By Kerry Johnston
Whether you have practiced green fingers or you’re still learning the ropes, no gardener should be without these essentials…
1. Fork – Perfect for turning and aerating the soil, cultivating unbroken soil, safely lifting out bulbs and perennials for transplanting and dividing, and tackling buried roots or rocks. If you have tough-to-work soil, invest in a fork with heavy-duty tines.
2. Spade – Spades and shovels are not the same. You need one of each. A spade’s flat, squared-off blade is ideal for edging beds and digging planting holes, while a shovel sports a more angled blade for moving piles of soil and other materials.
3. Rake – A leaf rake with its fanned shape and bent tips is perfect for raking up leaves and removing debris from under and around plants, while a hard rake is great for moving leaves and mulch and breaking up clods of soil. Flip it over to smooth out soil after planting.
4. Soil knife – Considered to be the handiest tool of them all. Smooth on one side, serrated on the other, the stainless steel concave blade can pry out stones, cut through roots and dig deep enough for planting bulbs. The easy-to-grip handle helps ensure accuracy.
5. Watering can – Choose a lightweight can that holds a generous amount of water and has measuring marks (useful if you want mix in some fertiliser).
6.Hosepipe – The thicker the hose, the less likely it will kink. So look for a rubber or vinyl hose consisting of several layers. Invest in attachments that help meet your irrigation needs, as well as a reel to roll the hose up when you’re not using it.
7. Scissors – Heavy-duty kitchen scissors, especially the kind with strong blades that come apart for easy cleaning, are indispensable for things like opening bags of compost and potting soil, cutting string, snipping herbs and deadheading flowers.
8. Pruning shears – When regular scissors aren’t up to the task, a pair of small, sharp and lightweight pruning shears with soft-grip handles, rubber bumpers to absorb shock and a notch for cutting wire will do the trick. Use them to prune woody plants. The long-handled versions that swivel are perfect for clipping shrubs and hedges.
9. Gloves – These are as essential a tool as a spade or a rake, so keep several pairs around. Choose leather or cotton to avoid blisters, wide cuffs to protect wrists when working with thorns, latex or rubber to help keep hands dry and reinforced knuckles and padding in the palm.
10. Wheelbarrow – There’s nothing better for carrying heavy bags of soil, mulch, fertiliser, garden debris and the like. If you can, opt for a more stable two-wheeler with high sides.
Do you have an indispensable garden tool that’s not on this list? Tell us about it…
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