How to Select Basic Garden Tools

You don't need to spend a lot to start a garden, but you do need some basic tools. You can get started for under $100 - less if you can find tools at yard sales or flea markets.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bow Rake
• Garden Shears
• Hoes
• Shovels
• Spading Forks
• Watering Cans
• Shovels

1. Select a spading fork as your first tool. Before you plant anything, you will need to open and improve the soil. A spading fork looks like a pitchfork but has a shorter handle and wider tines. It is used to dig down into hard soil and break up the ground.

2. Next, choose a hoe. A hoe is useful for weeding and cultivating the surface of the soil to allow for penetration of nutrients and water.

3. Choose a watering can. Long nozzles allow the water to come out at a very gentle flow rate and are useful for reaching across long distances. Select a watering can that has a detachable spray head - this type of watering can is perfect for watering young seedlings.

4. Select a round-ended shovel for larger digging projects, such as planting shrubs and trees.

5. Buy a good bow rake, which has short tines on one side attached to a metal frame or 'bow.' It's used for leveling the soil after it has been turned and prior to planting, or for removing large clods of earth or rocks from the soil. You can also turn a bow rake over and use the flat side to smooth soil in preparation for planting.

6. Select a pair of garden shears that fits comfortably in your hand. Shears, sometimes called clippers, are used for pruning, shaping and removing foliage or branches. Don't buy the most expensive shears until you decide you like gardening.

Tips & Warnings

• These are the basic garden tools. Anything else is frosting.
• Don't buy the most expensive tools when you are just starting out. You may find that you don't really like gardening - and if that is indeed the case, you will not have lost a large investment.

on 11/22/2005 Not only will you be able to use a hose for watering, you'll also need it to clean away some of the dirt and mess in the area around your garden.

on 11/22/2005 We just bought our first home and have found a pair of lopping shears to be indispensable for clearing out overgrown bushes and tree limbs.