Weekend and professional gardeners have their favorite tools. Tools that are always close at hand. Here are our top 5.
- Garden Trowel Our #1 garden tool is the garden trowel. No other tool offers the variety of use. A garden trowel can be used for digging, weeding, planting, shoveling, splitting tubers and edging. If there is one garden tool you shouldn't live without, it's the garden trowel.
- Pruners/Shears When you think of gardening your first thought is probably "growing." Growing healthy plants and growing them the way you have planned requires a lot of cutting. Pruning overgrowth or for plant design, removing dead rhododendron flowers and the like and edging shrubs are just a start.
- Hand Rake A hand rake is a small three-pronged claw tool that is great for prepping for planting – loosening dirt, turning soil and clearing debris from your garden beds. It's a "close-up" tool for confined and crowded spaces.
- Shovel Gardening isn't always light and delicate work. Sometimes brute force and volume are important. A shovel is a must have for getting the larger jobs done. It's longer handle provides the leverage to cut, separate and lift dirt, sod and rocks that would take much more time and energy with a small hand tool.
- Gloves Blisters… need we say more. If you are not a daily gardener, your hands will probably suffer if you don't wear gloves. Not only because of the friction created by using the tools needed to dig, prune and plant but because plants and ground can be sharp, thorny and abrasive. A good pair of garden gloves will save you days of pain and reduce your bandage budget.
Now that you have a tools list, you will need to take an inventory of what you have and make a shopping list of what you need. Quality does matter so don't always purchase the least expensive item. Talk with your garden professional, your friends and neighbors and, of course, Google it! There are a number of ergonomic options today that may work well for you. Here are just a few we think you may want to learn about.
Ergonomic Hand Tools The unique handle design helps prevent injury. Add-on handles will convert your hand tools to an ergonomically designed tool for easier use and better control. You can see them at wrightstuff.biz.
Shovel Technology The Radius Pro Shovel is a high performance, all-purpose digging tool that features a round-point sharpened stainless steel blade, large circular handle and extra-wide raised forward kick that offers greater leverage, easy digging and reduced strain. Check it out at radiusgarden.com.
Easier Cutting There are many manufacturers, styles and sizes of pruners and shears. It's a good idea to grip a few yourself to see what feels best to you. One brand that offers patented gear technology that makes cutting easier than traditional tools is FISKARS®. See them here: fiskars.com.
Bionic Gloves There are a plethora of garden glove designs and materials to choose from. If you want a pair that are specifically designed for the human hand and gardening, the Bionic ReliefGrip gardening gloves are a great choice. Designed by an orthopedic hand specialist with patented pads to help even the surface of your hand for a more comfortable, secure grip, ReliefGrip gloves offer more gripping power with less calluses and blisters. Look at them here: bionicgloves.com.
There are, of course, may other tools and accessories that will make your gardening easier and more enjoyable but these five are "must-haves."
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