Do you know how essential a Best Shovel For Digging Soil and start on the entire area of your yard? Well, you must remember, without this tool you can’t protect your yard from some potential seasonal threats. A shovel is a must-have tool in that sense. But, without having the best shovel, you can’t get the most out of your garden. In the toughest terrains, a shovel can help you to dig up dirt and cut through roots. So many issues are needed to bring under consideration about choosing the best shovels for digging up roots to get the best outcome from your yard.
Now, what is a shovel? How does it work? Check out the next section.
What is a Shovel?
A shovel is basically a very essential tool for digging, moving, or lifting soil, snow, sand, coal, or gravel. It is a hand tool, more like a kind of spade with a broad blade and a medium-length handle. The broad pan of this tool is used to lift or move things. You should have this important gardening or agricultural tool for different purposes. If you want to get yourself a perfect and well-maintained yard, use it for different applications.
Suppose, your hobby is gardening, and taking up gardening in your free time is a joyful activity for you. But, if it takes too much time to deal with the unwanted overgrown roots from your leisure, it no longer remains your hobby. It’s very irritating to find the overgrown roots from the plants that shatter the beauty of your yard. There are some possible methods for removing the roots easily with a shovel. An in-depth solution to any problem related to digging is going to be discussed below that will help you to look out the factors while choosing the Best Shovel For Digging Soil. Let’s get right to the discussion!
Types of Shovels
There are numerous shovels having different functionality and designs that you can avail of. You can consider the differences in terms of the design of the shovel, the length of the steel handle, blade shape, the construction, etc. Hundreds of shovels are there, yet, pick out the best to tackle the most projects. Let’s get introduced to some shovels-
1. Fiskars Long Handle Digging Shovel
This is one of the best shovels for digging up roots. It is a steel-constructed sharp-bladed shovel for digging in soft or tough soil. The steel makes it more durable and helps to protect it against cracks and dents.
2. Union Tools Poly D-Grip Round Point Shovel
Keep this one in your choice list. Carbon steel makes it very durable. It assures that it won’t break down despite being a lightweight shovel because the blade’s attachment point and the handle is reinforced.
3. Radius Garden Root Slayer Shovel XL
A multi-tasker shovel which has a very sharp blade to slice through the roots. It has a slight learning curve to it that helps to get more gripping power than D-handles. The longer shaft of this shovel helps to ease your body strains.
4. True Temper Transfer Shovel
Another shovel that can be used for multi-purposes. With this, you can take on lots of projects around your yard. The wide blade and long handle help it to transfer items.
5. Bully Tools Round Point Shovel
This one is of functional design and construction. The blade is made of 14 gauge steel. Its triple-layered construction ensures the quality form that helps it to work without bending.
6. Toolite Square Point Shovel
This type of shovel is best for your little farm or pet house. Like the previous one, this shovel also has a longer handle to prevent it from bending while working. The 14 gauge tempered steel blade, 29 inches long D-handle, and fiberglass body allow you to toss out sticks and rocks while soil slips through.
7. Seymour Fiberglass Handle Notched Super Shovel
Choose this shovel if your area has compact clay soil or rocky ground. Its jagged blade with sharp teeth can slice through the soil but can’t break up the rocks. It can resist rust and corrosion.
8. Bond Mini D-Handle Shovel
This can be the best option if you have a tighter area to work in. This two feet long shovel can help you to work in the yards where bigger shovels can’t fit or if you are a bit shorter and comfortable to work kneeling down and digging. Even children can use it. It is suitable for working in a flower garden.
9. Ames Long Handle Square Point Shovel
Are you from a snowy country? Choose this shovel over others that deals with snow and ice in the winter. This square-bladed shovel will ensure a flawless finish while edging your garden. It’s more handy for tall gardeners.
10. Lifeline Aluminum Sport Utility Shovel
A good shovel for working on lightweight projects. It can be brought in your vehicles. The lightweight aluminum on this shovel resists rusting or corroding when it gets wet. You can find several colors and designs on it. For haulage, it can be a good choice.
