Essential Tools for Your Garden

So you've decided to plant a garden. Before you go running to the nursery and start buying up plants, you first need to make sure that you have the necessary tools. You need not have a complete gardening arsenal to start your garden, but there are a few basic tools that every gardener should have. Garden tools can be broken down into four main categories: digging, weeding, raking and pruning.

Digging Tools
Digging tools include items such as trowels, spades, shovels and spading forks.

A trowel is used for planting, transplanting and dividing small plants. Trowels usually have a short handle and come in regular and narrow sizes. Some trowels will even have inches marked along the blade to help gauge how deep to plant your plants. A trowel is a must have item for gardeners.

A spade is a lot like a shovel. A spade has straight sides and a rectangular shaped head with a sharp, flat edge. A spade is used when you need sharp, clean cuts. It is ideal for lifting sod, edging beds or working in closely planted areas. A spade is more versatile than a shovel and should be the item bought if you cannot afford to buy both.

A shovel is used for digging and lifting jobs. Shovels come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most useful of these for gardening is probably a long handled, round-point shovel.

A spading fork is indispensable in gardening. A spading fork has a short handle and four flat tines. It is useful for turning over already loosened soil and also for breaking up heavy soil when preparing to plant.

Weeding Tools
Weeding is a necessary part of gardening. Fortunately, there are a few tools to help make the job easier.

A hoe is one of the oldest and most effective tools made for the garden. It is definitely another of those must have tools for a gardener. A hoe will scrape out weed seedlings and hack out shallow rooted weedy plants.

A hand fork has a short handle with three or four curved tines. A hand fork is a necessity for any garden. It can be used to eliminate weeds. It can also be used to pull rocks, leaves and other debris away from your plants.

An asparagus weeder is handy for getting rid of weeds from the root. An asparagus weeder has a long shaft with a V-shaped notched blade at the bottom. This blade is inserted below the root levered down to help pop out the weed.

A garden claw has sharp tines set in a circular pattern. You insert the claw part into the soil around the weeds and twist the handle. This loosens the soil and allows you to pull the weed free. A garden claw can also be useful for hand-tilling your soil.

Raking Tools
There are two kinds of rakes that you can choose from. A bow rake (hard rake) or a lawn rake (soft rake). If you can only afford to buy one of these rakes, the lawn rake is the best way to go.

A bow rake is a one-pieced steel, metal-toothed rake. It is useful for smoothing soil and spreading fertilizer or compost. You should never use a bow rake to rake your lawn because it can tear your grass.

A lawn rake is a fan or broom shaped rake. These can be made with metal, plastic or bamboo tines. A lawn rake is useful for so many jobs including collecting leaves, grass clippings, twigs, light garden debris and many other garden jobs.

Pruning Tools
Pruning tools are used for taking cuttings, pruning shrubs and dead heading flowers.

Hand pruners come in two styles: bypass and anvil. Bypass pruners have two curved blades like scissors. Anvil pruners have only one cutting blade that cuts against a straight, flattened edge. Hand pruners are used for innumerable tasks such as snipping blooms, harvesting plants, trimming small twigs and cutting back plants. Hand pruners should definitely be a part of your gardening tool set.

Hedge Shears are used primarily for pruning and shaping shrubs and hedges. They have long handles that can make it easier to reach those hard to reach places. Hedge shears resemble a large pair of scissors. Hedge shears can also be used to cut tall grasses and weeds.

Long-handled loppers are like hand pruners, but with much longer handles. Long-handled loppers also come in bypass and anvil styles. These are used to cut larger size branches that hand pruners cannot cut through.

Pruning saws come in handy for things that even long handled loppers cannot cut through. Pruning saws have a saw blade that is used to saw, rather than cut, through wood. Most pruning saws are folded, allowing you to fold the blade into the handle for safe storage.

All of these tools come in many varieties of shapes and sizes. The quality of the tools will also vary. A good quality tool will say that the metal is tempered, heat treated or forged. Stainless steel tools are also very good, though they tend to be more expensive. Make sure that the metal part of the tool is attached securely to the handle. The handle should be made of a strong wood such as hickory or ash, or of another strong material such as fiberglass or resin. You may feel as though spending a lot of money on tools is a waste of money. However, you will be using these tools regularly so you want a good quality tool that is durable and will last a long time.

Another way to ensure that your tools will last a long time is to take proper care of them. Make sure to pick up all of your tools when you are done a job and clean them off. Wipe all of the metal parts with an oiled cloth to keep them from rusting. Have your tool blades sharpened at the beginning of every season. And finally, store them in a dry place. Taking proper care of your tools will extend their life for years to come.