What are the best vegetable gardening tools and supplies?
Gardening is a great way to enjoy time outdoors and grow your own food for your family. But starting a garden at home requires you to have a few tools at home in order to be successful.
From digging your garden bed to harvesting your crops, these 24 must-have garden tools will help you through every step of the gardening process.
How to Choose the Best Garden Tools
If you’ve ever taken a trip to your local garden center or home improvement store, you know there are so many different garden tools to choose from. So how do you know which tools you actually need? And how do you pick the best tools for your garden?
There are a few common characteristics among garden tools that can help you decide which of the tools in your store are worth buying. Look for these features in the garden tools you buy:
1) Stainless steel construction
Stainless steel is usually your best bet when it comes to metal garden tools. The strength of steel ensures your tool won’t bend or break over years of gardening. And the finish on stainless steel tools ensure your tools won’t rust from regular use.
2) Comfortable handle
Testing the tools you purchase before buying them is a great way to make sure the tool will work for you. Hold the tool in your hand to ensure the handle is comfortable to use. Look for ergonomic handles on your garden tools to ensure they aren’t hard to hold as you’re working in your garden.
3) Wood or fiberglass handle
To keep the handle from breaking after years of use, make sure the handle on your tools is constructed of wood or fiberglass. Both types of handles are strong enough to withstand extended use over the years.
4) Rivet construction on the handle
Inspect the handle attachment to ensure it won’t cause your handle to snap off during use. A good gardening tool will have a metal sleeve wrapped around the handle that is reinforced with a rivet or screw where the handle attaches to the metal part of the tool.
5) Weight
The weight of a garden tool is another factor to consider when purchasing. While you want your garden tool to have some sturdiness and heft, if the tool is too heavy, it will be harder to use. When purchasing larger garden tools, like shovels and rakes, lightweight tools are a good choice to ensure they won’t wear you out as you work.
if you make a purchase, I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you.
Essential Gardening Tools
There are a variety of tools every vegetable gardener should have in their garden shed, no matter how big or small their garden is. These essential tools will help you complete basic gardening tasks, from removing weeds from the garden to planting seeds in the soil.
Digging Fork
There are so many uses for this handy gardening tool, that there’s no reason not to have one in your shed. A digging tool can be used throughout the garden season.
In the beginning of the season, use your digging fork to loosen the soil to prepare it for planting.
After the seeds have been sown, loosen the roots of the weeds surrounding your garden rows to easily remove them from the garden. And at the end of the season, dig up your root vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, without damaging your crops.
Hard Rake
Preparing your yard for gardening is one of the biggest tasks you’ll take on when planting a garden.
To get your yard ready for planting, you’ll need to have a hard rake on hand. After tilling the ground and working the soil, a hard rake can help you spread your garden’s soil to create an even layer across your garden.
After the garden is planted, a hard rake is helpful for spreading mulch to improve drainage and raking debris out of your garden rows.
Leaf Rake
Before preparing the soil for your garden, you’ll need to clear your garden plot of leaves and other debris.
Use a wide leaf rake to make clearing your garden bed easier. When looking for a great leaf rake, take a look at the tines at the end of the rake. You want the times to be strong, but flexible to make raking leaves across uneven ground much easier.
Wheelbarrow
From transporting heavy tools to and from your garden to moving weeds to your compost pile, there are so many great uses for a wheelbarrow in your garden.
A sturdy metal wheelbarrow is a great choice for your garden. The metal construction will ensure it lasts for years. When looking for a good wheelbarrow, make sure the handles are comfortable to hold and the tire is wide enough to hold the weight of your load without being difficult to push.
Pointed Shovel
Depending on the size and maturity of the plants you add to your garden, you’ll need several shovel sizes and types.
A shovel with a pointed tip is perfect for digging larger holes for perennial plants and mature vegetables. A larger shovel like this is also great for preparing your garden before you start planting by working the soil.
Garden Trowel
Similar to a pointed shovel, a garden trowel is helpful for digging in your garden. And that’s because it’s basically a mini shovel.
These small shovels typically feature a narrow-pointed blade that’s great for digging small holes. A garden trowel can be used for a variety of gardening tasks, including digging holes for new plants, digging up large weeds, and removing plants from your garden when the growing season is over.
Spade
Another handheld shovel you need in your gardening supply collection is a spade.
A spade is a square shovel with a shorter handle, often around four feet long. This type of garden shovel is often used for digging holes and transferring small amounts of dirt and compost around your garden. Spades can also be used to help keep the borders of your garden clean and clear of weeds.
Watering Can
While a garden hose is great for soaking your plants when they’re established, sometimes the harsh spray of the hose can be an issue for newly planted seeds and seedlings.
A watering can will help you water those delicate plants without damaging them in the process.
When picking the best watering can for your garden remember that size matters. You’ll want to find a watering can that is large so it can hold enough water to make it useful without it being too heavy for you to carry when it’s filled with water.
Garden Hose
You’ll need to keep your garden watered as it grows. While hauling loads water to your garden using a watering can may give you a good workout, it isn’t a very sustainable practice.
Instead, invest in a high-quality garden hose to make it easier to water your garden on a regular basis. A rubber hose is a great investment for gardeners because it can hold up to the elements from year to year without cracking or breaking.
Soaking Wand
Watering your garden is essential to helping it grow. That means you’ll need a hose nozzle to help you water your garden throughout the growing season.
Since it’s best to water your plants near their base, a soaking wand is your best choice for a garden hose nozzle. A soaking wand will allow you to easily water the base of your plants without forcing you to bend over to reach the right spot.
