Garden tools are essential to good gardening. Deciding which ones to purchase may seem overwhelming at first. With a little research, you can make an educated decision as to which tools are right for you.
Being a gardener over the past 32 years, I have found that these are the minimum tools one would need in order to maintain a well-groomed garden:
- Round point shovel,
- Leaf rake,
- Flat till garden rake (long handled),
- Narrow transplanting trowel,
- Lopper,
- Bow saw,
- Hand tiller,
- Grass shears,
- Hedge shears,
- Scissors,
- A good pair of gardening gloves.
Obviously the lawnmower will be the most expensive tool anyone needs. If you so dare in spending a few dollars on a weed puller, it would be advantageous if your weeds are minimal.
Minus the weed puller and the gas mower, these same tools my parents and grandparents taught me how to use in addition to some not mentioned. You will want to wear your gardening gloves as they do prevent blisters from forming on your hands, fingers and thumbs.
Should you find that these tools are not enough, here is a brief list of some of the other tools you may find useful in your garden and yard:
- Bulb planter,
- Rounded trowel,
- Short handled point shovel,
- Drain or trench shovel,
- Bow garden rake,
- Thatch rake,
- Spading fork,
- Square hoe,
- Warren Hoe (triangle shaped),
- Cultivator,
- Matlock and/or Pick,
- Weed whacker,
- Metal edger,
- Bypass scissors,
- Pole Saw.
You will find that you can do many things with a single tool.
A metal old-fashioned weed whacker can also trim back untamed bushes, provided that the limbs are not too thick. You can use the corner of a square hoe to furrow a row into the dirt to plant seed into the crevice.
A rounded trowel can be used in place of a bulb planter in well-cultivated soil. Otherwise, you will find yourself stabbing the ground repeatedly trying to loosen the soil into a conical crevice.
Spading forks are ideal for tilling loose soil. If you have the strength you can use a pointed shovel, and till out the weeds with a hand tiller. This shovel is a gardener’s must as it can cut out thick roots, turn the soil over, transplant large plants, etc.
Take the time to think over the precise tools you need for the work you are going to do. Look over the current tools you have and ask yourself, “Do I really need…?” You may find that you just want that new tool you saw at Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Purchasing quality tools also can reduce your cost of repetitively purchasing that same cheap tool over and over again. Then again, if you use that tool quite frequently it would only make sense why you are replacing it so often.
Tools for a quick job does not necessarily mean that the job will be done well. This is why I frown on the weeding tool. The narrow pointed trowel can do the same thing, and it removes more of the root system.
Be smart, spend wisely, and stay cool in that heat. Don’t be a fool, just buy the right tool.
