Hello future gardener enthusiast! How are you? I hope you read fully my first blog about gardening entitled: Organic Home Gardening: The Basic Guide Part 1. Well, if haven’t read the first part of this blog you can access it through this link.
As what I footnoted in my previous blog, that I will be spelling out another topic about gardening in this second part, which is about the essential tools in gardening. I also added some few points regarding on how to take good care of your gardening tools also, and you may encounter this at the end part of the blog.
So make yourself at home as I entertain you with some facts in gardening and feel the birds and the bees around you as you imagine having your own home garden.
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Image Edited via Adobe Photoshop Cs3
Essential Tools every Gardener Needs
Even superheroes need their sidekicks in fighting crimes; even doctors carry stethoscopes during their rounds; even the carpenters in our community needs their tools in fixing and building houses too. Same with gardeners, they’re also obliged working with the appropriate tools in their hands; while landscaping garden designs, growing blooming flowers as well as cultivating healthy and nutritious vegetables and fruits.
When we are talking about tools, we are not talking about just the usual tools we can find every day in our kitchen cabinets. For some, maybe they can just easily say that the ordinary scissors from the drawers will do in cutting grass and weeds as ‘’easy-peasy’’. Well, remind you people on earth! Are you going to cut grass using your cooking scissor and then afterward you’ll run soap and water through it and then use it for cooking again! Oh, come on! That’s a ‘BIG NO NO’ for me! And with the matter mentioned above, the phrase ‘’essential tools for gardening’’ comes in handy.
But wait! If we are dealing with gardening tools so it means we are going to buy huge TRACTORS and battery powered WEED TRIMER!
Wait again! Calm your horses' guys! We are just going to discuss the simple ‘must-have’’ tools for home gardening.
I know it is just so easy to go supernaturally searching on the internet for the things needed in gardening and after you click the search button on Google you can’t help it not to get confused with all the astrological list everyone have. Well, that is just so simple; the actual truth about it is that gardening comes in different style and methods as well as the tools too. Yeah, you heard it right, looking and picking the right tools depends on what gardening method you are using and most of all it depends on your personal needs as a gardener.
Here in my blog, I will tackle the ‘’must-have’’ tools needed for a beginner in home gardening. Just a memo for everyone, I broaden my list and I listed down stuff for general use too. So, let’s start!
1. Broom
This may be what others will call the ‘’old school’’ way, but using broom than a leaf blower can flawlessly clean up garden garbage. Using a leaf blower may be convenient to some but as for me, it can only mess up more with the weeds and clippings. Another advantage in using a broom is that it can promote healthy circulation to your body in a form of a daily stretching too.
2. Gloves
Using gloves in gardening is not acting flamboyantly because same as the broom it is also an essential tool in gardening. Gloves help protect your hands from splinters and thorns and with gloves you can do numerous tasks without worrying those crying cuticles. When you buy gloves from the nearest hardware make sure to buy the durable one in order to avoid re-buying, which may add up to your expenses, and make sure it is not too hefty while using.
Image Credits: photoAC via Pixabay
3. Garden Hose
Same as human beings, plants need to be watered regularly and that is why a garden hose is essential. Garden hose can give you the relief in avoiding backaches while carrying heavy weight watering pots. When buying a garden hose make sure to buy the one with good qualities and durable too. Based on my personal experience about cheap garden hose – IT’S SO HARD MANIPULATING KINKED HOSE!
4. Pruning Shears
Another term for this is Secateurs or Clippers. This tool is a double-edged lined-up blades straight scissors. And its main purpose is to cut flowers and dead leaves as well as trim cuttings and bushes. This kind of gardening scissors prevents you from injuring your plant’s tissues on occasions when you are shearing dead wood. A smooth and evenly cut may develop as you give your plant a nice hairdo.
Image Credits: WerbeFabrik via Pixabay
5. Digging Fork
Digging fork is significant in doing the conventional gardening like intersecting buds and turning your soil in your compost piles. This kind of tool may also be used in collecting newly harvest root crops. In choosing the right digging fork, you may consider looking for a stainless steel digging fork or the one with hardwood handles because this type of forks is best in digging.
