There are a zillion garden tools. Which do you really need? Here are the basics. But first, two tool truths.
Since good tools cost more than bad tools, many of us ignore this simple truism—and pay the, uh, price. Repeatedly. Me, I used to buy a new cheap hose every year. It leaked, and I cursed. Finally, I bought the most expensive hose I could. Been using it ever since.
Hand tools work at your pace. Power tools make you work at theirs. Hand tools connect you to your garden. Power tools, and their noise, separate you from it.
Yes, hand tools are slower—but part of what gardening’s about is slowing down and connecting to the earth. Corollary: When you really need a power tool, rent it, don’t buy it.
Not a thin-tined, hay-tossing pitch fork, but a stout-pronged garden fork for loosening soil, turning compost, dividing perennials, breaking clods, digging potatoes, and more.
2 The former has a curved blade and tip, the latter flat. Either works. but if you’re buying, go for the spade.
3 Not the lightweight, fan-shaped leaf rake, no. The short-toothed, flat headed, sturdy steel rake. Good for many uses.
4 Ever handy for weeding and digging and planting and . . .
5 Snip! Deadheaded. Snip! Harvested. Snip! Cut for the vase.
6 For vegetables, the stirrup (or scuffle) hoe works great on small weeds and the regular classic hoe on big. For tight spaces in flowerbeds, the Cobrahead and Circlehoe are swell.
For hauling things. Gotta have it.
For watering.
Pat Stone is the Editor of GreenPrints, The Weeder’s Digest, the prize-winning magazine that shares the personal side of gardening.
