Gardening Tools

For many gardeners, a list of tools is remarkably short. For them, a shovel and a rake will suffice perfectly. These are your true “dirt farmers”! Some, of course, will go for a ‘hoe’ as well, making them “modern dirt farmers”! And yet others might opt for machinery, making them “Post modern dirt farmers” or maybe “Ultra-Modern dirt farmers”!!

The bottom line on the acquisition of tools, the truth is, simply depends on the gardener. I would think on the face of it, that a shovel or a digging spade would be number one on my list of necessities. Budgetary concerns can make these questions moot, of course. But there is a wide range and an impressive array of tools available that can make the work easier and even better, the secret truth is. Let’s have a look at some: (the first page will deal with the absolute basics – tools that help perform the initial work and some of which are necessary permanent acquisitions. The “landscape rake”?……not so much, although it can sure help in the shaping of any new project. I list it here because of the phase of work we are currently dealing with – namely the start and the “dirt-farming”.):

The Shovel

This item is used for digging, obviously. What many people don’t realize is that shovels are also used extensively by professionals for other tasks like shaping the earth itself. Sweeping the ground with a shovel and leveling at the same time means a minor role – just that of finishing – falls to the rake.

The Rake

Rakes are awesome tools. There are two primary kinds of rakes: the regular rake and the leaf rake. Leaf rakes are more for sweeping the ground with long flexible teeth. The flexibility saves the life span of the tool because it provides a limit for how much one can carry along in its wake. The hard rake – the regular old rake – has shorter teeth of harder material and is used to scratch the ground as opposed to combing it. The teeth can move earth and larger amounts of material while leaving smaller pieces behind.

The Landscape Rake

This is a bold departure from both the above rakes. It is composed of an extremely wide set of teeth, often up to 4 feet wide, and can move material and grade it far faster than the other rakes. Landscapers use this rake extensively when grading at a finished point. The width of the blades implies a wider swath of work, easier conforming to the overall slope level and grading needs while providing a literal “finished grade”. These are handy for the initial forming aspects of gardening. While hardly “necessary”, these are quite the labor-saving device.

Digging Forks

These are extremely handy items, perfect for digging up a nice bit of weedy soil and separating the weeds by shaking the now-loosened soil and removing the offending plant by hand. It also can be used to loosen soil, simply by inserting it into the ground and working the soil manually. These can penetrate far deeper than a normal spade and they are insanely easier to work with. This, like the “mattock” following are tow very highly recommendable items in any gardener’s stash of tools.

The Mattock

This happens to be just about my favorite tool. With this tool, one can penetrate the ground and loosen it nicely, either with the “pick” (sharp) end or in greater size. These typically weigh a bit, so the force one can apply is pretty substantial. These are ideal for excavating trenches and unique holes in particularly hard soils. A disciplined and experienced worker with one of these can find a million uses for this tool, including weeding.

The Hoe

This little item is a sort of stock and mandatory tool in gardening lore. The truth is, it does indeed perform a function – particularly when weeding – by scraping the earth and getting below the surface, as well as then gathering the soil and moving it. There are a number of types of hoes, some more relevant to weeding, some more relevant to micromanaging the terra-forming. I will deal with the more exotic weed hoes and labor savers later.