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Gardening is fun. Gardening is exciting. And just like any other job, gardening needs tools. There are many gardening tools available for purchase and use.
But do you need all of them? You don’t. A mistake some gardeners make is laying their hands on just about any tool they see. This kind of purchasing may strain the pocket without necessarily being of any real value to your garden.
What you need are a few tools to work in your garden. In this article, we will give you the essential gardening tools list. Think of these tools as the basic gardening tools-a must-have for your garden.
Table of Contents
Essential Gardening Tools
1. Pruning Shears
You can also call them hand pruners or secateurs. Think of them as scissors, but for plants. They are strong and sharp enough to cut branches of trees of shrubs and trees. Gardeners use pruning shears extensively.
The handle of the shears come in varying length. Some are short while some are long. The one to get is solely dependent on the size of your garden and the plants therein.
You will find the shear useful during spring when the rains are light, and plants are beginning to sprout here and there, after that a long period of winter neglect. The pruning shears will be instrumental in trimming the branches. Ensure you have your shears sharpened to make the whole work easier.
Felco Hand Pruner is one of the best gardening tools to have. They are comfortable to handle, lightweight and sturdy. The pruner is durable materials, and they are resistant to rust.
2. Digging Spade or Shovel
The shovel is one of those basic gardening tools. It is a tool gardeners use to break up the soil and loosen planting ground. The shovel has a flat blade and a sharp edge which can be curved or straight.
The upper side on both sides flanking the handle has space where the gardener can place his foot and push the shovel into the soil. The handle of the spade is usually wooden. It also forms a loop where the gardener can hold.
The shovel is for digging and are one of the essential gardening tools you can use in spring to prep your garden for planting. Some gardeners also use the spade to pack debris.
Tabor Tools spade is an excellent choice if you are going to purchase a spade for your garden. Since shoveling or digging takes much time, getting a lightweight spade easy on the hands is a bonus. The Tabor spade handle is not wooden but made from fiberglass, which also helps the shovel last long.
3. Digging Fork
Just like the shovel or spade above, the digging fork is instrumental in loosening up the soil. It is strong and can get into deep spaces. You can use it to turn, mix, loosen and lift compost, dirt, or mulch easily.
The fork is steel, and this is way better than fiberglass and wood. The handle of the fork looks like a D, and this lessens the strain on the hand.
The Tabor digging fork is one of the best gardening tools to have. It is sturdy and means business. The fork's thickness means you can work without being scared that your fork will break on impact with the soil. This tool is strong enough to dig out stones, break clods up, and tackle weeds with ease.
The only advantage a spade or a shovel has over the digging fork is the length of their handle. The digging fork has a shorter handle and might be stressful to use. But it gets the work done.
4. Wheelbarrow
A wheelbarrow is one of the basic gardening tools. It is even more important if the garden you are tending to is small.
You use the barrow for many things like transplanting plants from their nursery to their permanent beds, moving compost from one part of the garden to another, and conveying pretty much anything heavy.
If you use your wheelbarrow properly, it can last for more than a decade. There are various kinds of wheelbarrows. You can get the wheelbarrow with a double or single handle. Depending on the design, you can also get a barrow with one, two, three, or four wheels.
The Gorilla Carts wheelbarrow is one of the best gardening tools to have in your garden shed. It has a steel frame, and it has pneumatic tires. It has a single handle that forms a loop which is rubber-coated. The rubber makes handling easy on the hand.
5. Garden Hoe
During the early times, the hoe was the symbol of farming or gardening. They were easy to make but quite stressful to use, especially if you have a large expanse of land to till. In your garden, this supposedly primitive tool is essential. It is one of the gardening tools for beginners.
Gardeners use it to get out a small portion of earth before dropping seedling or seeds inside. After planting, you can use the hoe to cover the hole.
If your garden is going to be vegetable-only, you need a hoe. The hoe is also suitable for weeding. They can dig out the weeds without harming the essential plants.
The JIANZHENKEJI Nejiri Gama Garden hoe is one of the best hoes for your garden. It has a wooden handle and a sharp edge designed to slice even small stones. It is resistant to bending and is durable.
6. Gardening Gloves
Gardening gloves are essential gardening tools. It is protective clothing for your hands. Of course, some gardeners would prefer getting dirt on their hands as a sign that they are gardening. But everyone needs those gloves.
If you keep digging and working with your bare hands, the effect will soon show on your hands. You’d get blisters which can cause you tremendous discomfort and of course prevent you from doing the gardening you so much love.
The Pine Tree Working Bamboo Gloves is perfect for your gardening needs. They are breathable and come in various sizes. You can also use them for other outdoor activities like clamming and fishing.
