You need tools to start, grow and maintain any type of garden, from the time you prepare the soil for planting to the time you harvest the crops.
It really doesn’t matter the type of plants you grow or where you grow them.
You can decide to grow them directly in the soil in your backyard, on raised garden beds, inside clay pots on your balcony, or you can even grow them in hydroponic systems. You’d still need some type of tools to plant the crops, maintain them, and harvest them when they’re matured enough.
So, in this article, I’m going to introduce you to some of the most common and most important gardening tools you need to grow and maintain any type of plants in your garden, especially when you’re planting directly on soil.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re an experienced gardener or you’re just starting out. I’m quite certain that if you go through this list, you’ll find one or two new tools you can deploy and use in your own garden.
The way people plant and grow crops keep evolving as time go by, and with it, new gardening tools are being invented to keep up with it. So, go through this list, and find something for your own garden.
Garden knife
I listed the garden knife first because, even though is small, it’s arguably one of the most important tools you need to start and take care of any type of garden.
You need it to dig small holes for planting seeds and seedlings, removing weeds that are very close to your precious plants, cutting open manure and compost bags, grafting plants. The list just goes on.
Most garden knives even have scale markings on them to measure accurate depth for planting seeds or seedlings.
So, if you want to start a garden, you should consider getting a very good garden knife.
Soil pH Meter
A soil pH meter is very important because it helps you determine the acidity or alkalinity of the soil where you want to plant your crops. Soil pH ranges from 0 – 14. pH below 7 is acidic, 7 is neutral, and above 7 is alkaline or basic.
It’s very important to test the pH of your soil because different types of plants have different pH preferences. Some plants do well in slightly acidic soils, while others do well in neutral or slightly alkaline soils.
With this knowledge, you can find out the type pH preferences of the plants you want to grow, and then adjust your soil pH to suit them by the type of fertilizers you use on it. Some fertilizers are acidic, while others are alkaline.
Use the pH meter to test your soil, and know what the pH is, and then amend it to suit the type of plants you want to grow on it.
Spade and Shovel
It’s very important to have at least a spade or a shovel in your tool arsenal if you want to start a garden.
Spades are typically designed for digging and moving hard compacted soil. You can use a spade to till soil if you want.
Shovels on the other hand are for moving large amounts of loose soil or fertilizer. You can use a shovel to load manure or fertilizer onto a wheel barrow. But it’s not really designed for digging into hard compacted soil. That’s where you need a spade.
So, if you want to dig a trench around garden beds or edge your lawn, get a spade. If you want to load or move manure, fertilizer or loose soil matter, get a shovel.
Pruning Shears
Pruning shears have so many uses in the garden. They’re like heavy-duty scissors, designed for cutting and shaping unwanted plant stems and branches that are about 3/4 inch thick or less.
You basically use them to shape small trees. Remove unwanted branches, trim off spent flowers, and so on.
And when the time comes for harvesting, you can use them for that too. To harvest fruits, vegetables and herbs from your garden. They come in different styles and sizes for different types of pruning applications.
Related: 4 Differences Between Straight Blade vs Curved Blade Pruning Shears
Pruning Saw
Pruning saws are small hand saws designed for pruning large or thicker branches that are at least 2.5 cm thick.
They have curved or straight blades with aggressive teeth. Most of them are foldable, so that you can store them easily without the blade hooking on or damaging something when not in use.
They’re generally ideal if you have wood plants or small trees in your garden that you need to take care of. Even if you don’t have any of those, pruning saws are very good camping and hunting tools. You can use them to cut branches or even thicker stems for firewood when you go out there in the wild.
Related: 7 Best Robotic Lawn Mowers To Cut And Maintain Your Lawn
Loppers
Loppers are just like garden shears for pruning tree branches. But they’re a lot larger, with too long handles, meant to be held with your two hands.
They’re designed for cutting larger tree branches up to 2+ inches in diameter. Due to their long handles, you can also use them to reach into dense foliage or higher up a tree without climbing a ladder.
Some loppers even have telescoping handles to help you prune branches that are even higher up a tree, right from the ground.
