Your useful garden tools

14 years ago

Beyond the usual pruners and clippers, I've found a few things that have made my gardening much easier. What tools or clever gadgets have you found useful? I thought an exchange of ideas might be helpful for all of us.

This first one is an O-Cedar outdoor broom I found at OSH. I have a rough-surfaced patio that gets a ton of leaves dumped on it every fall from a trash silver maple. This is the only broom I've discovered that does the clean-up without a lot of effort. The bristles are a stiff plastic, thicker than normal bristles, and the handle is very comfortable.

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The next is an inexpensive pair of "garden claws". I don't like those noisy blowers, and I found these for under $10. They scoop up dead leaves easily, and are lightweight enough that they're easy to work with.

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I have trouble finding shoes to fit, but finally found these 'muck shoes' at a discount website. They're men's shoes actually, but I have wide feet and the extra-small fits me perfectly. They're comfortable and very non-slip, which is critical for clumsy people like me!

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I have one of these and it's been misplaced. I know it's around somewhere, so I need to hunt around for it. It is more bowl-shaped than a regular trowel, and has a serrated, pointed edge (not sharp enough to be a real danger) that helps dig through our heavy clay soil. It doesn't take the place of a regular trowel, but I find it particularly useful in weeding my crowded garden beds.

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Comments (6)

natal
14 years ago
Have to get one of those Soil Scoops! How cool! I've worn away about 1/2" on my favorite trowel. I use it for everything.
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
14 years ago
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Heres my helper! His name is diesel, he loves to dig and trample plants, chase bugs and eat worms. If he wasnt so cute hes be the worst helper ever! Lol

I also need the soil scoop. I like my plastic tub from gardeners. com , i use it to weed .
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Great topic! 1. I too am a lover of all things TUBTRUG. I even went to the trouble to buy only one of each color, so that way when I tell DH that I need the PURPLE one, he can't get confused...I love that they come in different sizes, and they have them at our farm supply store locally, so no shipping! www.tubtrug.com 2. Dibble, Dibble, Dibble! I got one just a month ago from the Amana Colonies locally here in Iowa. It was pricey at 10.00, or so I thought. I have already used it enough for it to pay for itself. I will be using it quite a bit as soon as spring finally arives, it makes a hole perfectly sized for plants in a 4- or 6-pack. 3. My Big Yellow Garden Wagon. This was a (very early - like august) Christmas present from DH. The sides all fold down, it has a tray to hold my tools in it, and a removable liner. Add in the pneumatic wheels, and pulling HEAVY loads is very easy. --this isnÂt where he got it from, but it has the best picture www.parissupply.com/catalog/3599202_thumb.jpg 4. Garden Kneepads, they allow me to move around the garden quickly, and go from one task to another without having to lift and move one of the kneeling pads. They are by Fiskars and they attach by Velcro so they fit over my bulky cold-weather clothes, and my slightly-less-bulky warm weather legs. www.letmeoutdoors.com/metal/ps/94186974tb.jpg 5. Coated Gloves, you know the kind with the rubbery coating just on the palm and fingers? We have what I like to call Brick-Ready Clay here, so it is almost always wet, some of it stains the hands (I had a 2 yellowish fingers for a week or so last summer), and it likes to rip of fingernails without asking first. I think I have 6 or 8 pairs, and now they make them ultra thin too, so I can do some of the delicate work without crushing the little guys that I am plantingÂ 6. Small feed scoop. No, seriously! Remember the clay? I have to add amendments to almost everything, and the feed scoop gets just the right amount in one or two scoops. 7. Last but by no means leastÂ Power-Pivot Pruners by Fiskars. They are set up with the hinge at the back, and a pivot at the front, so that you are using the strongest part of your hand when you squeeze them. Ah heck, just look at the picture in this article. They work great, I did all my spring pruning, and had very little hand fatigue afterwardsÂ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080313/LIVING03/914932787/1029/LIVING04
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Fawnridge wrote, "One other critical tool(?) for the garden - hoses. Man, you can't have enough hose bibs. I now have 4 around the perimeter of the house and I'm still missing one for the entire northeast side of the garden. Every bib has a 50' hose with shutoff valve and heavy brass nozzle. Fawnridge, tell me more! I have been batting around the idea of adding more hose bibs. I've even bookmarked a few how-to sites, but haven't delved into the project. Are you plumbing them yourself with PVC? Did you use a 4x4 post in the ground or attach to the house? Please give details and a picture or two, if you can. I would be most appreciative. Here are some of my bookmarks. (To easily open a link, quickly click three times, right-click, and select Open Link in New Tab): http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23030205-Adding-a-hose-bib http://www.phoenixpermaculture.org/forum/topics/id-like-to-add-a-hose-bibb-or http://70.85.43.66/showthread.php?t=171924 http://www.pro-handyman.com/home-repair-articles/adding-a-hose-spigot/ http://www.ehow.com/how_5836579_connect-garden-hose-water-line.html http://www.terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?2388-support-for-hose-bib http://www.terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?25699-Adding-a-hose-bib-to-main-irrigation-line Carol
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The tool I seem to be picking up the most this year is my trowel. I bought a new trowel two years ago at Lowes. Oh my, I love it! I bought two of them. They are stainless steel and have a comfortable grip. I used to go through trowels pretty quick, they would all rust when I would forget to put it away, but this stainless steel looks as good as when I bought it and I leave it out in all the weather every day. Kitchen shears...I have taken to putting them in my back pocket..probably not a good idea. [g] I use them for deadheading and they work better than other scissors I have tried and are sturdy. They did a great job on cutting back grasses in the spring. We bought an edger last year, again at Sears, that is one of those half circles. We had a lot of beds that needed edging and it made quick work of it with little effort. Another favorite I wouldn't be without are the quick connect hose attachments. I wonder what we all did before those came on the market. I couldn't leave out our two wheeler. We used that a LOT this year. Usually it gets used to move pots into place, unload materials from the van, but this year we were also constructing a patio etc in the yard and edging a border with heavy rocks, and it probably got used every day we were in the garden for months. Hoses, nozzles and reels seem to be my annoyance as they are every year. I have had a hose from Sears for many years. I bet it's going on 10 years. It has never given me any trouble with leaking or splitting or kinking. It may be a rubber hose? I have two complaints with it though. One is that it is black and if I pull it along and it rubs against my pots, the black will come off on them. So I have placed a lot of hose guides to avoid doing that, but I still have to be very conscious of it. Second it seems very heavy to me when I am pulling it..lol. I suppose they all are. I would replace it if there was something better. I would love a nozzle that would stay on and not have to be held open. Patty, I don't have an Ocean State Job Lots near me, you don't happen to know the brand name of the one you bought do you? I am very interested in the reels that use water pressure to roll up the hose. Terry, and Triciae did you buy them locally at a big Box Store or did you find it in a garden tool catalog? We seem to be leaving our hose out a lot. We have a hand crank reel, but just not using it.
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aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
14 years ago
Too cute, can I borrow Diesel next spring to dig holes for me, tell him I'll pay him in doggie treats :o).

