Whether you garden as an enjoyable hobby, an educational family activity or to save money on groceries, you'll need some basic tools to maintain your garden. You can purchase garden tools at discount stores, farm supply stores or even at estate or garage sales. Keep your tools clean and store them in a dry place out of the weather to prolong the life of your garden implements.
Shovel
You'll need a shovel to turn over the soil to start your garden. Even after your garden is established, you can use a shovel to work in manure and fertilizer and turn the soil over in the spring. Choose a shovel with a smooth, sturdy handle. Garden shovels have rolled edges along the top of the blade to make it more comfortable for you to plant a foot on the blade to help with digging.
Spades and Trowels
A small spade or trowel comes in handy for transplanting seedlings into the garden, or for working fertilizer into the ground around individual plants. Choose a trowel that feels comfortable in your hand. You may want several trowels with blades of different widths.
Larry Bass, a horticulturalist with North Carolina State University, recommends a sharp-bladed spade for turning over garden soil. Many spades and trowels have a strap attached to the end of the handle so you can hang them up out of the way for storage.
Hoe
A hoe allows you to break up clods of hardened earth and to root out weeds without disturbing plants. A good hoe has a sturdy handle that isn't too long and feels smooth in your hand. The blade of the hoe should be sharp and not rusty.
Rakes
A garden rake, unlike a leaf rake, has short, sturdy tines. Use the garden rake for removing small stones and debris from the garden and smoothing out the dirt. A leaf rake, with its long, flexible tines, comes in handy for raking leaves, and also finds garden use by being a good tool for transferring mulch to the garden bed.
Water Hose
Gardens need plenty of water, and a hose makes it easy to deliver that water to your plants. Attach a nozzle to the end of the hose to spray water on the garden, or hook it up to a sprinkler. Choose a sturdy hose that will roll up easily when not in use. Some people prefer bright colors, since they're easier to see when stretched out on the lawn, lessening the chance that you'll trip over the hose or run over it with the lawn mower.
Watering Can
A watering can delivers a gentle shower of water to delicate seedlings. It is useful for watering individual plants, or for delivering a mixture of fertilizer and water to plants. You can use a plastic or metal watering can, but metal cans often hold more and are sturdier. Choose a can with a sprinkler head you can remove when you want to pour a stream of water onto a plant.
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