Garden Scissors
Garden scissors are more like pruning shears, but they’re designed for more delicate pruning tasks, like trimming green branches and flowers.
You can also use them to do any other thing you can do with a regular scissors, like cutting ropes, paper, and opening boxes and packages.
Weed Pullers
Weed pullers are used to do exactly what their name implies. They’re used for pulling out weeds growing among your plants, especially when they’re growing around densely populated plant stems and roots.
Cultivators / Tillers
Cultivators are also known as tillers. They’re designed for breaking up and loosening up the soil so it’s easier to plant in it, and so the roots of seedlings can spread and grow better.
There are different types of cultivators you can choose from, depending on the size or nature of the soil of the soil you’re working on. There are power cultivators, powered by gas engines or electric motors, and there are manual hand operated cultivators or tillers.
If you’re just growing a very small garden in your backyard, you can use a small electric tiller or you can simply get a hand tiller.
On the other hand, if you’re growing a large garden, then it makes more sense if you get a power tiller with an engine to help you loosen up the soil and cover ground faster.
Garden Trowel
A garden trowel is one of the most important gardening tools you’d likely use daily if you manage a small backyard garden or raised beds.
It’s more like a mini shovel for digging, weeding, transplanting seedlings and even breaking up or tilling soil on a small scale.
It has a small handle, and a pointy curved blade designed for digging into the soil. So, you can use it to dig up and transplant seedlings, till up small areas of soil to prepare them for planting, and so on. It’s a very versatile tool every gardener needs.
Potting Scoop
A potting scoop looks a bit like a garden trowel, but it’s designed to do something entirely different. It’s not for digging, but for scooping materials like loose soil, manure, compost and fertilizers.
You can use a potting scoop to move loose soil and fertilizer into containers or pots for planting purposes.
Mini Chainsaw
Unlike a regular chainsaw that is large and needs a lot of experience to handle safely, mini chainsaws are easier to handle, and are built for small yard projects.
You can use them to prune larger tree branches that are too big or too difficult to cut with a regular pruning saw. You can also use them to cut firewood or rough-cutting any type of wood you need to manage your garden.
Garden Hoe
Garden hoes are manual hand tools with long handles with an attached perpendicular blade designed for digging, tilling and weeding tasks. There are different types of hoes. Some are for tilling while others are for weeding.
Wheelbarrow
Every gardener needs a wheelbarrow to move material and tools around. If you want to move bags of fertilizer or manure from your truck into the garden, a good wheelbarrow will make things easier.
When you’re done working for the day in the garden, you can use the wheelbarrow to move your tools from the garden into the shed.
When it’s time for harvesting, you can also use the wheelbarrow to move your harvest into your store house. There are just so many uses for it.
Pitchfork
A pitchfork is used generally for moving loose material around. You can use it to move, mix and aerate compost piles to speed up decomposition.
You can use it to use it to mix lose soil with fertilizer to prepare the soil for planting, and you can also use it to move piles of leaves and plant trimmings off the surface of the soil.
Gloves
Since you’re working with soil, it’s very important that you wear gloves to protect your hands and nails.
Some garden gloves like the one shown above even have claws incorporated to help you dig into and move soil better.
Watering Hose
If you’re going to start a garden then you need a watering hose to help supply water to the plants you have in the garden, especially in the dry summer months.
Just get a long enough hose with a good nozzle to help you sprinkle the water appropriately around the plants.
Rake
Having a rake is essential when you’re preparing the ground for planting, especially if it’s a small garden.
You need a rake to gather leaves, grass clippings, debris and foreign materials like gravel that are mixed up in the soil you want to plant, so you can easily remove them.
You can also use it to lightly spread fertilizer, compost or manure along the surface of the soil you want to plant.
Leaf Blower
If there are dry unwanted leaves on the soil around your garden, a leave blower can come in very useful.
You can use it to blow off or even gather dry leaves and grass clippings together, for easy removal. They come in different types and sizes, and you get get one depending on the size of your yard and what you’re trying to clean up with it.
For small gardening projects, a small handheld leaf blower should be adequate for it.
