A new gardener was using it to dig out an unwanted rose bush. She asked me what it was called. I do not know. I am not sure it is for digging. The soil around the rose bush looked like a swine had been rooting-about. Your help will be appreciated.
Palu, I want to thank you for setting on the right path. After looking at many examples of turfstekers, we found a wooden one. All other turfstekers had the blade straight under the handle and not offset like in my foto. Take a look: I am not sure what you call them in English, “ peat slane”? We have written the outdoor museum here and sent them a pic. Hopefully they can come up with a definite answer.
I've tried to find some videos with the same tool but no, this is the closest. In Ireland and Scotland they still use peat as fuel.
Cheers Loggie. It was interesting to watch. My Bride had an ancestor back in the 1500’s that was a turf carrier.
I remember when the peat bogs was a huge business 1980’s everyone invested stock . Also remember the items that are found in the bogs and the 100-200 yr old tree trunks so perfectly preserved under the cold waters of the bogs. How fast things change when you’re not lookin…Oh Snap…
I'm awed that someone can know what their ancestor did in the 1500s, or even who they were. I did see a genealogy video on PBS, a man was discovered to have a conquistador ancestor in Colombia, as well as indigenous ancestors there.
Daniel— there are records here. To find these things you go to the records in the city or village and scroll until you find your relative/s. It takes time, but it is possible if the records have survived. With a computer you can do this, and sometimes you can switch around to websites of family members who have already sussed a certain segment of time out. It was fun to do.
Loggie, the next time I see the girls I will take more foto’s. They may be here this weekend. I was there all day today, but they weren't.
Sjoerd on another forum site they said that every island had their own shape of tools for peat cutting.