Digging the dirt

And while switching over the TV, unlocking the car and opening a tin can have all been automated, there are other household "chores" that remain stubbornly mechanical. Take the garden. This is a place where mechanisation seems to have reached a plateau with the petrol-driven mower and the electric hedge trimmer – though the concept of a greenhouse with automatic doors is quite appealing. Last month, we wrote about a planting machine that automatically deposits 20 brassica seedlings into the ground every second – but such technology is not likely to filter down to the home gardener. Something that features in every gardener's armoury is the spade. Its uses are many and varied: turning over soil, shovelling snow, burying recently departed pets. Its design has remained much the same for centuries – if not Millennia. And this is despite countless strained backs, aching muscles and (occasional) lopped-off toes. The Challenge Our challenge this month is to come up with a way of improving the design of the humble spade. Ideas can address any aspect of the spade that are seen to be lacking – be it the sheer unwieldiness or the difficulty of digging straight lines with its slightly curved blade. While rotavators can also help to break up soil, there is a feeling that this is 'cheating' – and the whole point of home-grown vegetables is to produce them in the ancient way. For this reason, ideas should not rely on any 'modern' technology – so adding ground-wave radar to detect buried stones is definitely out. One suggestion (see below) addresses the problem very cleverly. In fact, it is almost so simple that it is a wonder that no actual product exists on the market. We are ready to receive your suggestions on the problem too.