Shovel

''This article is about the shovel used by the player. For the shield used by Excavator Zombie, see Shovel (armor)''

The shovel is an item in Plants vs. Zombies and Plants vs. Zombies 2 that is used to dig up plants. It is obtained after completing Level 1-4 of Adventure Mode in the first game and before playing Player's House - Day 3 in the second game. When the level starts, either Crazy Dave or the game's tutorials will have the player use the shovel to dig up three Peashooters planted on the lawn, either forward or backward-facing. In order to replace or remove plants, the player will need to dig them up with the shovel.

The player cannot get the shoveled up plant back in any way. He or she will also not get the sun back, except in the Puzzle Mode version of Last Stand, having the Shovel Bonus or Shovel Perk upgrade, and in the Last Stand Brain Buster in Plants vs. Zombies 2.

A disadvantage is that sometimes, the inconvenient placement of the shovel causes players to dig up the wrong plant accidentally, especially in the Nintendo DS version, where it is placed right next to two squares on the lawn. However, the plant that will get dug up on many versions will be highlighted, making mistakes harder to make.

Audio
The sound when the shovel is used to dig out a plant.

General

 * While playing a Last Stand puzzle on either the original or Plants vs. Zombies 2, any plant dug up prior to sending zombies will give back the full amount of the plant's cost if you haven't started the level yet.
 * There are only two exceptions to this rule, and the both apply to the original game. The first is when playing the mini-game version rather than the puzzle series. The second is when digging up an upgrade plant or mushroom in Last Stand Endless, in which case the game will negate the base plant or Coffee Bean (e.g. 200 for Winter Melon instead of 500, 75 sun for Fume-shroom instead of 150).

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies

 * The shovel had been coded to recharge before the next use in beta version. That was changed before the release.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies 2

 * Player's House - Day 3 is the first level the shovel is used, where the player must dig up three Peashooters that are facing backwards. This level starts out as "Ready...Set...WAIT!!!", where "WAIT!!!" is shown as tutorial dialogue. Once the Peashooters are removed, the level is restarted with "Ready...Set...PLANT!"
 * When using a shovel bonus, the player will get 25% of the initial planting cost back. This number is based in sun units of five and varies depending on each specific plants' cost.
 * Since there are several shovel bonuses available, the percentage can be combined.
 * Before the 1.9 update, it was possible to shovel an endangered plant during a Save Our Seeds level, and it would still make the player lose the level. However, the partially-eaten brain was not shown like it did in other levels.
 * After the 1.9 update, shovels have no effect on endangered plants.
 * However, in Big Wave Beach - Day 23, if a Fisherman Zombie pulls a Banana Launcher and then the player uses the shovel to dig it up, he or she will lose the level.
 * Using shovel bonus will always give the player tiny suns (5) and normal suns (50). The player cannot get small suns (25) or large suns (75). For example, digging up a Wall-nut (with a 50% shovel bonus) gives the player 5 small suns, and digging up a Snapdragon gives the player a normal sun and 5 small suns.
 * So far, it is only possible to achieve a 75% shovel bonus: as an in-app purchase (the price may vary, depending on the app store used), after beating Pirate Seas - Day 12 and after beating Wild West - Day 11.
 * While the effect remains the same, each upgrade is named slightly different: the purchase is "Shovel Bonus", the Pirate Seas reward is "Shovel Boost", and the Wild West reward is "Shovel Perk".
 * This is most likely just to avoid confusion.
 * When the Wizard Zombie is about to turn a plant into sheep, it cannot be dug up.
 * The same goes for Frozen Plants and Octopi.
 * If you dig up a plant in a level with the objective, "Don't lose more than X plants", it will count as losing a plant.
 * When digging up an Imitater before it turns into a plant, it will not produce any sun.

Specific to Plants vs. Zombies Online

 * The handle of the shovel is purple instead of red.