It doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran gardener or new to it altogether. There are specific tools that are required to make your job more relaxed when it comes to planting and tending to your veggies and garden overall.
It can be overwhelming when you visit a garden center as you might think you need one of each. Every tool has its use, and many are suited to different-sized gardens.
With this in mind, to get the best from your garden, we have picked the seven garden tools which can make a gardener’s life easier. (Read How Long Does it Take For Grass to Grow)
Number One Essential Gardening Tool – The Spade
This should be the top of everyone’s list. Although it might look the same a shovel, it is very different indeed. They have a shorter handle and a durable blade.
Spaded are ideal for digging hard soil or removing a top layer of grass. They can also be used for edging pathways and breaking up small to medium-sized roots.
The Ideal Planting Trowel
When it comes to digging the small holes required for planting or transplanting seedlings, there’s nothing better than a trowel for precision.
When using one of these, it means you’ll be up close and personal with your garden and on your knees unless you are using containers or a raised bed.
Some trowels come with a scale so you can see the depth which you are digging. This is ideal when plants should be planted at specific depths. Trowels are also a great tool when doing localized weeding or adding compost around your veggies.
Chainsaw – The Optimum Cutting Tool
A chainsaw might appear extreme for many gardens, however, if you have any small trees, shrubs or even lumber you wish to cut through. There is nothing as quick and hand as a chainsaw.
For a machine which you might think is going to cost the earth, the top chainsaw brands have models in gas, electric or battery powered. This covers any budget and will also allow you to choose one which fits your tasks.
Garden Shears
Garden shears are primarily for shrubs and hedges to keep them in check as they attempt to grow in all directions.
A good quality pair of shears can be sued to quickly trim herbaceous perennials, edging around any trees and pathways. Shears can also be used as a quick means of keeping tall grass and weeds in check.
Garden Rakes
A garden rake was initially intended to remove cut grass from a lawn. Since then they have been found to gather dead leaves for composting and raking together any loose debris which does get scattered around your backyard.
You can find some garden rakes which are adjustable for different uses when used in this manner, they are great for spreading new compost or manure around your vegetable plants without damaging your bumper crop.
Some also come with a fixed head which is designed for this purpose, though these will be sat most of the time waiting.
Garden Hoe
These come in two varieties, a solid one, and a forked one. The solid types act much in the same way as a spade, but if you have hard compacted soil, these can cut through this easier and with less effort than a spade.
These tools bust be useful in any garden as they were the first farming tools used over 5000 years ago, and little has changed in design in all that time.
Roots also stand little chance, and the solid blade is more than capable of cutting through them with ease from the chopping action. The forked type is also useful and is ideal for breaking up clumps of earth to introduce oxygen back into the soil ready for planting.
A Humble Watering Can
With sprinklers and hoses being used all the more often, there is still a need for a watering can. Not every home has an outside faucet, or you live in an apartment with a balcony and are making full use of containers for your garden.
Watering with cups and jugs doesn’t help plants as the water becomes concentrated and won’t reach all of the roots.
Watering cans allow you to direct the water where it is needed depending on the vegetable plant type. With the sprinkler nozzle connected the watering action is more like rain and a more natural way to water your veggie crops.
And Finally…
There are many more tools which could be included in this list. However, this combination is ideal to clear and prepare any garden area ready to plant vegetables. They also have many uses than what they are designed for. (Read 5 Best Vegetables to Grow for Your Garden)
Now your plants can be tended for all through the growing season without you thinking you haven’t got the right tool for the job.
