Digging up crinums
Ellen Hornig (Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:13:47 PDT)

For the record, this old lady DOES have a strong back, and DID dig her own
crinums. :-)

This is a slight departure from bulbs, but related in this context: my
all-time favorite tool for digging recalcitrant crinums and similar is the
mattock, or grub hoe. I don't know when it went out of common circulation,
but it is hands-down the best tool for tough digging jobs that I know. You
can generate a whole lot more force by lifting a blade high and then
whacking it down than you can by digging and prying, and you break a whole
lot fewer handles that way too. Fortunately, I live in an area where
small-scale farming flourished thorugh the 1920s or so, and used mattocks
can generally be found, albeit not at every garage sale.

Ellen

Ellen Hornig
Seneca Hill Perennials
3712 County Route 57
Oswego NY 13126 USA
http://www.senecahillperennials.com/