Totorus

Photo credit by madlyinlovewithlife

There’s nothing better than looking out at your beautiful bed of flowers or picking ripe juicy tomatoes from your own home garden. But if you don’t have the right tools, then there’s little hope that you’ll get the desired result. To make sure that all your hard work isn’t for naught, first make sure that you have these basic items on-hand so you can tackle any gardening chore, big or small!

• A tiller. This can help break new ground for a garden site, dig holes for trees and shrubs, and turn your compost pile.


• A spade or shovel. Many use these two terms interchangeably but truthfully there is a small difference. Shovels have a rounder blade and are most useful for moving dirt from one place to another. Spades are much sharper and have a flatter blade. They are particularly useful if there are a lot of weeds or gravel that you’ll need to work through in your garden bed.


• Forks. Forks can be long-handled or short-handled and which type you decide on really depends on how close to the soil you’ll need to be, what you’ll be using the fork for, and your own personal choice. Forks can be used to transfer leaves and debris into a wheelbarrow, turning and breaking up soil, and digging out root vegetables, such as potatoes. As you become a more serious gardener, you’ll probably find that you’ll want a few different forks for different jobs.


• Chipping hoe. These can come in handy when there are stubborn weeds buried under rocks or when there are a lot of weeds that need to be removed. Many people find chipping hoes preferable to traditional hoes because they don’t require as much movement and they eliminate a lot of the strain from the back and shoulders.


• Rakes. Just like forks, you will probably want to have a few rakes on-hand and use them for different purposes. A small three-pronged metal rake can be good for removing a lot of weeds in a small area of the garden at one time. They can also dig up deep-rooted weeds and break up rocks or soil. A plastic, wooden, or metal long-handles rake should only be used for removing very light things such as leaves. These rakes are not strong enough to handle tough garden jobs.


• Wheelbarrow. Wheelbarrows are good for those who have a large garden or need to be transferring things back and forth from a garden shed or a compost pile. These can save countless trips and can leave you a bit cleaner too!


• Pruning shears. These scissor-like hand tools have a very long, narrow, and curved blade so that they can fit easily in between stems and branches. This makes it much easier for you when you’re removing dead heads from the flowers or shrubs, or pinching back leaves.


• A compost bin. Not only do compost bins go hand in hand with today’s environmentally-friendliness, but they’re also a very easy way to dispose of things from your home and garden. With a compost bin, you are not only helping the environment but you also will no longer need to hang onto bags of lawn trash until garbage day because it can all be used in the compost bin.