10 Essential Tools that Every Gardener Needs

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When it comes to gardening, having the right tools can make all the difference. But if you’re fairly new to the concept, it can be difficult to know which ones are an absolute necessity. And to make matters worse, things can get even more complicated during a visit to your local lawn and garden store. That’s because you’ll find all kinds of different gardening tools, and there’s also the chance that you don’t even know what half of them are used for.

Not to worry! To keep you from going overboard on unnecessary gardening tool purchases or the mistake of not getting everything that you need, it’s essential to know what tools a gardener can’t live without. These are 10 essential tools that every gardener needs to have in order to tackle any gardening project.

Gloves

Don’t try to be that tough guy or gal that forgoes using gardening gloves because at some point you’re going to regret it. Gloves are designed to protect your hands from blisters, cuts, scratches, and splinters, which can all be very painful. Get yourself a durable pair that can handle tough tasks such as digging, pruning, moving material, and other demanding jobs.

Spade or Shovel

You take your pick on whether you’ll go with a spade or a shovel because you’re going to need one or the other. But if it were up to me, I’d personally go with the spade. That’s because it’s able to give you clean and straight edges and it’s also great for cutting up roots, planting, and transplanting.

Hand Trowel

At certain points throughout the season, you’ll need a hand trowel for planting and transplanting flowers and plants in your garden beds. They also can be used to help get rid of weeds. A hand trowel that has a broad blade is useful for moving more soil while a trowel with a narrow blade is better to use on rocky soil and digging up weeds. While you’ll pay more for the stainless steelhead, it will last much longer than every other hand trowel out there.

Loppers

When you’re needing to cut down large limbs and thicker branches, loppers are a cutting tool that will certainly come in handy for you. You’ll discover that there are anvil and bypass types that range Get yourself ones with longer handles, which will provide you with more leverage to cut through thicker limbs. But that also means that they’ll be heavier too.

Garden Hoe

The garden hoe is an extremely effective and versatile tool that can tackle several of the toughest jobs in your garden, including cutting up roots, digging a trench, moving soil, weeding, and much more. So no matter if you’re digging, planting, chopping, or cultivating your garden, the garden hoe is one of the closest friends to a gardener.

Pruning Shears

Pruning shears are another essential gardening tool that you will need to help you prune fruit trees, vegetables, roses, and shrubs. Be sure that you go with a pair of high quality, that way your blade stays sharp longer. Also make sure that you choose shears that fit in your hands comfortably, because pruning can become repetitive and may start to hurt if you have a crummy pair.

Hedge Shears

Do you have a lot of landscaping to maintain around your lawn and garden? Or maybe several hard-to-reach areas that need to be touched up from time to time? If so, you’re going to want more than just pruning shears to handle the job. Hedge trimmers and shears will leave your landscaping looking absolutely perfect while also keeping your plants healthy. You can choose between gas, electric, or a pair that requires a bit of labor from you.

Watering Hose

Your garden plants require a lot of watering and you certainly can’t rely on the rain all the time. And to be honest, a watering can isn’t the most practical tool to use when you have a large garden, so a watering hose is the best way to go. You’ll also want to consider getting a good hose nozzle or watering wand so that you can customize the amount of water that’s coming out of the hose.

Weeder

Ugh, weeds! A gardener’s worst nightmare! And no matter how much you do to prevent them, they’re still sure to sneak up on you at some point. This is why you need to get yourself a good weeding tool to help you combat them. There are even long-handled weeders available out there if you’re one that struggles with back pain and bending over.

Wheelbarrow

A wheelbarrow is a fabulous tool that allows you to accomplish much bigger tasks and in fewer trips. They can be used for moving plants, dirt, mulch, gravel, stones, tools, yard waste, and so much more. But before you transport something heavy, make sure that the weight is distributed evenly, that way you don’t end up tipping your load.

These are the most essential tools that every gardener needs in order to have great success in their garden. What’s nice about several of them is that they are able to perform more than one task in your garden.

Can you think of any other gardening tools that may be necessary? Or if you’re an experienced gardener, what’s the go-to gardening tool that you couldn’t survive without?