Let’s Get Introduced to The Best Shovels for Digging Soil
Always go for the best shovel for digging soil up roots. The best shovel is needed to get rid of your yard from overgrown tree roots as quickly as possible. Dig the roots close to your foundation as early as possible to prevent damage to your underground pipes.
Let’s get introduced to the best-reviewed shovels you can find online-
Be concerned about the blade types that are the most important thing for digging up roots. So, here are some recommended blade types for you-
Open Back
Maybe you are on a tight budget but want to get your job done perfectly; this one’s for you! The blade of this shovel is of a particular shape that is meant to give a lightweight experience. You can consider using this one within your low budget.
Close Back
A sturdily constructed mid-range shovel. This has an additional welded plate that can ensure its strength and rigidity.
Forged
This heavy-duty shovel is actually forged from a single steel piece which makes it stronger as it has strong blades. The blades of this shovel give a good cutting performance for loose soil.
1. Editor’s Choice: Spear Head Gardening Shovel with Two Cushioned Grips
With innovation and the modern technology combined, this shovel is awarded as the “Best of the Best” in garden shovels by independent test lab Best reviews in 2018-2020. This can be used for many purposes such as gardening, landscaping, and digging tasks in clay, rocky, or compacted soils. It can dig deeper even into the most compacted rocky soil. Whether you choose to dig a trench, move sands, coal, mud, or dirt, or fix up your garden, you can pick this shovel for the best results.
Key Features:
- The steel-reinforced fiberglass handle is 60% stronger than EN-3388 shovel types.
- It doesn’t have your ‘daily go-to’ average shovel handle type.
- Cushioned grips
- The blade is carbon manganese
Product Specifications:
Brand: Spear Head Spade
Material: Fiberglass
Color: Yellow
Grip type: Padded
Shaft length: Long/short
Item weight: 4 pounds
Item dimensions: 58×3.5×9 inches
Pros:
- Reduces digging effort in any type of soil conditions no matter how rough and tough it is
- Very durable
- Too lightweight
- Weighs only 4 pounds but its long handle allows extra leverage for removing plants
Cons:
- Not for everyday gardening
- The area of the scoop is small
2. Premium Choice: Radius Garden 22211 Root Slayer Round Head Shovel
This red-colored, root-slayer carbon steel shovel is crafted in a way that can be used for the most challenging digging tasks. The design is very well crafted and the modern materials used to design it, make it very unique. It’s super amazing to know that in the continental US, this shovel has been given a lifetime manufacturer guarantee. This is a kind of versatile garden spade that gives more digging accuracy and reliable performance if you sharpen and clean it on a regular basis.
Radius Garden 22211 Root Slayer Round Head Shovel
Key Features:
- V-Shaped tip
- Handle is padded-shaped
- Lifetime warranty from US manufacturers
- The handle is made of materials like non-latex, thermoplastic elastomer over-molded onto polypropylene
Product Specifications:
Color: Red
Weight: 5 lbs.
Shaft material: Carbon steel
Item dimensions: 45×10.5×3.8 inches
Pros:
- Its sharp “Inverted-V” cutting tip blade and the root-cutting rip saw teeth are crafted in a way that you don’t feel the need of saws, hatches or some other similar tools
- For this V-shaped cutting tip blade, you can rip roots or dirts very easily and the sturdy tip can be used for any garden works
- The 13 gauge blade is so strong that it is super resistant to bending
- The blade can be sharpened without affecting its warranty
Cons:
- Scoop area is small
- Uncomfortable handle type
3. Best for Professional: Root Assassin One Shot Garden Shovel
This shovel will help you to do any kind of digging tasks at its best like removing sands, dirt, coal or mud etc. It has very sturdy handles that are designed very expertly. With innovation and latest technology combined, this peeks into the future of gardening experiences. The quality of this shovel is guaranteed. You should use this one for your important projects, then you will have faith in its high-end durability and quality. You will be able to fix up your garden or yard with this shovel very perfectly.
