How to Buy Basic Garden Tools

There's a tool for every garden purpose--a dandelion popper, a bulb dibber, a watering can for seedlings. Stock your shed with well built, high-quality essentials--the classic tools you'll use year after year.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Check for a comfortable, balanced weight. Too heavy a tool will wear you out quickly, as will a poorly balanced tool. Too light, and you will have to compensate with your own energy.

2. Feel the handle. High-quality wood, usually ash, should be smooth, with an even, straight grain. Longer handles provide more leverage.

3. Make sure the head's on straight. Carbon steel is the highest quality. Consider stainless-steel tools if you're willing to pay the price. They're durable, rust-resistant and easy to clean.

4. Look closely where the head joins the handle. The strongest connections are forged sockets or steel strapped, riveted with several rivets. Less-expensive tools often employ a metal sleeve that extends from the head and wraps around the handle.

5. Test for sharpness. A tool's edge will hold up better if the steel is tempered, heat-treated or solid-forged.

6. Recognize the essentials. Every garden needs most of the following: Shovel, spade, digging fork, weeder, hoe, edger, leaf rake, garden rake, hand pruners, loppers, and a pruning saw. There are obviously a much wider variety than those, and many or helpful. But with those, any gardened can be tamed.

7. Buy your tools at hardware stores and nurseries. Or shop online at sites such as A. M. Leonard (mleo.com) and Smith & Hawken (smithandhawken.com).

Tips & Warnings

• Short-handled tools may make tall people stoop, but shorter people may find them more comfortable. Try both short and long handles to see which kind you like.
• Keep your tools in good shape by cleaning off dirt after every use; scrape with a wooden spoon or a stiff brush. Swipe the heads with linseed-oiled cloth at the beginning and end of every season.