Keep It Simple
This is the fourth installment in the 5×5 Garden Challenge Series. Every Wednesday I’ll be posting about the challenge, covering topics that will help all the new gardeners get started. If you haven’t heard about the challenge head on over to the 5×5 Challenge Website, we’ll also be putting up a page here that pulls in all the 5×5 Challenge posts.
It seems like I’m always seeing advertisements for different gardening products on every website I go to and in every catalog that arrives in my mailbox. When it comes to gardening, I like to keep things simple. You don’t need all the latest and greatest gardening gadgets. Instead of buying a bunch of stuff you don’t need, invest in a good trowel.
I also find a bucket invaluable in the garden. It comes in handy for carrying soil amendments, plants, tools, weeds, and freshly harvested vegetables.
In addition to my trowel and bucket, I also use a watering can all the time. A big one, with a nice big crown that spreads the water far and wide.
This is pretty much all I ever use in the garden, especially on a day to day basis. If you’re just getting started, don’t spend a lot of money, keep it simple!
What three garden tools would you recommend to a beginning gardener?
Filed under 5x5 Garden Challenge | Comments (13)
For us, it’s the strongest shovel available. My husband in particular is notorious for breaking inferior tools, and in our somewhat heavy, stony soil, digging up the garden requires a sturdy shovel.
to kristin @ going country's comment
Perhaps my favorite gardening tool is my broadfork, because it allows me to loosen the soil without turning it over. I wouldn’t recommend this for a beginning gardener though – it works best when the soil is already fairly open. I also use my colinear hoe and my stirrup hoe a lot, and would like to get a nice little handheld colinear hoe so that I can uproot small weeds when I’m kneeling. After those, definitely my trowel – it’s the most versatile tool I have and I use it for many different tasks. Maybe I should just sharpen the side of my trowel, and then I could also use it like a handheld hoe to uproot weeds!
to Joan's comment
What I would love to own is a trowel, a rake, and a good old fashion pitchfork. Unfortunately my other half likes the cool tools in the garden center and comes home with a garden weasel. How am I suppose to turn over the manure and compost with a weasel? I ended up doing the whole thing with a little shovel. Not easy but a great workout.
to Adelina Anderson's comment
A good pair of clippers/pruners can usually be found in my pocket most days.
to Melissa's comment
I couldn’t agree with you more!
I’d rather purchase one GOOD trowel than a handful of useless tools.
For a simple small garden, I not only say a trowel but a little hand-rake is indispensible for the garden! I use it to lightly scratch the ground to mix in compost but also for assisting me in tilling small areas of grass or pulling up weeds!
[I’m brutal with my garden tools, and I’m waiting for my cheap hand-me-downs to break so I can buy myself a nice one. Maybe a Cobrahead…]
Pruners too. Something that can handle 1/4″ inch is probably good for most jobs here and there.
to Donna B.'s comment
i do most of my gardenig in raised beds. i use a pair of kitchen scissors, trowel, and a pair of kitchen fork and spoon. for larger jobs, i have a garden fork, rake and cutless…………known in the use as machete.
to Lemongrass's comment
My philosophy is the same! Few tools but good ones. A good hoe and trowel can last a lifetime. I’ve had the same hoe for almost 30 years.
to Canned Quilter's comment
Hoe, trowel, & rake. Of course, there are others but those 3 are a must.
I’m with you. Keep it simple. Don’t fall for all the gadgets and gizmos.
to Maybelline's comment
A good hoe, hand trowl, and hand rake. I use those tools all the time. They are invaluable.
to Kay's comment
A trowel/spade, something to transport water with, and garden gloves with grips on them. Of course, when I was doing a traditional garden it was hoe, gloves, and hose. Oh how I don’t miss those days.
I do very little weeding now, in my raised meds. The soil is so loose that I can actually do most of the digging with my hands. It is really when I am working with flowers or in the new beds that I may need a trowel.
to The Groundskeeper @ See You In The Garden's comment
I’ve worked with many different types of tools and the one I would recommend most is a garden fork. There’s a specific one that has a 3 foot handle with a D shaped grip on the end. It’s our go to tool for removing sod, turning compost…most everything.
to Gail's comment
I have a collection of hand spades, a narrow one that is great for planting bulbs, a large one to scoop soil in pots, and several standard sizes in plastics and metal blades. I have a hand rake for clearing leaves and debris out of my side beds. They tend to collect leaves in the fall. I also use a coiled hose for outdoors and a watering can indoors.
When I lived in a recently cleared wooded lot I used a machete to keep the brush from taking over. Pruning shears were also important and I still use them on occasion here, 11 years later.
to Bonnie Fowler's comment
I say it really depends upon your garden… but I personally wouldnt do without a good strong shovel and my hands down favorite is my stirrup hoe for keeping the beds weed free. I use a conventional hoe to make my furrows and pull soil up or create a hill when needed. Gloves are a MUST these days. I could do without them in my younger years but my old lady hands need gloves these days. I probably have a dozen pair..
I like gizmos though Kinda like my kitchen appliances.. ;)
to KimH's comment