Key Features:
- Sturdy handle
- Innovating wing technology design
- Extra-large foot for more power
- Ensures quality without compromise
Product Specifications:
Brand: Root Assassin
Type: 43” D-Handle
Material: Fiberglass, Alloy Steel
Weight: 1 kg
Style: Outdoor, Garder
Item dimensions: 43×5.5×9 inches
Pros:
- The durability is ensured as it is made of lightweight and high-strength fiberglass.
- Its steel blade is not prone to chipping like your normal shovel handle.
- The blade’s strength provides a more accurate shoveling job.
- The wings create an extra-large footstep that allows you to dig deeper and have more than 1 scoop and at the same time protect your foot or shoes.
4. Best Overall: Radius Garden 22311 Root Slayer Nomad
It is a small gardening digging shovel which is best for use in small spaces, raised beds, and campgrounds. Grip type of it is ergonomic. You need to clean your nomad shovel to retain the quality of this shovel as well as the blade’s performance.
Key Features:
- Perennial shovel for women and mature gardeners
- Powder-coated carbon steel blade
- Resin-encased carbon steel shaft
- Lifetime manufacturer guarantee in the continental US
Product Specifications:
Brand: Radius Garden
Material: Alloy steel
Color: Red
Style: Root slayer nomad
Weight: 2.7 pounds
Grip type: Ergonomic
Pros:
- Easily rips through first and roots
- Ensures easy ripping.
- It has an inverted V-shaped cutting rip that works efficiently for ripping through dirt, roots, or any other obstructions.
Cons:
- Needs proper maintenance
- Requires regular cleaning and sharpening. Otherwise, it fails to give you good performances.
5. Best Public Choice: Martha Stewart MTS-MDS1 27- inch Mini Round Pt. Digging Shovel
This shovel should be your best choice for digging holes, planting small shrubs, spreading mulch, transplanting and dividing perennials, etc. The design allows it to work at ground level or in tight spots. This tool is a perfect companion to hand shoveling. It will give you a fine shoveling experience.
Key Features:
- Hardwood handle
- D-grip on handle
- Heat-treated powder coating
- It has a 8-inch point steel blade
Product Specifications:
Shaft material: Alloy steel
Weight: 2.6 lbs
Item dimensions: 28×5.5×2 inches
Pros:
- Alloy steel is its material that provides maximum leverage and easy lifting when kneeling.
- It is very handy and comfortable for cutting sod or small roots.
- Grip type is powder-coated, rust resistant construction and comfortable D ring non-slip.
Cons:
- Lousy grip
- The shaft is too short for the taller gardeners
6. Best Heavy Duty: Radius Garden 22011 Root Slayer Shovel
If you are tired of using shovels that give pressure on your hands and wrists, pick this one for you. You can use it for any sort of garden task including digging up roots. It gets lifetime manufacturer guarantee in the continental US. The design of the shovel is ergonomic. It is not meant for prying.
Key Features:
- V-shaped tip
- Lifetime warranty from US manufacturers
- Serrated blade
- Paddle shaped handle
- The tip is powder-coated carbon steel
Product Specifications:
Color: Red
Shaft material: Carbon steel
Weight: 5 lbs.
Item dimension: 45×10.5×3.8 inches
Pros:
- The serrated shovel is designed for deducting your hands and wrists stress
- A digging shovel with a V-shaped cutting tip which is very helpful for ripping roots and dirt easily
- It has a durable powder-coated carbon steel tip
- It is resistant to weather conditions
Cons:
- Uncomfortable handle type
- The surface area of scoop is small
7. Best Budget: Berry & Bird Garden Short Digging Shovel
This shovel is designed by a professional gardening tool designer. It is very comfortable and ideal for all gardening enthusiasts. Do you want to know the durability of this? This tool can give you support for 10 years or even more. If you are working for a long time with a shovel causing fatigue of your hands and wrists, use this one from now onwards to reduce the fatigue. This round point digging shovel is very beautiful to look at and has great collection value. Count it as one of the most effective shovels for gardening, camping, off-road or beach usage. You can use this for multi-purposes like cutting grass, branches, vines, digging holes, trenches, edging, transplanting and many more.
