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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| Hand tools simplify garden chores and save you energy. |
There are a lot of gardening tools out there – how do you know which ones you need? Well, wonder no more! Here are the five must-have hand tools every gardener needs:
1. A trowel. The trowel is essentially a tiny shovel. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need this tool because we’d all be gardening in fluffy, rich soil. Transplanting would be as easy as thrusting your hand into the dirt, making a hole with just a few wiggles of your fingers, and popping the plant in. But since that’s not the case, most gardeners prefer to use a trowel in their often dense, compacted soils. (And if you’ve got hard, compacted earth to work with, be sure to work it manually or mechanically with a cultivator before planting anything in it. Your plants’ roots will thank you!) Trowels have a pointed tip to slice through the soil. Some have serrated edges to help cut through the roots of an established plant. Others are marked with measurements so you can dig holes to a particular depth. You can also use these handy tools as bulb or seed planters. 2. A spade. The spade is your shovel’s cousin. It’s got a long, rectangular blade and a medium-length handle (shorter than your shovel’s), as well as a handgrip. The spade’s sharpened edge cuts through the soil so you can dig larger holes or edge a border. When you dig with your spade, use your body’s weight in the first thrust. (Stomping on the edge of a spade or shovel will probably do nothing more than give you a bruised foot – and only a little digging depth to show for your pain.) | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Megan Bame | | A good cultivator will help you work the soil and keep weeds down. |
3. A cultivator. Cultivating tools have a wide variety of names, from hoes to hand tillers. No matter which tool you choose, they’ve all got the same purpose: to cultivate the soil, clean debris from between plants and eliminate weeds. There are many designs to choose from. And unfortunately for your pocketbook, the best way to figure out which one works best for you is by experimenting with them. Two things to keep an eye out for are cultivators with long handles and ones that are lightweight. (These are the top criteria for many gardeners.)
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