Forking is a technique for opening up, turning and loosening soil. As the tines can slide between stones more easily than a spade, forking is particularly useful for rocky and stony ground. It is much less damaging to the soil structure than a spade as it breaks the clods up along their natural, existing fracture lines, rather than along artificially cut ones.

Forks are also good for clearing weeds from the soil, as they tend to remove the entire weed rather than leaving small, chopped pieces that may regenerate.