Key Features:
- Very durable and strong
- Effective for high-strength work
- Has great collection value
- Very comfortable
Product Specifications:
Brand: Berry & Bird
Material: Stainless steel
Handle length: Short
Grip type: Ergonomic
Pros:
- The high-quality stainless steel makes it lifetime durable and strong
- Very effective in high-strength work
- It can break the hardest parts of your garden even without finding it to bend a bit
- Very comfortable for your hands. It will not give you any stress on your hands
- The sharp blade digs through hard soil
Cons:
- The short handle is not suitable for the tall gardeners
8. Best for Newbie: Kids Beach Shovel with D-handle
It’s a kids’ beach shovel that can be used as a garden shovel, camping shovel, or car shovel as well. This is suitable for multi tasks like transplanting and composting in the planting frame. It has a short handle with a grip that will help you in digging out the unwanted roots of your garden.
Key Features:
- The D-shaped handle design increases the grip strength of the land
- It’s a good choice for the kids
- The handle is of wooden material. That’s why it is comparatively more environmentally friendly
Product Specifications:
Brand: N/N
Material: Wood, metal
Color: Wooden color
Style: Round
Grip type: Ergonomic
Weight: 2 pounds
Item dimensions: 28×6.1×2 inches
Pros:
- This shovel can be placed in the trunk of a car without taking up a large space
- Its length is 28 inches. So, you can’t use it in big spaces. The narrow places require this kind of shovel
- The super coating protects this shovel head from rust
- It will give you long-term services. It will not be damaged, bent, or broken while contacting hard objects
Cons:
- It’s more suitable for beach and wild survival excavation. Not much suitable for regular use
- For kids use, not for adult gardeners
9. Best for Everyday Use: Super Duty Multi-Purpose Garden Spade Root Cutter Shovel
An innovative garden tool that eliminates the need for saws and other things. It is very much useful for cleaning tracks, digging, and cleaning trenches and drains. It digs through hard sod and roots and digs into dry compacted clay and rocky soils. This multi-purpose shovel provides additional leverage while reducing the stress on the hands and wrists.
Key Features:
- Eliminates the need for saws and other things
- Digs through hard sod and roots
- Reduces hand-stress
Product Specifications:
Brand: LavoHome
Material: Wood
Color: Black
Length: 14 gauge
Blade Length: 14 inches
Grip type: Padded
Pros:
- This shovel is suggested to use for your residential and commercial purposes.
- Easily digs into dry compacted clay and rocky soil
- Reduces hands and wrists stress
Best Method to Dig up Roots with Shovels
Suppose, you have the best shovel for digging up roots in your hand but you don’t know how to utilize that in your garden or yard. Will it be helpful for you anyway if you don’t use that shovel? Let’s check out the several methods for digging up roots.
Cutting roots with a shovel
A shovel can help you to remove roots very easily. Just take a position in front of the root and cut it off close to the ground using your shovel. Thus, you can remove the unwanted roots from your lawn completely without leaving any traces behind.
Prying up roots
You can follow some other alternative methods for digging up roots. Instead of cutting off the roots completely, you can dig around them and pull them with your shovel. It’s an effective method in dealing with lots of large and arrogant roots growing near one another.
Digging around roots
We call it trenching also. This method basically involves digging a hole beside the root which you want to cut off. With your shovel, pry out the whole area. You will then, none of them are left behind in the soil. Fill back up and make it complete this way.
These are some important factors that you need to consider while looking for a way to dig up the roots. Hunting for a shovel that suits you the best alone can’t serve everything. You also need to take into consideration many other factors.
