You can often have a hand trowel and hand cultivator available in a set (sometimes with a pruner), as they are essential gardening tools. A long-handled shovel with a flat, straight-edged blade is good for digging straight-sided holes, cutting roots, removing plants and weeds, and making edges. Call them what you want: pruning shears, pruning shears, pruning shears, pruning shears, they are essential for pruning shrubs, roses, vegetables, fruit trees and more. For general use, we prefer bypass pruners that are designed to cut live wood and offer smooth, clean cuts.
Pruning can be very repetitive, so choose pruning shears that fit your hands comfortably. Also make sure to keep the blade sharp. A high-quality pruner should keep a sharp edge longer. A wheelbarrow or garden cart helps you accomplish a lot with minimal travel and easily moves material that is too heavy to carry around the yard.
Use it to transport compost, mulch, soil, gravel, plants, tools, garden waste and more. A good wheelbarrow should be strong and robust, and at the same time be well-balanced so that you can easily roll a full load without tipping over. A pruning saw is ideal for those branches that are too large for pruning shears or branch cutters. Whether you're cutting branches or removing roots, a pruning saw is ready for the challenge.
This saw is also practical to take with you when you go camping or hiking. A long-reach pruning saw helps you safely reach the highest branches without having to climb a ladder. Botanical photographer Ellen Hoverkamp recommends foxgloves. They are made of high-tech sports fabric that is water resistant, breathable and provides a fit in a way that has been described as a “second skin”.
For anvil style branch cutters, our editors recommend the Tabor Tools GG12 anvil cutter. It can cut branches up to 2 inches in diameter and is perfect for dry or woody growth. Carbon steel blade stays sharp, making it easy to cut. Buy the Tabor GG12 anvil cutter on Amazon.
Landscape Designer Genevieve Schmidt Recommends Radius Garden 203 Pro Ergonomic Steel Digging Fork. Square stainless steel picks resist rust and ergonomic handle has a non-slip grip. Buy the Pro stainless digging fork on Amazon. William Cullina, CEO of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Recommends Model 38 Balling Spade King of Spades.
It has a virtually unbreakable handle made of alloy tubes and a heat-treated blade with a sharp edge. Buy the King of Spades ball scoop on Amazon. Gardenrite Adjustable Garden Leaf Rake is Recommended by Our Editors. The rake head expands from 7 to 22 inches and, when stored in the folded position, takes up less space.
Buy the Gardenrite adjustable rake on Amazon. Our Editors Recommend Rogue Garden Hoe 575G. It has a high quality hardened steel head that holds its sharp edge well. It is sharpened on 3 sides, so it can be used at all angles.
Buy Rogue Garden Hoe 575G on Amazon. For outdoor use, our editors recommend the Bloem luxury shower with a double handle design and a removable spray nozzle. BPA-free and has a 2.5 gallon capacity. Buy the Bloem Deluxe shower on Amazon.
Our Editors Recommend the Marathon Dual-Wheel Yard. At just 29 pounds total, it weighs 25% less than a traditional wheelbarrow, and the single handle makes it easy to push, pull and tip over. Buy the Yard Rover Marathon Dual-Wheel on Amazon. Patuxent Nursery 2410 North Crain Hwy, Bowie, MD, 20716 (30) 218-4769. All gardeners should have a pair of nitrile coated gloves.
Nitrile offers excellent dexterity (you can even pick seeds) and woven backs to keep your hands cool, plus they're machine washable. However, nitriles aren't warm enough for gardening in cold climates, so you may also want to invest in a pair of rugged, waterproof, lined work gloves. Sharp pruners are necessary for tasks such as cutting stems and harvesting vegetables. It's a tool that you'll use again and again.
In fact, many gardeners use them on their belts to keep them handy. Invest in quality clippers that will last a lifetime. One clue that you are buying quality is that there are spare parts available. A palette will easily be among the most used and important tools in your arsenal.
It's essentially a hand shovel that you'll use to move the soil, dig, remove weeds, mix fertilizers and much more. You don't need to have a huge collection, but having the right garden tools can make taking care of your outdoor space a lot easier. Here are 10 tools that are hard to do without. When planting, a hand trowel is essential.
When you choose one, imagine digging up weeds with it and ask yourself if it would be up to the job. As with all garden tools, keep them clean and store them in a dry place to prevent rusting. Another small but essential garden tool, a manual fork allows you to break up hard, lumpy soil and mix it with crumbly compost to achieve a consistency where your plants can grow their roots. If you have to dig a little, using a manual spatula will take you all day.
Get a pointed, long-handled digging shovel to get the job done in a fraction of the time. This is a garden tool that really needs to be well made and sturdy, because the handle will be under a lot of pressure. A digging fork is just a larger, long-handled version of the hand fork, albeit with straight rather than angled tips. Use it to loosen soil in larger areas or to break up hard soil before digging.
Rakes have more uses than you think. In addition to being the best way to remove leaves or twigs from lawns, they can also be used to break up soil and level beds. You can choose between straight-headed rakes or leaf rakes with longer, lighter tips. This is a version of long-handled pruning shears that are very practical for reaching trees or hedges.
The blades are also larger and stronger, so they can handle thicker branches up to 2 inches in diameter, depending on the model. Truini recommends the Tracey Garden smart shovel as a much improved upgrade to its standard garden shovel. So, to help you find the best tools for all your upcoming gardening projects, we asked four experienced gardeners about the gloves, boots, scissors, hoses and shovels they rely on to grow healthy, beautiful, and delicious plants. Whether you're starting out, doing maintenance, or troubleshooting, you'll find tips and answers for all your gardening needs here.
Breaking heavy soil, spreading mulch, and removing debris from a garden are much easier with a hand rake. The flowers and vegetables in your garden depend on high-quality, nutrient-rich soil to grow large and lush. Gardeners can be a tough nut to crack during the holidays, especially if you don't share their green thumb and love for the land yourself. But you can also use the steel chipping head to dig a garden bed by pushing it across the lawn and down into the dirt around the perimeter of the square you want to dig.
Includes a garden trowel for digging shallow holes and trenches, a three-prong cultivator for loosening hard soil, and a measured transplant trowel for digging holes at precise depths, which is especially important when planting bulbs. While many homes have a leaf rake to move leaves in the fall, a metal rake meant to break up soil, spread a lot, and a multitude of other big tasks is a tool that many new gardeners forget to invest in. By investing in these essential gardening tools, your shed will house everything it needs to keep your garden beautiful and growing. If you're weeding an entire garden, removing unwanted roots, moving around a lot of dirt, or digging trenches, a garden hoe is your best friend.
The telescopic handle can also be adjusted from 37 to 68 inches in length to suit gardeners of varying heights. Invest in a pair of gloves that are tough enough to defend against the thorniest brambles and you'll enjoy gardening much more. . .
