6 Essential Tools for Gardeners

Let’s face it…

Gardening is a tough hobby to get into. There’s so much you have to know – how to start seeds, transplant, troubleshoot pest and disease issues, and much, much more.

As a gardener, shouldn’t you make use of tools that make your job easier? After all, there’s enough work to be done as it is!

In this article, we’ll look at some of the most useful and common tools you’ll need in the garden. Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but if you get started with these six items, you’ll be off to a strong start in the garden.

Shovel

The most versatile long-handled tool in your garden is without a doubt your shovel. There are at least 6-7 different types of garden shovels, so choosing the right one can be confusing.

As a general rule, get the highest-quality one that you can afford, and make sure you get a “round-point” shovel as your first purchase. It’s the most versatile type of shovel head, allowing you to dig trenches, chop out nasty, thick roots, and move a lot of earth with little effort.

Loppers

If a shovel is the most versatile long-handled tool, a quality pair of loppers is by far the most versatile short-handled garden tool. Your main decision point here will be between bypass or anvil loppers.

If you have thicker items in the garden to chop through, anvil will be the best choice, as it offers more crushing power. However, for most gardeners, bypass loppers will do just fine and be a bit more portable when working in the garden.

Worm Composter

As gardeners, we can never have enough fertility to add to our gardens. What if I told you most of us are wasting a massive source of fertility…our food scraps! Worm composting bins help convert that food waste into nutritious, usable worm compost. It’s some of the best fertilizer you can add to your garden, and it all happens automatically via worms eating away at food scraps!

When choosing a worm composter, you can usually just build one yourself with a tote, so don’t feel the need to spend a ton of money on a fancy worm composting bin.

Watering Can

A list of essential gardening tools couldn’t be complete without mentioning the watering can! The type you get will depend on the size and location of your garden. If you’re growing mostly plants indoors, you may want a long-necked watering can to get water right to the root zone of your plants.

If you’re growing outdoors, you may want a larger-capacity watering can with a spreading head so water is evenly distributed to the surface of your soil.

Garden Hose

For larger vegetables gardens, you’ll probably need a solid garden hose to get most of your watering chores done. There are many types of hoses out there, but the most popular and versatile right now are expandable hoses. They’re much better than the older coiled hoses, and will expand and contract based on the water pressure in the hose itself.

Whatever hose you choose, make sure you store it out of the sun, as the sun’s UV rays can quickly degrade a hose, making it brittle and prone to cracking.

Wheelbarrow

For the final tool, we need something that can move a lot of earth in an efficient manner. What better tool than a wheelbarrow? These help make short work of what would otherwise be long, arduous, and energy-consuming tasks in the garden.

Remember as gardeners we already have enough to worry about when it comes to caring for our plants. Why make our jobs harder than they need to be by trying to do everything without quality tools?

About the Author
Kevin is the creator of Epic Gardening, a community dedicated to teaching urban gardening, hydroponics, and aquaponics. He enjoys skateboarding, piano, guitar, business, and experimenting with all kinds of gardening techniques!