The Buying Guide-How do I Choose the Best Shovel for Digging Soil
On the above, you already have got the idea about some of the best digging shovels for digging soil. You can choose any one from the index according to your garden type and your preference. Shovels are not equal; they are different in terms of size, color, shaft material, weight, design etc. Here are some buying guides that may help you to choose the best shovel. Let’s go through some curial factors you need to be concerned about before buying the best digging shovel for your garden.
Blade Material
Looking out the blade type should be the first duty to pick the best shovel. The blade is the most important organ of a shovel that cuts through the dirt and digs up the roots. So, you need to get yourself a long-lasting and study blade. In the shovel, you can see several blade types like steel, aluminum or plastic. Steel in making the blade makes it more durable. It is the most expensive as well.
- Steel: Steel bladed shovels are more durable and give the best performances. That is why, these are top choices of the garden enthusiasts. This shovel type can be used for heavy yard work that is not possible with the other blade types. The best quality steel is very expensive and heavy to handle but this one is the most premium brand. 12-14 gauge steel is used for it. But sometimes we can also find more than 14 gauge in some blades.
- Plastic: These blades are light weighted and more comfortable to use. So, beginners can choose this as their top choice. But remember one thing, this blade is not suitable for doing heavy garden work, especially in the bad weather conditions. Although these are very important things to be concerned about, as a beginner you need to be used to using the shovel for your garden efficiently. In that sense, get yourself a temporary solution by buying cheap range plastic blades.
- Aluminum: This blade type holds the feature of the both variants- steel and plastic. This one is not very common like the steel blades. But it can be bought at a very affordable rate. It is a very affordable yet reasonable choice. Aluminum blades can dig through the dirt as perfectly as steel blades without weighing as much. Reasonability wise, it’s more like plastic but quality wise, it’s more practical than plastic.
Blade Shape
Considering blade shape is the next duty for a gardener while choosing a shovel. The blade needs to be pointy enough to penetrate the soil. You need to look for the sharp edge of the blade for cutting off the roots efficiently. There are various types of blade shapes and structures. Each of them have different working features
- Round-point: You need to give more effort digging through the dirt when your soil is rocky. Round shaped blade should be used for that type of soil. It will let you dig up dirt so well and reach the deeper roots.
- Serrated: If you have a loamy soil garden, it will demand comparatively less effort to dig up dirt. So, you can choose this for your loamy soil garden. All you need to do is, remove the soft loamy soil and use the knife-like sharp edges of this shovel and cut up the roots with easy movement.
- Inverted V: This is an innovative blade shape. It is a combination of both round point and serrated blade types. It has two points for giving better penetration. You can dig your soil with this shovel very nicely. It helps you to cut off the roots more efficiently than the round point blade.
Blade Size
You should change the blade size completely based on your requirements. It wholly depends on the type of soil of your garden and the intensity of the digging your garden needs. For superficial digging that requires less effort, small blades can be good for that. But heavy root digging work needs a large edge shovel. You need to remember one thing, larger blade shovels might be a bit heavier so you need to give more effort to work with it.
Shaft Material & Length
Another crucial factor to consider is the shaft of the shovel and its length. You can be injured with severe back pain if you use the wrong shaft length. You can not work for a longer time with that too. So, get yourself the most suitable length of the shaft compatible with your own height. There are shafts of different qualities for shovels.
- Steel: Classical shovels are the sturdiest. They have the usual steel materials. You can work with it for a longer period. These are heavier and more expensive
- Hardwood: Cheaper and weaker than the previous one. It loads the light weighted works. It gets weaker when you expose it to more moisture.
- Fiberglass: It is a very modern choice for the gardeners. It is immune to the most environmental factors like heat, moisture, or other impacts. This is sturdy, flexible and modern looking.
Handle & Grip Quality
A very important factor is to choose the handle type of your shovel. It is very essential to make your shovel experience comfortable while digging up roots. Straight grip handle is the most common handle design. But this handle can not be used for a long time otherwise you may get a damaged wrist in the long run. The D-grip handle has the most ergonomic design. It’s very easy to use. The O-grip handle allows people to use this together. The L-grips and T-grips are light weighted. But your hands might slip while using it. So, you need to be very cautious to use it.
