A Gardener’s Guide to Choosing Tools and Supplies

Guest Blog #115, Entry #579, July 6, 2011

I have always envied the avid gardener. The ability to make beautiful flowers or abundant vegetables and fruit appear and be harvested is quite the humbling experience. Today, my Guest Blogger give helpful tips for choosing the right tools and supplies for your garden. Summer is officially here, so get out there and start gardening!

Choosing the right gardening tools and supplies

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Gardening is perhaps one of the most satisfying of all hobbies for practical reasons as well as an enjoyable way to exercise and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Having the right kind of tools, however, makes it all the more delightful and easier to accomplish. Before acquiring garden tools and supplies, decide where they will be kept. Intending to keep garden tools in the garage may be fine if the garage is large and has a lot of unused space. The reality of what usually happens, though, is that the tools are scattered in a hit or miss sort of way, they are hard to get to when the car is in the garage, and the whole thing becomes a hassle. The perfect way to avoid this is with sheds made for outdoor storage. Garden sheds to keep tools and supplies in one place make it easy to get them in and out and protect them from the weather and other damage.

All planting, of course, starts with soil preparation, which means digging. A long handled shovel is best if digging more than an area of a couple feet at a time. A good sturdy shovel will make turning the soil easy, as well as distributing compost into the planting area. For a really large area, a roto-tiller may be necessary. A garden spade will still be needed for the close-up work of placing plants or getting rid of a stubborn weed.

Make your gardening experience worthwhile with the right tools

Close-up work usually means kneeling, so invest in a good kneeling mat or kneeling apparel that can be worn. Garden gloves are a necessity, especially when starting a new garden, to save blisters, cuts or broken nails.

After the soil is dug, a garden rake will be needed to level and smooth the newly tilled ground. The garden rake has short steel teeth, not the long, flexible fingers of a leaf rake. A garden rake is also used to keep soil between the plants or rows loose and free of weeds, although for plants that are close together, a garden hoe will do a better job.

Gardening shears are needed to trim plants and to cut fresh flowers for indoor use. When the growing season ends, use the shears to cut the perennials back and clear out any dead areas of plants or shrubs.

A garden hose is essential for watering plants, cleaning loose soil from walkways and hosing off tools. In dry weather, a sprinkler may be attached to the hose to water the entire garden and protect flowers or vegetables from drying out.

Gardening tools

While every gardening item does not need to be top of the line, for those that do the “heavy” work such as digging, and those that will be used more frequently, consider making good quality purchases. Tools should always be cleaned after using. Rub handles with linseed oil to prevent them from drying and cracking. Before storing in garden sheds, especially for a winter season, sharpen each tool and protect the blades from rusting with a coat of petroleum jelly or wax. Following a gardener’s guide to choosing tools and supplies will surely enhance your gardening experience.

Dane Cross is a freelance writer for Garden Resources, a popular and informative blog for new and experienced gardeners alike.

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