Mario Bautista
We spent six hours shoveling mulch and compost and digging up a rock-filled wasteland at a community garden in New York City. And we spent another four uprooting shrubs, tilling soil, and removing deep-rooted weeds in a New Jersey yard.
Of the 10 all-purpose shovels we tried, the Bully Tools 82515 stood apart as a well-balanced, immensely strong, and particularly ergonomic earth mover. For garden tasks specifically—setting and moving plants and shrubs, uprooting trees and weeds, cleaning up borders—the Fiskars D-Handle Transplanting Spade and the Spear & Jackson Planting & Rabbiting Spade excelled.
Our pick
Thoughtfully engineered, built tough, and priced right, it’s the best—and likely last—shovel you’ll ever buy.
A few key design details elevate the Bully Tools 82515 beyond being merely functional. They include a full-width step, which makes the plunge more comfortable on the sole of your foot, and a shock-absorbing, well-balanced grip that’s easy on your hands. In fact, this shovel is a pleasure to use.
Also great
This spade has a long, narrow blade, for precision planting and weeding tasks. And it has a double-wide D-handle, so you have extra leverage and less strain when you’re uprooting shrubs and trees.
The all-steel Fiskars D-Handle Transplanting Spade is strong but not heavy. The wide steps on the back of the narrow blade provide a stable, grippy platform for your feet. And when it comes to prying up plants and rocks, this tool has a unique, double-wide D-handle that’s a genuine improvement over standard handles; it spreads the strain across both hands and centers your weight behind the blade to maximize leverage.
Also great
This spade is smaller than other transplanting models, but it’s just as strong and even more nimble in crowded garden beds.
At 38 inches, the Spear & Jackson Planting & Rabbiting Spade is a foot shorter than most transplanting spades. That makes it an obvious choice if you need or prefer smaller tools, but its size also has intrinsic advantages. In garden beds and around structures, this spade is even more maneuverable than a regular transplanting spade, and it’s perfect for removing deep-rooted weeds, like dandelions, without disturbing the lawn.
Upgrade pick
This tool is overkill for most garden and yard work, but it’s the shovel to turn to for the toughest digging tasks.
The 8-pound Corona All-Steel #2 Round Point Shovel AS90300 is among the strongest shovels available; it’s the one you want when you’re facing the toughest digging tasks, like excavating big tree stumps or prying up paving stones. But for everyday jobs, this is the last shovel you’d reach for: It’s too heavy, too cumbersome, just too much tool.