Weight
The weight of the shovel also depends on the user’s choice. Your shovel’s weight depends on the blade you choose for it, the type and size. You need to choose the shovel according to your digging purpose. Sometimes, your digging work may need a heavy weighted shovel. You need to think about your strength also. Don’t go for the heavy shovels if you think you can’t handle it. Heavy weighted shovels may cause wrist damage.
Digging up roots in a perfect way requires you to pick the best digging shovel for your garden.
If you want the best performance from a shovel, you have to select your shovel remembering the features. Unless and until your shovel meets the above criteria, you can’t get your best and maximum performances out of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a plant with root rot be saved?
Answer: A root rot mushes up the root system of a plant. So, a plant with root rot can’t be saved. It needs to be replanted in fresh new soil with better nutrients. If you see that everything is in favor, you can save the plant with root rot.
What type of snow shovel is better? metallic or plastic?
Answer: Plastic shovels are better for snow. For dealing with snow, you need to work with a light leight shovel. Plastic shovels are more handy, affordable and durable.
What’s the best material for the handle?
Answer: To many gardeners, fiberglass handles are very popular and preferred because they can manage heavy work but the material is light weighted. The fiberglass handles are more expensive but they are best for valuing both your strength and lightweight things. It’s not always the first preference actually. Depending on the functionality of the shovel, you need to choose the handle type between plastic or steel.
What size of shovel will be best to pick for my garden work?
Answer: Choosing the size of shovel completely depends on the work your garden or yard requires. Different activities require different shovels. Like, for moving soil around the garden, choose a shovel with a large scoop. For superficial digging work, choose the light weighted shovel. If you go camping, your shovel should be more compact. So, choosing the right shovel depends on the applications and your needs.
Do you think durability and quality of shovels matter?
Answer: Sometimes you need branded shovels that ensure the quality you expect from the object. If you want to use folding camping shovels or other shovels with moving parts, you need to choose premium quality shovels that are more durable also. Durability of the shovels is important for the shovels that feature moving parts, telescopic shafts.
What is the best procedure to use a shovel?
Answer: Firstly, you need to take a stance with your feet wide apart. Then, put your front foot close to the blade of your shovel and stand on the top of the footrest with the other foot. Slowly drive your foot into the blade. Stay balanced, keep the load and movement close to your body to avoid falling off balance.
Is there any difference between the shovel for gardening and the shovel for camping?
Answer: Yes. For gardening, you need to choose a shovel with a longer handle and larger scoops so that you can move soil or chop at roots. On the other hand, the shovel for camping has a folding or telescopic handle that will allow for compact storage and stowing in backpacks.
What’s the way to dig up tough roots?
Answer: In the first place, you need to use a sharp shovel with a pointed blade that can cut off the tough roots. A sharp blade also helps the root from not breaking apart. Start by cutting through the ground at its edge and continue towards the center of the root. Then, dig around the root and pull it out.
What to look for in a shovel mostly?
Answer: You need to look for a strong, good quality, durable blade and shaft in a shovel. With a good blade and shaft, a shovel can dig through soil without breaking. Every other factor like size, weight, shape, materials etc are needed to consider as well but mostly garden enthusiasts look for the blade and shaft type in a shovel.
Final Thought
Now, what’s your understanding so far about choosing the Best Shovel For Digging Soil? It comes down to your choice when deciding which shovel to use. You might need a thinner, thicker or lightweight design. Whatever you need, go with the best suitable choice. Consider all the factors like the shovel’s size, type, material, length, construction, durability, grip and weight. If you find out all the information about the factors, it will be easier for you to choose the best shovel for digging up roots.
To wrap up the things, you need to get yourself a perfect shovel by your side at all times. You can go through the list above of the best shovels for digging up roots, their services and features. Now, it’s all up to your decision to choose one that fits your purpose the best. Hope you will be able to find out the most suitable one for you and have happy gardening days from now onwards!