The grelinette is a tool almost unknown in Italy, but very widespread in France the name is in honor of its creator, the Frenchman André Grelin, but it is also called earth iron (gallows) or for English speakers u-fork (because of the two handles remember the letter "U") Where wide fork (wide fork). In English we indicate it as organic fork That is air fork .
This sequence of names has already told us pretty much everything there is to know about this tool: the grelinette is used for shoveling (earth iron), move and aerate the soil (aerodynamic fork), is wider than a conventional shovel (wide fork), attaches to two handles (U-shaped fork) and is particularly useful for organic farming (biological fork).
In essence, the grelinette does the work of the shovel to plow the land but without turning over the clods , to better protect soil microorganisms, maintaining its fertility. The same job could also be done with a normal excavator fork, but with more effort. This two-handled fork is a very well designed tool or, which makes it possible to work the soil of the garden rapidly Yes reduce physical exertion . In summary, the grelinette is highly recommended, although it is unfortunately almost impossible to find, we will see later where you can get it.
The organic fork is really Easy : has a U-shape, composed of two handles connected by a low horizontal element, to which the teeth are attached. The sharp and solid tines are the part that sinks into the ground, they have a curved shape which is not random: it allows you make the most of leverage when you pull both handles towards you.
Explaining it does not understand the idea: the shape of the tool is designed to very comfortable and efficient work . The effort is mainly in the arms, protecting the lower back, strongly stressed by the traditional shovel.
Always compared to the classic shovel, the grelinette works a greater part with each passage, being considerably larger , this means much faster work. The fork tines penetrate easily even in compact soils.
Aerial forks of different sizes are produced in France and, in particular, they differ in the number of teeth. A standard grelinette usually has 5 teeth but there are also tools two or three teeth useful in very clay soils and perhaps never worked before.
How to use
The use of the grelinette is Easy and anyone who has been in the garden can learn it in minutes.
The first thing to do is to plant your teeth in the ground as deeply as possible, even if it means helping you by climbing the horizontal bar with your foot. Then, to plow the land, we step back a little and pull on the two handles, using both arms and possibly without bending your back .
The movement is always repeated in the same way, as when itching it goes backwards and on the sides.
Video: the grelinette in action
Where to find a grelinette
The grelinette produced by Terra Organica.
Before explaining the advantages that this two-handled fork can bring by addressing a delicate point: its availablity . While in other countries, such as France, the tool is in common use, unfortunately in our country it is very difficult to find it.
On the net I found some models of grelinette, via Amazon you can find two of them, quite expensive: that of the French company Leborgne seems to me to be the best, it is a well studied product, it has wooden handles and allows to reduce the number of teeth (which are 5 ), if necessary, to adapt to clay soils. The other aeroforca costs a little less, it is an Italian product of simpler manufacture, entirely in metal even in the handles, instead of having inclined teeth it has a second horizontal bar to give leverage .
In France the grelinettes are very popular, you can buy a grelinette by ordering it directly from a French blacksmith. The result is a well-designed tool in terms of ergonomics and quality.
Someone told me that organic earth produces a valid model of grelinette, super tested by Matteo Mazzola in his farm, a beautiful reality that deserves support. You can request information from Matteo by writing to organica.terra@gmail.com.
Otherwise, the alternative is automatic creation tool with the help of a blacksmith.
aero stem stem
The advantages of the two-handled fork in terms of practicality of use have already been mentioned :
- The Grelinette is wider than a pitchfork.
- Compared to the shovel blade, the teeth sink better.
- The two-handle movement makes your back muscles very tense.
Now let’s focus on another kind of advantage i, which are those related to a agricultural best practices : unlike the shovel, tillage with a grelinette it is not a question of turning over the clods. It means a may r respect for the soil ecosystem and micro-organisms who inhabit it.
The soil is home to an immense activity of microscopic life forms that are very useful to cultivated plants: in fact, they enter into synergy with the root system and preside over a series of fundamental processes in the life of the plant. It is only thanks to microorganisms that organic matter is broken down and converted into useful nutrients. Soil rich in microorganisms is fertile soil. , this has been observed in recent years in agriculture. It is not for nothing that products are spreading which act by introducing a large number of micro-organisms into the environment (such as EM or mycorrhizae).
Tillage has great advantages but also contraindications , it is not in vain that there are agricultural practices (from the synergistic garden to natural agriculture) that develop well without them. We have explored this topic in depth by explaining why the plow is not always good. On the one hand, it is positive to plow the compacted soil, making it smooth and draining however, it is an invasive operation. against beneficial microorganisms that inhabit the soil. The traditional shoveling technique, in particular, involves turning over clods of earth, which is particularly detrimental to microscopic life underground. In fact, microorganisms are divided into aerobes, which need air to live and populate the soil surface, and anaerobes, which live at greater depths. When we turn a lawn, we bury the aerobes and bring the anaerobes out into the open, causing a loss of fertility.
The use of a grelinette or a shovel fork It can be a good compromise : we will plow the land without turning over the clods.