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.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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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1
Use shovels for digging and spades for scooping. Shovels have round tips and spades have a flat blade.
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2
Employ flexible rakes for lightweight materials such as lawn clippings and leaves and metal bow rakes for moving and grading soil and mulch.
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3
Arm yourself with a pitchfork when moving twiggy material such as small branches.
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4
Use a spading fork to loosen hard soil or to turn the compost pile.
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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.
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6
Take advantage of small, short-handled hoes or weed knives to remove weeds from existing garden beds.
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7
Use large, long-handled hoes to remove weeds from an empty garden bed.
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1
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.
