Now I call a spade a spade, but if you want to dig a hole, you need a shovel and if it's at ground level, make sure your tool has a long handle. This will save you from bending.

A gardener who was bed-ridden for three weeks after an injury excavating a vegetable patch has invented a double-handed spade which he claims takes the back-breaking work out of digging. Ivan ...

Tools needed include a wheelbarrow, spade, fork, rake, some dolomite to sweeten the soil, a general purpose fertiliser and the most important ingredient - a balanced compost.