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Step 1
Pick a spade for digging holes and general cultivating of the vegetable garden. Border spades have smaller blades for use in smaller places. Choose a comfortable handle in the commonly found D-type style hilt.
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Step 2
Have a hoe on hand for weeding and aerating the garden soil. Long handled hoes come in a variety of kinds for a number of gardening uses—drawing hoe, digging hoe, Dutch hoe, triangular hoe or combination hoe with a fork on one side and two prongs on the other.
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Step 3
Select a trowel and hand fork for use in small garden areas and raised beds with limited working area. Trowels are small shovels made in wide and narrow blades of carbon steel. Metal handles are cold in early spring and late fall so pick a wooden handled tool.
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Step 4
Lift vegetable root crops and perform general cultivation activities with a four-pronged fork. Pick from a regular size, slightly smaller ladies size, or a youth fork. Choose a fork with the head and neck made as one piece and a wooden shaft for a safe, sturdy selection.
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Step 5
Pick a garden rake for leveling and breaking up the soil in the garden. Select a flathead rake, which is stronger and has more teeth. Rakes have 3-foot wide carbon steel blades with 5-foot or longer shafts made of wood, aluminum, plastic or vinyl-coated metal.
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Step 6
Use a hand cultivator to break up soil in smaller garden areas. Cultivators come in three and five pronged models and longer shafted versions for the long-armed gardener.
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Step 7
Consider a power cultivator or rototiller for large vegetable garden needs. Pick a gas or electric powered model with a front, middle or rear-engine. Select the proper sized horsepower for the size of the vegetable garden. Many rototillers come with attachments like hillers and plows.
