As Farmer Fred has always said, “Fall is for planting.” In my opinion there is no better tool for planting than a transplanting shovel. This is a short 4 foot long shovel with a long narrow blade. This shovel is particularly useful is digging holes for transplanting plants from 1 gallon pots. The curved blade allows you to dig a hole that is in the shape of the root ball. Also, it is easier to to penetrate the soil with a narrow blade. The D-handle gives you good leverage that prevents the handle from twisting in your hands and allows you to be more accurate if you are jabbing into the soil. This shovel also is handy for scraping shallow trenches. The rounded spade naturallly created a U-shaped trench. This stout tool can also be used as a prying tool if rocks need to be displaced. If roots are encoutered, you can use a stabbing motion as a substutute for an axe. However, you might consider letting me sharpen that shovel first.
So if you have a slew of potted plants to get into the ground, you may wish to invest in this tool. It is not an all-purpose shovel, but if this Fall is your season for planting, this is a must-have tool.
Here were 2 models available on Amazon Prime as of this writing: the Fiskers Steel D-Handle Transplanting Spade (9654) ($20.99) and the Ames True Temper 163033600 D-Handle Shovel, ($18.89)
transplanting shovel