The gloves are thick, durable, comfortable, and do not itch the hands. You can wash after use and sundry. You can also use them to cover your hands when you are hand weeding.
Gardening Tools For Beginners
7. Garden Rakes
Garden rakes are one of the basic gardening tools for beginners. They are used to pack debris. Think of the garden rake as a broom that can sweep outside. The rake is a bar with spikes that are affixed on a handle. The handle is either steel or wooden.
Gardeners use the rake to collect hay, grass, and leaves. The rake is also instrumental in loosening up the soil, leveling, gathering dead grasses, and light weeding. Raking your garden gives it a neat and well-patterned look. Modern rake manufacturers now make rakes with short handles.
The Omni JT Pro Telescopic Adjustable Foldable Garden Rake is your best choice when it comes to garden rakes. They are well-built; the head does not pull out easily from the handle.
The handle has a fiberglass coating which makes it easier for one to hold. It makes the rake durable too — all that for an affordable price.
8. Sprinkling System or Water Hose
Water is one element that almost every living thing needs to survive, and plants are no exception. Your garden needs watering from time to time, and as such, you will need a hose for distributing water. Or you purchase a sprinkling system that can do the water supply.
Water supply is most important during the summer when the sun is brightest, and most plants stand the risk of being scorched. The TomCare Hose is a perfect choice for sprinkling water in your garden.
It is flexible, light, and portable. You can adjust the nozzle so it can let out the exact amount of water you feel is right for your garden. You can set at shower, jet, cone, soaker, steam, or mist.
Instead of the hose, you can go for a sprinkler system which will ease the burden of walking around your garden. You can place the sprinkler at a strategic point on the farm and let it spray water around.
The GrowGreen Sprinkler, Rotating Lawn Sprinkler is the right choice. It rotates 360 degrees automatically. Its ease of installation makes it a favorite. The spray diameter can reach 32 ft.
9. Hand Trowel
The hand trowel is one of the basic gardening tools for beginners. The gardener's ‘gardenership’ must come under scrutiny if they don't have a hand trowel. What does this hand trowel do? It is vital for digging little holes for flowers and plants. You can as well refill those holes after planting.
You can use them to dig out weeds that may have invaded your garden. The hand trowel may be small, but it can help you do your weeding slowly without damage to the roots of essential plants.
Fiskars hand trowel is one of the best gardening tools you can get. It has a soft grip which makes handling easy. The head is from cast aluminum and is sharp. The aluminum cast is resistant to corrosion and has a strong tensile strength.
10. Pruning Saw
Are you surprised seeing saw on the list? Don’t be. Carpenters are not the only ones that need saws. Gardeners do too.
Wondering what on earth a gardener would use the saw for? Let us tell you. The gardener can use the saw for pruning tree branches. Pruning shears are great, but their use is quite limited to small trees.
For gardeners with huge branches with diameters above 2 inches, a pruning shear won’t help. The saw is more effective and powerful in cutting bigger branches. You can quickly saw off the branch with the pruning saw.
The Corona Razor Tooth Folding Pruning Saw is one that is durable and can serve the purpose of the pruning saw perfectly. The blade is tapered and curved. The teeth are hardened and durable; they do not easily go blunt. The blade has a rubber handle, and this makes it easy to grip and handle.
11. Small Stool
Were you shocked again at this choice? Don’t be. A stool may not be a tool directly for the plants and soil in your garden, but it sure is instrumental for you. It will make your life a lot easier. It will save you aches from your joint.
If you spend lots of time in your garden, there is every tendency that you will be kneeling at some point—and kneeling for a long time. This kneeling can cause you pains and stress on your knees. But if you have a stool, with a soft cushion on it, you can save your knee that stress.
The Abco garden kneeler is an excellent choice for a stool. It is light, sturdy, and even has an extra pouch for putting lightweight tools. The stool is foldable and also has a handle you can hold while standing up.
12. Lawn Mower
The lawnmower isn’t an odd addition. Or is it? If you want your garden to look neat and well-tended, a lawnmower must come around.
There are various types of lawn mowers: electric, gas-powered, or manual. It all depends on your choice and budget. But a bit of advice would be to get a gas-powered lawnmower if you have a large garden.
You can use the electric option if the garden is small and compact. It is not wise to get a manual mower, they are stressful, especially if you need to push the mower up a hill.
The Greenworks Lawnmower is the perfect electric mower for your garden. It has enough power to cut grasses then and adequately discharge the grasses also. It is easy to set up and maneuver. It is also lightweight. It has a padded handle so it can go easy on the gardener.
