Hi If you lived in Australia and if it is the same tool we are talking about you can still get them here at any hardware store or Walmart equivalent. I also like to use a thing called an adze this is a similiar tool however was used for making among other things dugout canoes. They have a great shaped handle a little shorter than a maddock and really cut through the dirt. They are a little harder to come by and are a little dearer however get through compacted and the hard dry clay "concrete" a lot better than anything else I have tried. Then when it gets really get tough a big steel bar and 1000 lites of water to replace what you sweat out is my last option before I call in the heavy machinery..........I might just leave them until tomorrow;........ until it cools down; ........until it warms up; ..........they're growing so nicely now I might just leave them, ........wish I was an old lady with a strong back. Kind Regards and Best Wishes Ron Redding Hervey Bay Australia > >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.