Annette
stage_rat
14 years ago
I don't like leafblowers either! I mow up most of my leaves, but I rake some too. I have a couple of lids to 5-gallon buckets, so I use those as my big leaf-grabber scoops.

Another non-tool tool: I finally got an old mailbox set up in the veggie patch, and that's been great for holding supplies that I would have to run into the house to get; twine/t-shirt strips for tying up veggies, plant tags, pencils, sharpie, scissors, medicine bottles to hold seeds, extra gloves. It helps me get things done when I first notice the need, because the supplies are right there and I don't put off the task until the next time I go to the house (and then forget to get the supplies)

When I'm making a new bed, I shovel up the sod and dirt and wait a few days for the roots to weaken, the soil to dry some, and hopefully for the worms to leave. The soil clinging to the roots is the best soil in the yard, (what's under it is almost pure sand) so I have to get it off. What works best is a hand tool that has 3 blunt tines on one side, and a triangular shape on the other. I sit on the ground (better for your back) and bash at the dirt side of each chunk, usually with the fork side. The dirt comes off pretty easily. I couldn't find a photo showing just this tool, but if you follow the link and look in the upper right of the photo, that's my tool.

I find that if I can't be organized, I can at least have so many trowels I'm bound to find one soon! It doesn't have to be a nice one, it just has to be there! I grab them at garage sales or on sale in stores, so I can find one in any likely spot--where I was working last in the front, where I was working last in the back, ditto for the veggie patch, where I keep my extra soil, and where the trowel is actually supposed to live!

Here is a link that might be useful: tool
susie_gardener_2007
14 years ago
One of my best tools is an old red wagon I bought at an estate sale. It's so much easier to haul rocks or tree limbs or whatever, from one side of the yard to the other pulling this wagon than pushing the wheelbarrow.

I need some of those muck shoes. We've had so much rain I don't think the yard will ever dry out and we're expecting more rain.

Susie
kathi_mdgd
14 years ago
My favorite tool is the Hula Ho,no more having to bend this OLD body to weed the gardens,and also my Ames scoot along garden cart.I can sit on it and roll around the gardens.

For shoes i wear crocs,with socks,can't stand to feel dirt in my shoes on bare feet.
Kathi

Your useful garden tools

Comments (6)

natal

Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca

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aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada

stage_rat

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kathi_mdgd

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