There are many useful gardening tools out there, all at different price points. When purchasing your garden tools, think about versatility. How many different ways can you use a particular tool? Most-used garden tools are simple in form, budget-friendly, and can be used for at least three or four different tasks.
It’s tempting to roam the aisles of a big box home and garden store and scoop up everything you could possibly need to build a garden tool kit. The smell of fertilizer and peat moss wafting in the air. The polished concrete floors, helping your shopping cart glide like butter to the checkout.
Our advice when building a garden tool kit? Keep it simple! Seasoned gardeners don’t use all those doodads and gadgets you can find lining the gardening aisles.
As for weeding? To rake or to spray, that is the question! Like many garden tools, you can go all out and spend hundreds of dollars on a Lithium-ion, cordless weed killer sprayer. But weed killers can be pretty icky, especially when going near vegetables. As for weeding tools, there’s really no shortage to choose from. Generally speaking, there are two types of weeding tools: short-handled and long-handled. Short-handled tools can let you be a little more precise and you only need one hand to use most of them. The downside is that you have to sit or bend over to use them. Long-handled tools are nice because you can stand and they also give you more leverage. However, these usually require two hands and it’s not unheard of to damage one of your vegetables if your aim is a little off. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite weeding tools.
In the articles below, we dive into everything you need to know about garden tools, and you can learn more about them in our How to Grow a Vegetable Garden: 10 Things Every Gardener Needs to Know Before Starting a Food Garden freebie. Enjoy!
Okay, I know there’s something super attractive about all those lovely new gardening tools on display at your local gardening shop. That hand-forged garden fork is stunning, and the gleaming wooden handle on the weed rake is calling out to you. I know this because it happens to me, too. But! Keep walking. Spend some […]
Alright, maybe calling a collection of tools a work of art is a stretch. Or perhaps it isn’t? Handmade tools can be gorgeous, with hammered metal blades and turned wood handles. But look at me – I’m already off-topic. We’re here to talk about how to organize garden tools and supplies when you aren’t using […]
Gardening is a very hands-on activity. Even with things like automated watering systems and motion-activated pest deterrents, we still get our hands into the soil. For many gardeners, that’s one of the joys of gardening. So a garden weeding robot? Before we go much further, I need to qualify this. First, there are indeed garden […]
Before you judge my opening comment on vegetable garden layout tools, I should clarify that I’m not opposed to technology. I only call those tools “newfangled things” in jest, and I have yet to yell at any kids to get off my lawn. In fact, some garden planning apps are pretty darn fantastic, in particular, […]
It’s tempting to roam the aisles of a big box home and garden store and scoop up everything you could possibly need to build a garden tool kit. The smell of fertilizer and peat moss wafting in the air. The polished concrete floors, helping your shopping cart glide like butter to the checkout. It’s only when you pull out your credit card to pay that you realize you’ve just spent a mortgage payment outfitting your tool shed.
Gardening equipment is a blessing and a curse. It’s possible I spend way too much time drooling over the array of tools at my favorite garden shop. In my defense, this counts as “market research.” Right? How else would I possibly know about the weeding robot? It’s like a Roomba, only instead of vacuuming your living room, it roams your garden, pulling up weeds.
Safety first! The best offense is a good defense, especially when it comes to gardening safety. Whether you’re a solo gardener, or the whole family gets in on the home-grown action, it’s important to take proper safety measures in order to fully enjoy the garden life. Protect yourself and your loved ones from garden pests, […]
Of all the garden tools I’ve acquired over the years (and there are quite a few), I tend to use the same four or five tools over and over again. At the top of this list? My garden shears. But it’s good to remember that the best garden shears for one gardener may differ from another. It all comes down to what you need them for and what fits comfortably in your hand. And money. Money is a factor, too!
When I started my very first vegetable garden, I must have lingered in my garden center’s aisles for over an hour trying to figure out what were the tools needed to start a garden. I was overcome with analysis paralysis – that thing that happens when there are too many options (usually in flashy colors) and in this case with some kind of lite rock music playing in the background. I ended up buying more than I needed and years later I have unopened tools still collecting dust in my garage.
When I started my first vegetable garden I went a little tool-crazy. I bought every type of shovel, shear, and weeding gadget marketed to me at big box home and garden stores. If it had a catchy logo and was highlighted on an end cap aisle, there’s a good chance I bought it. At the end of that first year, I took stock of my shed and noticed that many of the tools I had bought were only used once.
