Trowel for stony soil?

My last trowel bent to 90 degrees after a few months of digging in our stony clay! Can anyone recommend a good make that is tough enough for the job please?
Thanks!

 

well surly if its bending then you need to add more humus and cultivate the soil more? rather than getting a new trowel...as it would probably break just as easy

 

I use a decorators stripping knife, lost my hand trowel 2 years ago!!!, improvised with he stripping knife and found it more usefull.

A stainless trowel will be up for the job, darlac make a good one.

http://www.darlac.com/about.htm

 

The best made trowel's are Wolf Garten Multi Change (as are all their products, very expensive but reliable). I bought mine when Tesco had a garden centre at Bar Hill and were having Wolf tools with the Tesco name on them. It was them that started me collecting Wolf tools, my most recent purchase was a grubber and handle (list price for both £28+, Wolf special offer £14.99, Madingley Mulch £12.99).

 

I find a narrow trowel with a pointy end is much better where the soil is hard and stony. It is much easier to penetrate the ground with this style of trowel rather than a broad-bladed one.

 

I suffer from similar problems with my new garden - it's like trying to garden in the Gobi desert! There's good advice above about buying high quality tools but may I also suggest you may be expecting too much from a hand trowel. I had to use a pick axe the first time I broke up the "soil". Then I dug it over twice with a very strong old Spear & Jackson garden fork. Then, and only then, could I use a hand trowel in the best places. My hand trowel is also made by S & J.

 

Now. I know this is a stupid question and I expect to get my ears pinned back for asking it. Why do you use a trowel:confused: I've been messing about in gardens since I was 12 and have never used one. I always use a hand prong.

 

Cajary

Questions that test the obvious are always worth asking.

I use a hand trowel mainly for transplanting small plants e.g. cabbages (I only use a dibber for leeks). In fact, sometimes I use two hand trowels together like a pair of tongs, if you follow me. In this way, you can dig out a neat plug of soil and then scoop up a plant for transplanting complete with its root ball and drop it into the hole. Minimum root disturbance. In fact, I use this technique for transplanting young carrots to fill in any gaps in the rows. It takes me longer to type the action than to do it!

Oh, and I use a trowel for filling larger pots with compost.

 

Cajary, what`s a hand prong? Flinty, rather than using two trowels , why not get a bulb planter?

 

David

I guess the bulb planter would be fine for making the hole but using two trowels in a sort of pincer action lets you lift a small plant, or even fragile seedlings, out of the ground very cleanly.