Gardening Tools

So what gardening tools do you really need and which ones are just nice to have? That depends on who you ask! But I have created a list of a few items that I think are gardening tools that no gardeners shouldn’t be without:

Shovel – Seems like common knowledge, doesn’t it, but many people overlook this very common and yet very necessary gardening tool. There two different varieties of shovels used for gardening, a flat head shovel and a spade. A flat head shovel is designed to move soil and has a flat, shallow end on it. A  spade, has a concave pan that is shaped into a point so that it can easily be dug into the soil and used to break up clumps of soil. Ideally, you should have both a flat head shovel and a spade in your gardening tool kit but if you have to choose just one then you should choose the spade as will need the shovels a lot when you are gardening. Don’t skimp on quality when buying your shovel, it is worth it to buy the best quality shovels you can afford.

Garden Hose - Having a good garden hose is essential for gardening. You may think one hose is as good as another but that’s not true. Hoses, like other gardening implements, come in lots of different qualities and prices. A cheap hose is usually just that – cheap. So spending a little more money for a high quality garden hose is well worth the extra expense.

Wheelbarrow – Even in a very small garden a wheelbarrow will come in handy.  You will find that you have a lot of things that need to be moved around in your garden such as bags of mulch, fertilizer, plants, composting material, wood chips, plant food, pulled weeds and clippings, and, of course, your gardening tools. Moving all of that stuff around can be heavy and tedious, so invest in a good quality wheelbarrow  may save a lot of effort.

Pruning Shears – Pruning shears are something that every gardener must have. These are used to trim cuttings, cut flowers, cut dead leaves from plants, trim hedges, and virtually every other task for which you need to cut something in the garden. Pruning shears give a more precise cut than scissors and are designed to cut through thick foliage and stems without tearing the plant.

Rake – A good rake is another gardening must-have. You will use your rake a lot when you are preparing the soil for planting and also to help tidy the garden and rake up leaves and clippings and weeds. Do yourself a favor and invest in a high quality rake with metal tines.

Trowel – A trowel is without a doubt  a most must have piece of gardening equipment. You will use your trowel to create planting holes to put your plants into, weeding, moving soil around the garden, putting out mulch and fertilizer, moving soil from one pot to another, and a million other things.

Broom – You may not realise how beneficial a broom is for cleaning up the garden and around the house. Some may prefer to use a leaf blower to do this cleaning up but a using a broom is certainly a lot quieter, better for the environment and will give you a good workout at the same time.

Hoe – A hoe is probably the most basic gardening tool and the most important. A hoe is a tool that can be used for preparing soil, for planting, for weeding, and for almost every other garden task. A good quality hoe is likely to be made from steel or some other metal. You may want to invest in both a short-handled hoe and a long-handled hoe. A short handled hoe is best for doing tasks like weeding and planting while a long handled hoe will be essential for preparing rows of soil to be planted and weeding large patches of garden.

Gardening Gloves – You should invest in at least one pair but ideally two or three pairs of very high quality gardening gloves. Gardening gloves will protect your hands from cuts, scrapes, scratches, bugs, germs from the soil, and mulch or compost and much more. You will inevitably lose one of the gloves in the pair, or the whole pair, or get a hole in one of the gloves, or in some other way make that pair useless so that’s why you should always have a spare pair lying around.

There are many other types of gardening tools out there, enough to fill two or three gardening sheds! But if you are just starting out in gardening and you want to buy just the tools you really need to get started then these tools are what you need. My advice is to always buy the best quality tools you can afford. It will be worth it in the long run! Always take care of your tools. Clean all of your tools thoroughly after using them, dry them properly, and oil pruning shears and loppers well to revent rust and put them away in a safe place when not in use.