Although it is possible to garden with an old spoon and a measuring cup, gardening is much more pleasant when you have the right tools!

Here are five garden tools that I consider essential. These gardening tools are useful for anyone with a good sized yard or even a small farm.

Shovel

On the top of the list is a good shovel. A shovel has a slightly rounded blade and can be bought with a long or short handle. I find that the long handle gives me more leverage when dealing with compacted soil and is also less wearing on my back since I don't have to bend to dig.

A good shovel should be slightly bent along the top edge. This bend provides you with a place to put your foot when you need to shove the shovel blade deep into the ground.

Digging is often the first step to a beautiful garden so make sure you include a shovel that you like in your gardening tools.

Hoe

There are many different styles of hoe, but they all have the same essential function. A hoe is used to break up clumps of dirt to make a smooth seed bed and to pull weeds out of the ground. My personal favorite is a hoe with a triangular blade.

The point of the blade can be used to dig out weeds. The corners are useful for smoothing beds or for pulling away dirt to make a row for planting.

Rake

You should probably include two rakes in your gardening tool collection.

One should be a standard leak rake which can be used to collect grass clippings and leaves as well as smoothing garden beds with light soil.

The second rake should be a heavy duty landscaping or "iron" rake. This rake is square and has short thick teeth. It can be used to smooth beds with heavy soil or to spread gravel or other landscaping materials.

Fork

A pitchfork or potato fork is very important to the organic gardener or anyone who composts. The difference between the two is found in the length of the handle and the shape and length of the tines.

The pitchfork has a long handle and the tines are slightly curved and thinner than those of the potato fork. The pitchfork is best used for turning a compost pile that is mostly composed of grass clippings and leaves.

The potato fork has a short handle and thick straight tines. It can be used to dig and is very useful for turning compost piles that contain large amounts of dirt or manure.

Wheelbarrow

The final useful tool for a gardener is a wheelbarrow. These may be purchased inseveral sizes and are usually made of plastic or metal. I personally prefer a plastic wheelbarrow as it will not rust. Metal barrows will need to be painted on a regular basis to protect them from the corrosive effects of water and manure (if used by an organic gardener).

As you can see a good gardening tool collection makes it much easier to develop a beautiful yard and bountiful garden. Take the time to choose your gardening tools with care and you will always enjoy...



About the Author:

Kyndra Ferguson is a freelance writer and gardening expert from Richmond, Virginia. She grew up on 26 acres in Charles City County where she grew organic vegetables and herbs for sale and home use.

Her website at www.GardeningGirl.com is dedicated to promoting healthy living, organic gardening practices and Plant A Row for the Hungry.


Happy Gardening!


Coming Soon! Cooking From Your Patio - A Guide to Container Gardening and Using What You Grow! Click here to read an excerpt!