Tuesday 23 March 2010

Gardening Basics: Garden Tools

The first thing we will consider in the "Gardening Basics" series is Garden Tools. The basic garden tools you will want are as follows:

Spade and Fork

Hoe

Rake

Trowel

Hand fork

Wheel barrow

Watering Can

Secateurs

Spade and Fork

You will need a spade and fork for moving soil, turning over a vegetable patch before planting, digging holes or trenches and digging up plants. A fork can also be useful for breaking up soil and rough raking. If you are tall, look for ones with longer handles.

Hoe

A hoe is needed mainly for removing annual weeds from around plants. You can choose between a draw hoe and a push hoe - this is just a matter of preference.

Rake

A rake is used to level soil (such as on a vegetable patch or preparing to lay turf) and can also be used to break up soil.

Trowel

A trowel is used for digging holes for small plants, for potting up plants and other small jobs where a spade would be too big. With both the trowel and hand fork, it is worth spending the money on stainless steel ones as cheaper versions tend to bend easily.

Hand fork

A hand fork performs a similar function to a trowel but can also be used for detailed weeding in flower beds and tubs/planters.

Wheel barrow

A wheelbarrow is useful for moving heavy loads from one place to another - usually soil, compost and other growing media. Although metal ones are stronger, they are heavier and you can find sturdy plastic ones on the market - avoid ones which seem flimsy.

Watering Can

The watering can is mainly for watering individual plants, tubs and planters. Also used for liquid plant food. If liquid weed killer is used, you need a separate watering can dedicated to weed killer to avoid damage to plants caused by contaminations of the watering can. If you find you need to water larger areas, a hose and even a sprinkler may be useful.

Secateurs

Secateurs are used for pruning everything from fruit trees to roses to bushes and shrubs. They can be used for anything up to 1-2cm thickness depending on the quality of the secateurs. They are also useful for cutting back perennials and dead vegetation and for reducing the size of prunings prior to disposal. Secateurs are a garden tool which will be well used, if you find a brand/design which is efficient and durable stick with it.

As you get into gardening, you will probably want to buy additional more specialised garden tools but these are the basic garden tools needed.

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