and the appropriate materials.