Copper Farming Tools

Spade

• Spades are one of the oldest tools known to man, and gardeners use them primarily for digging and removing dirt within a specific area. While the earliest spades were wooden, the evolution of humanity eventually led to the creation of metal-tipped spades, also known as shovels. For farming, spades break up lumps in the soil as well as remove dirt to make room for planting larger plants and shrubbery, rather than seeds, since the spade removes large scoops of dirt.

Trowel

• Trowels are similar to a spade in the sense that you use them to dig out dirt, but they are smaller and thus more useful for moving small amounts of dirt, such as when digging small holes to plant flowers or small plants, or even for weeding. They are also handy for transferring dirt into and out of pots, since a spade is too large for this task.

Rake

• More of an "outside broom" than anything else, rakes are instruments that feature a wooden (or other type of material) handle attached to a bar attached to the end of the handle. The bar features multiple "teeth" -- or tines -- used by dragging the teeth over an area to collect debris such as leaves, grass, hay or other debris. You also can use them for loosening the soil and helping weed out small plants.

Pronged Cultivator

• Cultivators turn the soil. Commonly seen with three prongs, although they can sometimes come with two, four or even more, farmers use them in two phases: before they have planted a crop with the intent of aerating the soil and thus preparing a superior seedbed; or for after a crop is growing. Use the cultivator to turn the soil to help prevent the growth of weeds.