Pitchfork for grass clippings?

[Ron Hardin]

What tool do I need to load a pile of grass clippings (left by scything the lawn ; you get a pile maybe a foot high and a couple feet wide running down the left side of a 10' swath you cut across the lawn) onto a makeshift hay wagon, for carting into the back woods, where a pile of lawn clippings is growing (how big will it get?)?

I've been using a garden rake, gathering into a huge pile and then picking up a large armful with rake and remaining hand. But it takes as long to cart away the grass clippings as it does to scythe the swath in the first place, using this procedure.

Maybe there's a pitchfork that will work with grass clippings? (The clippings are typically longer than a lawnmower leaves, but certainly not hay-length.)

[zxcvbob]

I have a cottonseed fork (wide pitchfork, 10 or 12 tines, short "D" handle) that works great for compost, grass clippings, etc. I think they are also called silage forks. They are kind of heavy.

You could also use a manure fork. They have closer tines than a hay fork.

Have you tried using a regular 4-time hay fork? A lot will probably fall though, but depending on how tightly the clippings are packed you should get most of it very quickly and then you can rake it again.

Bob

[Compostman]

I recommend a 5 or 6 tine long-handle fork. Don't get one that's too heavy. _________________ John Henry Wheeler Washington, DC USDA Zone 7

[hob]

Outside of the garden fork (wide tines), ya got cher thrash-nmachine spiking fork (three wide-spaced tines), yer hay fork (four tines wide space), yer silage fork ( six-8 tiunes closer spaced), yer manure fork (a lot -like 12 or so -tines closely spaced), and probably a couple others I have never had the opportunity to experience.

Since you cut your lawn with a scythe, I would say that by the time you are done experimenting around, you will have picked up a couple forks.

The stuff stays on the fork because it holds itself together, and the clump just rests on the tines.

So... if it is lawn clippings or like length fiber, I would check out a silage fork. Silage (fermented chopped corn, long-grass, etc.) is close to lawn clippings.

[horselover]

I use a horse-stall cleaning fork for this sort of thing and it is terrific. You can find them in the horse-equipment section of your local Agway or wherever. They have plastic tines that are set at just the right angle so that you don't have to bend over to scoop up whatever it is you want to move. They are also lightweight. I used to use a multi-tine manure fork for stall cleaning and moving piles of straw, grass clippings, etc, but this tool is worlds better. There are a couple of brands; one is called "Wonder Fork".