You may be planning a garden, and it can be easy to go overboard when you are purchasing the tools for the first time. It’s best if you know what to get and the essentials that you may frequently need in the garden, so they won’t take too much space and cost a lot of money.
Staying focused on the basics will also prevent the storage area or the shed from becoming overcrowded. It’s best to invest in the best tools at the start so they will last longer, and you won’t have to keep buying new ones every year. The high-end ones are not easily affected by rust, they are low-maintenance, and you can use them frequently without them getting damaged.
The good news is that you can get high-quality tools in many online shops today. Most of the gloves, shears, wheelbarrows, and spades are shipped to your home in no time. If you’re wondering about the tools that you should purchase for your yard first, then here are some of them.
1. Pruning Shears
Secateurs or pruning shears can help you take control of the plants. They prevent the vines or shrubs from taking control of the areas that are not meant for them. It’s best to get anvil-style pruners that you can use with a flat surface similar to the knife on board. The bypass pruners have sharper blades that pass through the flat surface, and they can be compared to scissors, so you need to choose which of the two is ideal for your garden.
- Note that the anvil pruners are for dead woods, but they are ideal for those that have green stems
- The bypass pruners are perfect for green wood and live plants
- Ratchet varieties have the strength you need, and they are excellent for hands with arthritis.
2. Rake
When it’s autumn season, a rake can be helpful to whisk the leaves away. They come in various sizes and styles, and you can get a great start with the standard ones. Choose adjustable rakes so you won’t have to bend more when working. These adaptable varieties will also let you gather larger piles of leaves in one go, and they can reach narrow areas.
The steel tines are rougher and stronger. If you have a delicate lawn, you may want to prefer those plastic tines over others. You can have a length of about 7 to 20 inches when it comes to rakes, and you should be able to store them in a collapsed position so that they will take less space. Read more about rakes on this page here.
3. Hand Trowel
The trowels are one of the essentials that you should not miss. They are used for transplanting herbs and bedding plants. You can also take out the weeds with their help. The broader ones are used to move a lot of soil, and the narrower ones are used for rocky soils or digging weeds out.
Choose trowels that are comfortable for your hands. It would be best if you had some made from stainless steel so they will be resistant to rust and last longer. You can get recommendations of trowels on the right site where the sharp blades can penetrate the weeds’ stubborn roots, and they can make your job easier. They are also great for planting trees or bulbs around your garden.
4. Loppers
A lopper is another excellent cutting tool that is a long-handled pruner. Know more about them here: https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-use-loppers-3269540. They are used to trim plants with thicker branches, and the entire length provides leverage for cutting branches. There are also bypass and anvil types, just like what you can see on pruners, but the handles can reach up to 36 inches.
- The bypass loppers are more precise when you use them to cut a specific location in the plants
- The longer handled ones may be heavy, so you may want to test them first before buying
- Choose ones with carbon-composite or aluminum handles because they are lighter
- Just like any other garden tool, the loppers should be maintained regularly, and you need to sharpen them once a month or so.
Other than these, you may need gloves, spades, hoses, watering cans, and more for your garden. You can read more about the different tools on blogs, websites, magazines, or ask your local farmer about them to get a good idea of how they work.
Here’s a great additional resource for your reading: https://craftsmanprotools.com/gardening-tools/
