Whether you’re new to gardening or sliding into a gradual soil addiction, having the right tools is a must for this pastime.
Some tools can do double-duty to save costs. And all of the basic tools are people-powered, not costlier plug-in or pull-cord gadgets that can come along later with age and sore backs.
You don’t need all 10 of the following, but the full set below will let you tackle most any yard job.
1.) Trowel. Think of this as a little hand-held shovel. It’s the go-to tool for planting vegetables, small potted flowers and bulbs, and the first tool a newbie gardener ought to acquire.
You can get cheapie ones for a few dollars, but they’ll usually bend and/or come apart at the welded handle within a few years (or less).
For better/longer performance, spend a few bucks more to get a sturdy, one-piece trowel with a soft or ergonomic handle.
2.) Shovel. You’ll encounter a surprising number of variations for something this basic, which is a sharp-edged, foot-powered blade for cutting into and moving dirt.
First, get one that suits your height to make digging as easy as possible on the back. Also compare weights. Some are much lighter than others.
Second, get a shovel with a blade that comes to a point. Those penetrate compacted soil better than a long-handled spade, which has a straight edge. (Those are better for cutting edges around garden beds.)
Third, look for one that has a wide platform where you place your digging foot. A narrow top of the blade hurts your foot more after even just a few minutes of digging than a wider lip.
And fourth, decide whether you like a D-shaped handle top or just a long, straight handle.
3.) Bypass pruners. These are scissor-like tools intended for cutting small branches.
Bypass types have blades that slide by one another as opposed to anvil types, which have one wider, flatter side and one curved, sharp blade.
Bypass pruners make cleaner cuts. Anvil pruners have more of a crushing action.
Again, you can get cheap ones for under $10 that are often plastic-handled and go dull fast, or you can spring for $50 and up on ergonomic, re-sharpenable, last-a-lifetime versions, such as the Felco brand that so many pros swear by.
Corona makes a fairly decent low-cost line of bypass pruners that I like. I’m also happy with my Bahco-brand pruners that cost about 25 percent less than Felcos.
4.) Loppers. Hand-held pruners are good for branches up to about one-quarter of an inch, but for bigger tree and shrub branches, you’ll need loppers (or if you prefer, a tree saw).
Loppers are overgrown pruners with long handles for extra leverage. As with pruners, opt for bypass-type blades instead of anvil types.
Keep them sharp for easy cutting, but don’t overdo the branch size or you’ll bend the handles (or strain your arm). For branches bigger than the lopper’s mouth, you’ll need a saw – or better yet, a new game plan of pruning misguided branches before they get that big.
Ratchet mechanisms are built into some loppers to make cutting even easier. They work reasonably well.
5.) Shears. This is your third cutting tool – very large scissors that you operate with two hands to cut lots of small branches in a single swipe (think hedges or similar sculpted plants).
Shears are also useful for cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses at season’s end and for deadheading masses of spent flowers in a garden bed.
I haven’t noticed much quality differentiation here, so I’ve leaned to low-cost here. Keeping whatever you buy sharp is more important.
If you have lots of hedges or a big yard, consider power shears. These come in gas-powered, electric, and rechargeable-battery types.
6.) Japanese Hori-Hori garden knife. If you’re going to try to garden with just one tool, this stout, serrated knife is the one.
It’s strong and pointed for both weed-digging and for loosening the soil to plant small plants or bulbs.
The serrated edges let you cut plant stems, small branches, and twine, or rough up the soil surface like a mini-hoe.
And the blade has a depth gauge to help you determine bulb depth. You’ll probably think of other uses, too. It’s very handy.
7.) Garden fork. This is a long-handled tool with four sturdy tines at the business end. It’s mainly intended for digging and loosening soil.
The advantage it has over a shovel is that it does a better job of breaking apart soil clods. Shovel-dug clay soil comes up in shovel-sized pieces, then you have to slice and beat it into something resembling plantable soil.
Garden forks also can be used for turning compost, saving you the expense of a separate pitchfork.
8.) Leaf rake. Also a long-handled tool, this rake has multiple “springy” tines that make it ideal for raking leaves and other debris off the lawn.
It’s also the best tool for cleaning spent plants and debris out of the landscape beds, especially at winter’s end.
Metal and plastic tines last longer than bamboo ones.
9.) Garden rake. Garden rakes differ from leaf rakes in that they have fewer, shorter and stiffer metal tines as well as a flat back side.
Rather than lawn and garden cleanup, these are intended to smooth the soil after digging, tilling and/or loosening a bed.
Garden rakes are also useful in roughing up the soil in thin lawn patches in preparation of planting new grass seed.
And they’re great for smoothing mulch after dumping piles of it over the beds.
10.) Garden scissors. These are stronger, heavier scissors than paper-cutting ones, which makes them useful for snipping plant stems as well as cutting miscellaneous other items that a garden entails (twine, seed packets, sheets of plastic mulch, floating row covers, recycled plastic being turned into plant labels, etc. etc.)
Get ones with bright-colored handles so you’re less likely to lose them or let them sit outside and rust.
- For 240 pages of when-to-do-what tips: George’s “Pennsylvania Month-by-Month Gardening” book