Clippers
During harvest season, you’ll be happy to have a pair of sharp garden clippers on hand. Clippers are the best way to cut fruit from your plants without damaging the plant itself. And it’s useful for snipping herbs from your plants or cutting flowers from your garden.
You can also use your garden clippers to thin your plants if they start to become overgrown as the season progresses.
Garden Twine
From securing drooping plants to marking garden rows, there are a variety of ways to use garden twine throughout your garden.
When selecting twine to use in your garden, choose a variety that is constructed of natural material, like jute. This type of twine can be added into your compost pile at the end of the growing season, making it a great choice for gardening.
Gardening Gloves
All the hard work that goes into preparing, maintaining, and harvesting your garden can wreak havoc on your hands. Protect your fingers and skin by investing in a good pair of gardening gloves.
Choose gloves that are constructed of a durable material that is also flexible to allow you to work without feeling stiff. Garden gloves should also be water resistant to keep your hands clean and dry while you work.
Here are excellent gardening gloves for women and for men.
Useful Vegetable Tools
Once you have all the essential gardening tools in your garden shed, you can start thinking about adding other tools to your collection that will make gardening even easier. While these tools aren’t essential to getting the job done, they are useful in making your work in the garden simpler in the long run.
Garden Tiller
Small gardens or gardens planted in raised beds can often be tilled and prepared by hand. But as your garden grows, you may want to consider investing in a garden tiller.
A rototiller can make preparing your garden much easier because it works the soil for you. With a few passes of your garden tiller, you can have your garden ready to be planted in just a few hours.
Garden Tool Caddy
Keep all the tools you’ll need for your daily gardening tasks in one handy place with the help of a garden tool caddy.
A tool caddy can hold all your small gardening tools, like your trowel, clippers, garden rake, and twine, so you won’t have to search for the tools you need every time you head to your garden.
Measuring Tape
To make the most of the space in your garden, taking the time to measure your plant placement is essential.
Since each plant type and variety you plant in your garden has different growing requirements, having a tape measure on hand can help ensure you plant each of your seed varieties correctly as you prepare your garden.
Flat Shovel
As a gardener, you’ll need to scoop and move dirt and debris from one place to another quite often. That’s where a flat shovel comes in handy.
As opposed to a pointed shovel, which is great for digging, a flat shovel is designed for scooping. You can use a flat shovel to transfer top soil and compost into your garden before planting your vegetables. And you can easily scoop mulch over your garden rows to improve drainage.
Harvest Basket
After working hard in your garden all season long, you’re going to need something to hold all the veggies you harvest from your garden.
During the height of the harvest season, you’ll likely be removing several vegetables from your plants each time you head to the garden. A harvest basket is the easiest way to collect all the fruits of your labor and safely carry them into your house from the garden.
Root Shovel
Does your yard have a variety of trees in it?
Chances are, you’ll have to deal with roots in your vegetable garden from time to time.
Having a root shovel in your garden shed can help you deal with wayward roots in your garden soil.
This type of shovel is specifically designed to help with root removal. The blades along the bottom of the shovel are useful for cutting through tough tree roots. But it can also be used for digging holes large enough to plant trees and bushes in your garden.
Compost Bin
If you plan on planting an organic garden, having your own compost bin in your backyard is a great way to fertilize the soil in your garden.
Composters come in a variety of styles and sizes, so finding the right compost bin for your garden really depends on how you’ll use it.
Stationary composters allow you to add food scraps and other compostable materials to the top, and over time those materials become compost at the bottom of the bin.
You could also use a compost tumbler in your garden, which is made up of a rotating drum with a cranking handle. You add your compostable materials to the drum, then rotate the drum to mix the ingredients together to form compost over time.
Forked Cultivator
A forked cultivator is like a small bow rake that can be held in your hand. It’s great for loosening soil along your garden rows and helping you dig up smaller weeds from around your delicate plants.
You can also use your cultivator to clear debris from around your plants because it allows you to cleanup those hard-to-reach spaces with ease. A great forked cultivator will have curved tines that come to a point on the end.
Weeding Fork
Dealing with stubborn weeds in your garden is a fact of life. But having a weeding fork in your garden supplies can make removing those weeds much easier.
Weeding forks are typically constructed of two or three prongs with points on the end of each prong. Their compact size help you weed in tight areas, like around the base of plants or along edging in your garden path.
Support Structures
Some plants, like tomatoes, need a little help staying upright.
Support structures are a great way to keep your plants from toppling over and helping them thrive in your garden.
The types of structures you need in your garden will depend on the types of plants you are growing. Stakes, cages, and trellising are all great options for providing support for the plants in your garden.
Seed Starting Pots
Starting plants from seeds is a great way to get a jump on the garden season. But in order to get your seeds started indoors, you’ll need seed starting pots.
These little pots are the perfect size for growing seedlings, making them the best option for seed starting.
There are a variety of great choices when it comes to seed starting pots. You could grow each plant in individual seedling pots or use seedling flats to grow a bigger group of plants all at once.
Peat pots are another great option for at-home gardeners because you can easily transplant the pots right into your garden without disturbing the plant’s roots.
Final Thoughts on the Best Vegetable Gardening Accessories
While it’s best to have all of these items to help with your vegetable garden growth and make your life easier, don’t feel like you have to get them all at once!
Get what you can and then go from there.
Enjoyed this post?
It would be great if you could share it and follow me on Pinterest or Facebook.
