Ridgers

Ridgers is a term that can refer to either people who create ridges in soil or to agricultural equipment used for ridging. In agriculture and horticulture, ridging is the practice of forming raised rows or beds, often to improve drainage, soil warming, aeration, and moisture management for row crops and tubers. A ridger can be a manual tool-operated by hand or a mechanized device attached to a machine.

Manual ridgers are handheld implements, typically featuring a blade or curved edge that pries and shapes soil into a raised line. They are common in small-scale gardening, seedbed preparation, and raised-bed construction. The resulting ridges help with irrigation furrows, soil warming, and weed control by creating defined planting rows.

Mechanized ridging uses ridger attachments on tractors or dedicated ridging machines. These machines lift and move soil to form long raised beds in fields, with adjustable settings to control ridge height, width, and furrow depth. Ridging is used for crops such as potatoes, onions, and carrots, as well as in vineyards or orchards to improve drainage and soil management on slopes.

In addition to its agricultural meaning, "Ridgers" can also be a surname. As a plural form, it may appear in genealogical or biographical contexts referring to people bearing the name Ridger or Ridgers. Without additional context, ridgers most often denotes those who operate ridges or equipment designed to create ridges in soil.