>>> Read Also: Best Masks For Mowing Grasses
13. Brush Cutter or Weed Trimmer
The weed trimmer is one of the essential garden tools every gardener must-have. It is easier to use the weed trimmer than doing manual weeding.
You can also call the weed trimmer a strimmer. The brush cutter is best when you have a big garden to weed. You can use it to save time. It is bigger and can handle tough weeds.
The only downside to using the brush cutter or weed trimmer is they can’t reach the weeds’ roots. And if you do not uproot a weed, it will only grow back. So, if you want some temporal solution to weeds, the trimmer is your tool.
The Greenworks Amp Corded Trimmer is your best bet when it comes to weed trimming. It has a powerful motor that can handle even the toughest of weeds. The cutting path is 13 inches, and this makes the job faster. It is light in weight, easy to handle, and has strong battery life.
>>> Read Also: Best Hedge Trimmers For Thick Branches
14. Leaf Blower
You can get fallen leaves and other lighter debris out of the way and off your garden using the leaf blower. It is a faster method than using a rake, although people have peculiar choices. The leaf blower sends all those light stuff in one direction. Switch the blower on, and it will do that work for you.
The blower goes from a blower to a vacuum at the press of just a button. After it has sent all the leaves to one corner, it will suck them up in a bag. Then you can dispose off in a compost pile or bin.
The Toro UltraPlus Leaf Blower is a corded electric leaf blower that is ideal for your garden. The engine of the leaf blower is almost noiseless and clears debris efficiently.
The speed of the leaf blower is 250 miles per hour. Do note that the blower is excellent for packing leaves and light debris. Please do not use it to pack twigs or acorns as they will block the leaf blower’s vacuum tube.
15. Knee Pads
Some people may feel that the stool is a piece of work and another inconveniencing load to carry. We present an alternative to you: knee pads.
They are there to protect your kneecaps when you are kneeling and tending to your garden. It would help if you did not get it only after seeing that the pain on your knee has become unbearable.
Get them to prevent the pain in the first place. Attach the knee pads to your knee and work without pressure. The knee pads do not just protect your knee from strain; it will also prevent your knee from cuts from stones on the ground.
The VUINO knee pad is the right choice. It is padded with a soft cushion. You can use them for any work that would require you to kneel. The knee pad has a band that holds it in place and prevents it from sliding down your leg. If you are not satisfied with the product, VUINO will replace it or give you a refund.
16. Soil Knife
A garden knife is an excellent tool for gardening. Not many gardeners have the knife in their toolbox. Soil knife or garden knife has a Japanese origin, and so some people often call it hori-hori. You can use the soil knife to do many things like cutting leaves off a plant, digging small holes for plants.
Some soil knife manufacturers calibrate their knives so the gardener can know the depth he has gone while digging. This calibration is essential, especially for seedlings that need to be at a specific depth for them to germinate, sprout, and grow properly.
The Hori Hori Garden Knife is 7. 25 inches of stainless steel with a wooden handle and inch markers. They are scratch and rust-resistant and razor-sharp. They can cut off plants with ease, so they are useful in weeding too. It is wise if the knife is out of children’s reach due to its sharpness.
17. Gardening Hat
Most gardeners spend an extended amount of time in the garden, working under the sun's direct hit, which can be tiring. Your head bears the brunt of the sun’s impact.
And as such, you must protect your head. And for you to do that, you’d need a gardening hat that has neck protection. It will prevent the sun's rays from hurting you and giving you that sunburn.
The suncube hat is a perfect one for gardening under the sun with neck protection from UV rays of the sun. It fits the head of most people and is lightweight. The hat is water-resistant but comfortable. The fabric the hat is made from is comfortable on the skin.
You can also easily fold the hat and pack it for travel. It does not wear and tear with washing. And it dries quick. There is also a strap that is quite comfy under the chin and holds the hat in place.
18. Garden Scissors
You can add the scissors as one of the essential gardening tools. They are adaptable to many kinds of work. They can stand in for any other tool, say the leaf cutter. You can use them to uproot weeds too. There are right and left-handed scissors depending on your preference.
Riverview Enterprise makes mean pairs of scissors with blades that are stainless steel, sharp and rust-resistant. The Riverview enterprise multipurpose scissors are one of the best ones in the market.
Conclusion | Best Gardening Tools
All these tools listed above are essential gardening tools that you need in your garden. They will help in making your work easier. It is not a must that you will get all of these tools.
You have to take a look and select the ones you feel you need. Many basic gardening tools are multipurpose; you can use them to do more than one thing.
So, check your peculiar situation and know the tools you need, and purchase them. Gardening is easier if you have the right tools. After getting these tools, make sure they are appropriately taken care of so they can last long.
