Typically associated with vintage farmers and haystacks, a modern pitchfork actually deserves a place in your garden toolshed. Similar in appearance to a garden fork, a pitchfork has a longer handle and thinner, pointier prongs. If you don’t already own one, you might consider a trip to a farming supply or hardware store and see about getting a pitchfork for these tasks:

1. Working garden soil

Maybe you turn to a rototiller for prepping your garden soil in the spring. But if you lean more “no-till” and prefer not to heavily work the soil, a pitchfork makes a nice tool for loosening up the ground just enough to make it easy to plant. Because of how the prongs are designed, it’s easier to push a pitchfork into the ground than a shovel, and when you turn the soil over, the pitchfork aerates and gently loosens up hard-packed sections that have become overly compressed from winter snows. Renegade early weeds can also be kept in check at this time. Watch out for worms and be careful not to harm them! (If you have a large garden, you might look into a broadfork.)

2. Removing sod

When clearing room for a new garden or expanding your current location, you may need to remove existing sod in order to access the soil below (though you may also be interested in building up a raised bed above intact sod). Again, if you’re looking to do this in the least invasive way possible (or if you just have a small area to clear), your pitchfork is helpful. For this, a true pitchfork (not a garden fork), has the thin and sharp prongs needed to penetrate even thick sod. Once you’ve pushed the pitchfork in the grass (don’t bite off more than you can handle), pull the handle down, forward, and side to side until the small square of sod breaks loose. While it’s still attached to the pitchfork prongs, go ahead and give the piece of sod a few bangs on the ground to break free any loose topsoil that you definitely want to keep in the garden. Then use the pitchfork to toss the sod into a waiting wheelbarrow or garden cart. Easy!

3 & 4. Mulching and composting

Perhaps you have a large pile of grass clippings that you plan to place around the base of a bed to help keep the soil moist. A pitchfork can help you make quick work of the pile and is precise enough to help you place the mulch just where you want it. A pitchfork is also an ideal tool for turning over your compost pile, which increases the temperature and helps the microbes do their job even better.

5. Garden cleanup

Whether it’s for late fall cleanup, early spring prep, or general summer tidying—your pitchfork will come in handy for keeping the garden looking great. It’s an ideal tool for collecting and removing finished plant materials: things like piles of dried vines from tomatoes, peas, and beans, old sunflower stalks, and leaves. If you use straw for any bed preparation, a pitchfork can help you handle that material, too.

Where do you employ a pitchfork around the garden?

Daniel Johnson is a Wisconsin-based freelance writer and professional photographer and the co-author of over a dozen books. See his garden and animal photography at foxhillphoto.com.