Image Credits: grow organic via https://www.groworganic.com/
6. Trowel
In times when you are arranging your plants and decided to maneuver some changes in your garden, a scoop-like blade with a curved called trowel is what you need. Same with the digging fork it can also be used in dividing plants and drilling over small holes. In addition to it, the trowel is used in keeping soils smooth too.
Image Credits: Gardening Know How via https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/
7. Rake
This type of tool is like ‘superman to the rescue’ in times when a gardener needs to move large rocks, paralleling the soil and also spreading gravels. Rake is intricately characterized in possessing metal prongs that are firm and durable in handling earth masses.
Image Credits: Home Garden Green via http://www.homegardengreen.com/
8. Shovel
The shovel is one essential tool what mostly people known to be much in need in gardening. They are distinguishable for having a pointed tip that is being used for mighty masses. In purchasing a shovel, a gardener must know that a shovel has two types: flat head shovel and the spade. This flat head shovel serves as soil handler in gardening.
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9. Spade
If you are saying that you don’t need this because you already have a shovel on your hand; well, I will prove you wrong! The spade tool for gardening is being used in helping through soil portioning as well as detangling roots in your plants.
Image Credits: goiwara via Pixabay
10. Wheelbarrow
As I have mentioned in my first blog about Organic Home Gardening: The Basic Guide Part 1 , that one of the disadvantages in gardening is having some physical issues while gardening due to over bending and lifting heavy soils; well, worry no more because the most hard-working among the gardening tool is in front of you in JPEG format – the WHEELBARROW! Huge sack of soils, fertilizers, composting supplies, food for your plant, all other top-heavy things you see in your garden- you name it! The wheelbarrow can definitely maneuver that bulky and hefty stuff you’re screeching about while gardening.
Image Credits: Efraimstochter via Pixabay
11. Gardening Apron
Among other gardening tools, this one is somehow optional because some people may find it unnecessary. Nevertheless, I will explain it to you guys why I am still considering this one as an essential tool in gardening. First and foremost, a gardening apron will obviously protect your clothes from getting dirty and muddy as well as to yourself too! For we all know no moms out there wanted to do a laundry annoyed with all the muds that are hard to get rid of, right? And most of all, gardening apron serves as you're ‘on the go tray’ when you are doing your gardening. For instance, you are a garden blogger, so you carry your camera while doing gardening, in this matter, you can put your camera inside your apron’s pockets. Same with all other handy gardening tools like the shears, trowel and the seeds too.
Image Credits: Satori Design for Living
Two Cents' Worth of Advice in Taking Good Care of your Gardening Tools
The good quality of a responsible gardener should have is not only keeping the garden weed-free place, but rather having a favorable investment in purchasing the right tool as well as taking good care of them. Making sure that your gardening tools are properly washed off from dirt before storing them will salvage your pocket from buying a new one, and same as avoiding them from getting rusty. Being sharp also is not the only main thing when we talk about tools, they also need to be free from germs and any contamination in order to avoid spreading diseases in your garden.
Here’s the checklist to keep in mind in order to
maintain the excellent qualities of your gardening tools:
1. Rinsing
a. In flashing dirt on your garden hose you need to brush off the masses inside with the use of wire brush.
b. Immersing your tools with an available cleansing solution like bleach is another way on rinsing your tools.
c. If you have metal-made tools that are covered with rust, vinegar solution is the cheapest answer.
d. Linseed oil can be used as polishing for the tools that have wooden handles.
2. Sharp-edge
a. Buying some blade sharpener for you gardening shears does not cost much but instead, it can prevent you from buying another blade. This kind of routine helps you to save money because blades are much more costly than sharpeners.
Video Credits: Repairs101 via Youtube
3. Safe Keeping
a. Humidity and moisture is your antagonist when keeping tools. That is why you need to keep your tools inside a proper storage or in any way you can also have a DIY hanging organizer for them.
b. For your small and handy tools like spades and trowels, you can make a recycled container full of sand and lubricating oil then immersed them for well-maintained metal tools.
Video Credits: GrowVeg via Youtube
Thank you for reading my second blog about Organic Home Gardening!
Hope you all enjoyed and learned something new today!
And I will assure you that there’s more information I will tackle about organic home gardening on my third blog.
Ciao!
© yadeed15 2017
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