Weeding Tools for Gardening: Must Haves for Small Gardens

There is nothing more frustrating than having a tool that just doesn't work or breaks the first time you use it. Craftsman weeding tools from Sears would be a good choice. Keeping that in mind you really need only a few tools to help you keep your garden weed free with minimal effort, here's the short list that I have found over the years to be invaluable:

Gardening Gloves- Pulling weeds while they are small is an easy task and can be done by hand. Cotton gardening gloves that have rubber grip palms make the job much easier. For a very festive feminine version try these rose patterned, cotton gloves from Woman's Work.

A Cultivator- This is a three pronged fork good for surface weeding before weeds become too large to weed. This can also be used for raking the area between the plants to keep the garden looking beautiful.

A small bucket or bucket with a holder for your hand tools- It should be light weight and easy to move around with you as you go through the garden, collect the weeds in the bucket and simply dump the weeds in the trash or compost when done. You might consider buying a recycled bucket from Gardener's Supply Company.

Knee pads- There are many types of knee pads but you can use something you may already have like a piece of a worn out yoga mat or thick carpet. Most knee pads are relatively inexpensive. Some people prefer the type that attach to their knees with an elastic straps, so they don't have to keep moving a mat or loose knee pads with them. Target has a large supply of gardening knee pads for weeding.

Dutch Trowel- When things get out of hand and you need to get up a particularly deep rooted weed, there's nothing like a Dutch Trowel. This device is also good for transplanting plants and flowers.

Another tip for the new gardener is not to bite off more than you can chew; a plot no bigger than 6 foot by 8 foot is plenty big enough for your first garden. Limit the number and variety of fruits, vegetables and flowers that you will be planting. You may even want to try planting in pots the first time around. Tomatoes, peppers, and herbs grow well in large 5 gallon pots (recycled plastic pots are best they are light weight and good for the environment) and limit the amount of weeding needed.