Gardening equipment you shouldn’t be without: If you’re new to gardening, this handy list of essential tools for the home gardener will help you be prepared.
By Selena Richard
If, in addition to enjoying the beauty of the garden, you are one of those who like to stain your hands with the earth to care for and maintain it, you will know how important it is to have the right tools. After many years working with them, experience has shown me that buying quality tools is an investment . Obviously they cost a bit more, but the materials with which they are made make them incomparable, and that in the long run has two repercussions: the work is done better and your body suffers less from the effort.
The tools a gardener needs depend on the type of garden he grows — especially on its size and the elements it contains. Lawn, hedges, trees and large shrubs need very specific tools, but today we don’t want to talk about the details, but rather focus on basic tools that are necessary in any type of garden.
Most Essential Pieces of Gardening Equipment
Hand tools that will facilitate your work in the garden
Hand tools are the ones we use most frequently and are essential tools in any type of garden. They are used to carry out the most frequent maintenance work, and in spring or summer they are used practically daily, so we will always have them at hand. Also. don’t miss to buy gardening equipment with amazon coupon code for best prices. For me the essentials are:
Hand shovel
The hand shovel is mainly used when preparing a planting hole, to dig and fill with substrate, or to fill pots with soil–in general, whenever you have to move earthy material . It is one of the most basic and widely used manual tools, there are wider and narrower ones depending on the purpose, but I find the wide one enough, with enough capacity.
Small hoe
The hoe is used in all those jobs in which it is necessary to dig, de-compact or move the earth and this is done very often . I use it, for example, to prepare planting holes, add amendments to the soil or eliminate deep-rooted weeds.
Pruning shears
Pruning shears are essential to have a beautiful garden , and are used both to prune the branches of bushes and to eliminate the withered flowers of rose bushes and other ornamental plants. Ideally, they should be light and easy to handle. You should always keep them clean and sharpen them when necessary. Also, you can keep them safe in polytunnels.
Hose
Although all the hoses look the same, there are big differences between them that go beyond color and format. Classic, extensible or spiral, the important thing is that they are made with a resistant, flexible material that supports torsions, withstands water pressure and with good fitting connectors .
Of the different types that exist on the market, the classic ones are usually the most durable, although under certain conditions it may be useful to collect them and take up little space . I have a classic hose, the kind that has been wound on the support for many years, and by many I mean more than 25.
In another corner of the garden I have an extensible one, the kind that wrinkles when I turn off the tap and takes up a lot less space. This one is much more fragile; in fact, I need to replace one that only lasted two seasons. But the comfort is infinite: it weighs nothing and it suits me perfectly for days when I get tired and have to water.
Watering can
The watering can is very useful to apply treatments and soluble fertilizers . It comes in various materials, sizes and shapes. Like the hose, a gazillion years ago I bought a galvanized one that remains in perfect condition and looks great decorating any corner. I also have another one made of plastic, lighter and more comfortable to use.
Sprayer
Sprayers are necessary tools in gardening to apply products on leaves or, simply, moisten the plants . There are small, large and huge ones 🙂 The small ones, with a capacity of up to one liter, are used very often. I usually have it prepared with a potash soap mixture and, as soon as I see an unwanted insect, I apply it. The huge ones are, for me, the backpack ones, and they are very useful when you have to apply a treatment throughout the garden. Between the small ones and the backpack ones there are intermediate sizes.
Gouge or knife
Since I started gardening, I have learned that the best way to eliminate weeds is to uproot them with the help of a knife . For a long time I used a simple kitchen knife, as a razor, which was always in my tool bag. Later I discovered the gouge, an elongated tool specifically for extracting weeds and that makes work much easier.
Gloves
Gloves are necessary; at first they may not seem comfortable, but to prevent accidents and take care of your hands it is convenient to use them . With practice you learn to handle them well and they end up being essential. How many punctures, cuts, infections and nasty accidents they help avoid!
There are many models of gloves, of different materials and lengths, and after trying several of them I prefer those made of resistant fabric, covered with rubber in the palms of the hand . I find them the strongest for tough jobs, although I use full rubber gloves for handling soil and fertilizers. The leather ones are the most pleasant for cleaning tasks, especially in winter.
Gardener bag
As I mentioned, it is convenient to have this equipment always at hand, I find it very practical to keep them in a gardening bag that allows you to transport them easily to the place where you have to work. As a complement, a smaller bag is very comfortable, the kind that are fastened with a belt , where I always carry what is most used, which for me are scissors and ropes.
Of course, in addition to these hand tools, there are a number of other power tools that make the heaviest tasks like pruning hedges or mowing the lawn much easier . But we will dedicate another post to them in the future.
And if you miss one on my list that you usually use often, feel free to tell us and maybe we will include it too.
Author
Selena is a blogger and a guest contributor for a well-known brand that includes MESHEBLE & The Ordinary. In her leisure time, she plays tennis.