It’s fun to get your hands dirty in the garden, but did you know there are tools that make it easier? We’ll cover a few of the basic tools you might want to snag today, but know that using your hands is a great option too.
Speaking of using your hands, let’s get into it!
Gardening Gloves
I get it, you don’t need gloves, you like to dig in the dirt. Me too! But gloves are not just for keeping your hands clean. They protect your hands against all kinds of things besides dirt. Many plants have thorns or spines which can scrape your hands up. Gloves help protect against these. Also, bugs. I am all about a good worm in the ground, but I have no desire to touch one. Gloves to the rescue! (And tomato hornworms are a special kind of no touchy.)
Hand Trowel
Sure, you can dig a hole with your hands, gloves or not. But let’s be realistic, it’s not very effective for more than a single hole. This is where the hand trowel comes in. It’s a small, handheld shovel that lets you dig small holes to transplant a plant to its new home. Make life easy on yourself and use the trowel.
Watering Can
We’ve talked about watering before. Even with a plan in place to water my garden as a whole, I like to have a watering can on hand. When you transplant a plant, it often benefits from a good watering. Sometimes a particular plant needs an extra little drink. Sometimes it just makes me feel productive. All are valid reasons to keep a watering can handy!
Pruning Shears
Keeping the garden tidy is a never ending chore. Pruning plants serves many different purposes, and scissors often won’t do the trick due to the size of the plant stem. There are many different sizes of pruning shears, from tiny snipping tools to large tree loppers. For most garden chores, I prefer the snippers or the hand size shears. They get most of the job done for the size plants I have.
We’ve covered a few of the basic tools to get started, but what do you think I left out? What garden tool can you not live without?