Growing a Garden, My Top 5 Tools
Tools those lovely things that make our jobs around the house so much easier. In the garden, I have a few tools that I use often and couldn’t garden without.
I know it’s easy to go overboard and get lots of tools to help you do so many tasks but I’m more of a basics kinda gal when it comes to gardening.
I have my current, yes they do change from time to time, 5 favorite gardening tool listed below.
I’ve found a few tools to be ones we use over and over in our garden. I’m often tempted at estate sales and garage sales to pick up a new gardening tool to try, but most of the time I stick with my tried and true garden tools.
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This watering can was given to me by my kids and husband last year. They knew I needed a new watering can but I’m not good at just picking up things for myself and so my family purchased one for me. I’m so glad they did. I’m sure I would have gone cheap and just picked up a plastic watering can that would have lasted a season or maybe two and then needed to be replaced. But instead, they bought me this really nice galvanized can and it has worked really well.
I like to use it for adding liquid fertilizer to my plants, things like fish fertilizer to the newly transplanted plants. I think it just helps to give them a good boost in growing. I also use it often at the start of the season when I only have a few things growing in the garden and only need to water in certain areas instead of a full bed. I’m hoping it will last for many years to come.
For years, I used a pair of scissors to trim or cut back shrubs, trees, and bushes in our garden. But more often than not the scissors wouldn’t be sharp enough and would tear more than cut the branches off. Which left a cut that was more shredded or jagged than a flush cut. But a few years ago I splurged on a nice pair of hand pruners.
These little pruners have made the job of trimming the trees and shrubs in so much easier. If you don’t have a pair of hand pruners I would say this is definitely an item you want to add to your gift or purchase list.
The Corona pruners we own have held up really well during the years of use, unlike other pruners we have owned that were mainly plastic and barely lasted a season.
The plants need to be water regularly, and having a system to get them watered makes the job of gardening so much easier. I used to just run a sprinkler over the whole garden, but then my husband installed a drip irrigation system. It sounds fancy doesn’t it.
It’s really just a series of main line hoses with smaller lines off of it to supply water to just where you need it and not where you don’t. My husband also built the main line out of copper with shutoffs for each raised bed. It helps up cut down on watering cost by only watering where and when we need to. Plus I hook up one hose and can water all of my raised beds at one time, very convenient.
But this system isn’t only for vegetable gardens it can be used in flower beds too. If the water is only added at the base of the flowers and not to the full bed, less water is needed. And less weeds grown in the flower beds.
If installing a drip system seems like too much work, try a soaker hose, serves a similar function. You can weave the hose in your garden beds and turn it on, it soaks the ground right near it. Placing water just where the hose is placed, instead of spraying into the air like a sprinkler can.
Now I don’t know if this really counts as a garden tool but it is a big help in my garden. Since our garden is a backyard garden we don’t have too much room to grow in. But I’ve found you can grow many items up instead of out in a smaller garden.
I tried a few different version of garden trellis. Things like a PVC frame with nylon netting on it and a huge square tomato cage. While those items did work, I wanted something that would last a while and be easy to store in the off-season. I didn’t want my neighbors to have to look at an ugly bare trellis all winter long.
That’s where the idea for making our own trellis came in. We found cattle panel fencing at our local feed store and used that to build our own garden trellis, that is not only sturdy but also easy to store. If you are looking for a long lasting trellis that can be stored flat, you can find out how to build one with just a panel of cattle fencing and a few hog rings.
I have a grow lamp for my seedlings but I don’t have a great system for hanging the light near my plants. They usually do good for a week or two inside but then it becomes so cumbersome to keep the light at the right angle and the plants up close enough to keep them inside to grow nicely.
That’s why I love my cold frame so much. We purchased it about 3 years ago and it has held up quite nicely. I would love to have a greenhouse someday but this cold frame really works well to grow the seedlings until it’s time to plant.
We build a rock and concrete bottom for our cold frame and then placed it on top. It situated in a sunny area of the yard so the plants get enough light and warmth to grow even in the cooler spring month. If you are looking for a way to start seeds indoors but don’t have the space to grow them very long indoors, a cold frame is a good way to go.
Those are my top 5 favorite gardening tools right now for our backyard garden. A while back I shared my 10 favorite gardening tools and you might want to check that list out too.
See other gardening tools and gardening tips from my gardening friends. I know you’ll find some great ideas.
Companion Plants from Simplify, Live, Love
Transitioning the Garden from The Freckled Rose
Gardening Tips and Techniques from An Oregon Cottage
Best Gardening Apps from House of Hawthornes
Build Healthy Garden Soil from Homemade Food Junkie
What is your own favorite gardening tool? Share it with me in the comments below.
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What a sweet family gift! That’s a perfect watering can. We love our new irrigation system too. Wish he had done it years ago. We haven’t got it into the flower beds yet, but we installed it in the garden and greenhouse. REALLY like the idea of a spigot on every bed. Now THATS smart gardening!
I covet those pruners! I have had so many pairs of pruners…and I leave them outside and lose them until I find them all rusty and ruined months later. I know I need to keep them handy but once I put them down in a flower bed, they vanish!
We love that cattle fencing for trellising too! Dave uses it in the greenhouse for his tomatoes and cucumbers. So perfect! And I LOVE your cold frame. That opening top is a dandy idea for temperature regulation! Great ideas for good garden tools!
Loving this series!
My favorite tool is always my hand pruners. I think I need a new pair this year since “someone” left them outside in the rain and snow for half the winter. I do like that cold frame you have though!
I love how you’ve used your cold frame! I’ve had a couple for years that I’ve never fully utilized for my seedlings – that’s a goal of mine. 🙂
What a great post, Shelly! You guys are smart gardeners, and I’m constantly learning from you. The irrigation system you guys have set up sounds very efficient, too. 🙂
I feel like I have so much to learn when it comes to gardening tools, so this post was really helpful to me! I switched from a plastic watering can to a galvanized one a year ago and haven’t looked back since. I agree when you say they last longer, so it’s worth spending a little extra. It’s nice you were gifted it by the ones you love 🙂 Makes it all that sweeter! Hand pruners are always a must for me as well. I never want to go outside without them and risk being tempted to pull veggies off my plants with my hands and end up accidentally damaging them. Sad to say I’ve done that in the past. I started with a sprinkler just like you to water my raised garden. Last year I finally switched to a soaker hose. I will eventually move to a drip irrigation system as well, just getting there slowly! I feel like my soaker hose set up on a timer has really saved me so much money and time! I love that cattle panel garden trellis. I really want to try making something like that this year. I really like your cold frame as well. Looks like it works great 🙂 Awesome ideas Shelly!
I don’t have any hand pruners, but I think I need some! Great list, Shelly!
I don’t do too much gardening…just have a few flowering plants in the front yard. Last week at our cub scout meeting, however, the boys planted a Rose of Sharon seedling to take home, and they told us that we could plant it by a trellis. I immediately thought of your DIY trellis, which looks so easy to make. Hopefully we can have a pretty flowering trellis in a few years!