PETER SEABROOK

Materials are important when it comes to forks and spades

Treads on spades protect the instep on footwear, but on heavy soil they increase the amount of clay sticking to the blade.

Spades and forks with wooden handles can be repaired when the handle breaks – an impossible repair with plastic.

A UK forged, secondhand, worn-in spade or fork can be a very good investment, as long as there is no woodworm in the handle.

A curved tined dung fork has a number of garden uses, including to turn compost and reversed to pull down clods of soil, ready to sow seeds.