How Important are Garden Hand Tools?

In case you are wondering exactly how important the hand tools that you use in the garden are, consider that you would very likely not have much of one without them. Unless you are going to plant and cultivate several acres, these hand tools will be used almost exclusively making them the backbone of gardening.

These hand tools will be used to plant, and often times maintain, your annual and perennial borders; shrubs, trees and perhaps a little vegetable garden, so knowing the proper ones to use, as well as the proper way to use them will help you to complete the most work with the least amount of effort.

The first place to start is with the planting and for this you will want to use a spade in order to break up and turn the soil, which is usually followed by raking the area in order to remove any stones or large clods. If you are going to be planting trees or shrubs you will want to use a shovel for the larger holes as you want to be sure to dig the hole to the correct depth, otherwise a smaller hand trowel should be sufficient.

Once you have planted your garden you will need tools for cultivating your new growth. Normally a gardener will own more of this type of hand garden tool than any other and usually in a wide variety of sizes, styles and shapes. One of these is the hoe and there are generally three types, one used for flower beds, another is narrow making it easier to get between rows and another is used for shallow cultivating where the plants roots are closer to the surface. Another common cultivation tool is the pronged cultivator, one is rather large and you can actually adjust the “teeth”, similar to what you would find on a tractor. The other is used in a sort of chopping manner, very similar to how you would use a hoe.

Hand cultivators are something that every home gardener should have and are usually of the wire pronged type, but there are other styles available. These are generally used for more close work such as in your annual or perennial borders. It is true that these hand tools are more of the get down on your hands and knees variety, but often times it is the only way to remove those unwanted weeds.

While these garden hand tools may seem elementary, they should definitely not be ignored and need to be a part of every home gardeners tool shed.