How to Use the Right Garden Tool for the Job

You hear it all the time: "Use the right tool for the job." But how do you decide which is the proper tool to use in any given circumstance? Here are a few tips for selecting a garden tool to match a task. Does this Spark an idea?

Things You'll Need

  • Bow Rake
  • Clean Rags
  • Garden Spades
  • Hand Cultivators
  • Leaf Rakes
  • Long-handled Hoes
  • Pitchforks
  • Short-handled Hoes
  • Shovels
  • Spading Forks
  • Lubricating Oils
  • Metal Files
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use shovels for digging and spades for scooping. Shovels have round tips and spades have a flat blade.

    • 2

      Employ flexible rakes for lightweight materials such as lawn clippings and leaves and metal bow rakes for moving and grading soil and mulch.

    • 3

      Arm yourself with a pitchfork when moving twiggy material such as small branches.

    • 4

      Use a spading fork to loosen hard soil or to turn the compost pile.

    • 5

      Look to cultivators to open the surface of the soil. Cultivators add oxygen to existing garden beds and are also used to uproot young weeds.

    • 6

      Take advantage of small, short-handled hoes or weed knives to remove weeds from existing garden beds.

    • 7

      Use large, long-handled hoes to remove weeds from an empty garden bed.

Tips & Warnings

  • Treat wooden handles to an occasional swipe with an oil-soaked rag.

  • Use a metal file to sharpen the blades of digging and chopping tools.

  • Use short-handled tools only for small jobs. Long handles are much easier on the back.

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