My Favorite Gardening Tools

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My Favorite Gardening Tools Graphic

You could easily fill a whole shed with gardening tools, but over the years I’ve found it isn’t necessary. Maybe I’m just a minimalist gardener, but I find I only need a handful of tools to perform the majority of my gardening tasks.

I’ve rounded up my favorite garden tools here, in the hopes that you’ll find a few favorites that help you save money, time and shed space.

Garden Shoes

These Muckster garden shoes from the Muck Boot Company are the best garden shoes I’ve ever owned. They’re easy to slide on and off; they’re comfortable; they’re waterproof; and since they’re molded out of a single piece of rubber, the sole won’t ever separate from the shoe. I found my pair in a thrift store, but I would actually pay retail for these.

Hori Hori Knife

A Hori Hori Knife

This is my absolute favorite garden tool. Hori hori knives weren’t even on my radar until a few years ago, but now that I have one, I use it every day. It’s basically a hand trowel with a sharp tip, one serrated cutting edge and one smooth cutting edge. It cuts through soil and roots with ease. I use it to plant, weed and divide plants. I also use it to remove sod. Mine is stainless steel and has a cutting notch, like the one shown here. Mine also has one-inch measurements on the blade, which come in handy when planting bulbs and spacing plants. I actually own two hori hori knives. If you want garden help, you need tools for your garden helpers.

Hand Weeder

A Hand Weeder

I use my hori hori to go after most weeds, but I use a hand weeder, like this, to go after dandelions, thistles and other weeds with a deep tap root. The long forks dig down to the bottom of the root, while the arch on the back of the tool provides just enough leverage to pull the root up, without having it snap. Mine isn’t stainless steel, but if I was buying a replacement, that’s what I would go with.

Sovaven Stand Up Weed Puller Tool

This Sovaven Stand Up Weed Puller Tool is the latest tool in my weed popping arsenal. Just plunge the steel claw into the center of a weed; then, twist the handle to remove it. That twisting action is absolute magic. It gets the weed out cleanly, without leaving any of the taproot behind. It works brilliantly on dandelions, thistle, clover and wild violets. Being able to weed standing up is much easier on your back and knees, and much faster, too. This tool makes quick work of weeding our long privacy planting beds.

Garden Hoe

A Draw Hoe

I use a draw hoe to quickly uproot small, shallow-rooted weeds that form on the surface of the soil. It’s great for removing newly-sprouted weeds before they have a chance to establish themselves.

Japanese Sickle Hoe

A Sickle Hoe

I recently purchased a Japanese sickle hoe, and it’s quickly become one of my most-used garden tools. It’s basically a small, hand-held hoe with a sharp blade. It allows me to weed around established plants with greater precision, and saves me a ton of time weeding. My husband loves it as much as I do. Mine is a Tomita Nisaku Sickle Hoe with a four-inch blade. I chose it because it’s stainless steel and because the reviews indicated that it had a much stronger weld than other sickle hoes.

Trug

Garden Trugs

I have four trugs, and I use them endlessly. I fill them up with weeds; I use them to mix up batches of potting soil; and I use them to haul our harvest indoors. The built-in handles and flexible material makes them easy to carry, and they hold a ton. They’re great because they’re sturdy, lightweight and easy to clean.

Leaf Scoops

Leaf Scoops

I originally bought a set of leaf scoops (aka hand-held rakes) to allow me to pick up bigger handfuls of leaves, when we were grinding leaves for mulch. But this spring, my girls discovered they’re also excellent for scooping up piles of pulled weeds. They’d be awesome for spreading soil amendments, too. Next time I spread mulch, I’m going to try using these, instead of a shovel. Shoveling mulch has always killed my shoulders. Isn’t it great when you buy a tool for one purpose, and end up finding a bunch of other uses for it?

Sprayer

A Sprayer

We don’t like to solve pest problems with chemicals, so when thripes, aphids or another garden pest becomes an issue, we often solve it by whipping up a batch of homemade insecticidal soap (recipe coming soon). A spray bottle works fine for small infestations; but for large infestations, a sprayer is nice to have. It allows you to treat a big area quickly, and really saves your trigger finger.

Sprayers are cheap, so buy a new sprayer for this purpose, and label it, to ensure it doesn’t get used for anything else. You don’t want to accidentally introduce any chemicals to plants you intend to eat.

Pruners

Pruners

I own a pair of basic, no-frill bypass pruners, like these. I use them to prune small branches and vines. I also use them to cut and dead head flowers. I like the placement and simplicity of the safety latch.

Loppers

Loppers

For larger pruning jobs, I use bypass loppers. They make faster cuts than a pair of pruners, and the long arms make it easy to work overhead and get into hard-to-reach areas.

Hedge Trimmer

This 18-inch Black & Decker Cordless Pole Hedge Trimmer is the only power tool to make my list! For years, we used a no-frills, corded Black and Decker hedge trimmer to prune and shape our mature hedges, but we finally decided to upgrade to a cordless model with a longer reach. This cuts down on our need for ladders, and completely eliminates the possibility of cutting through an extension cord.

Brass Hose Nozzle

Brass Hose Nozzles

I have no love for plastic hose nozzles, so I keep an eye out for brass nozzles at yard sales and estate sales. Every one of our hoses has a brass nozzle on it. I just like the simple, rugged, reliable design.

Post Hole Diggers

Post Hole Diggers

The post hole diggers come out whenever we have trees to plant. They get the job done faster than a shovel, and eliminate all the hunched over, back-breaking work.

Digger Bar

A Digger Bar

With our clay soil, a digger bar is an essential companion to our post hole digger. It’ll break through hard soil, roots, and other obstacles, and help you dig out rocks, so you don’t damage your post hole digger and wear yourself out in the process.

A Battery Powered Mower

We don’t have a lot of grass to mow, so we ditched our gas mower in favor of a Greenworks 40V 19-Inch Cordless (3-In-1) Push Lawn Mower. It runs on battery power, and is extremely quiet. My husband just sticks the battery back on the charger after he mows and it’s ready for next time.

Have a favorite gardening tool that didn’t make my list? Tell me about it in the comments.

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One Comment

  1. Hi Erin,

    I found your website yesterday morning and read all your old posts up to 2019, printed off all the printables that I needed to start my binder system. Today, I finished reading the 2020 posts and snagged more printables.

    I am so excited to find someone who is into simple home organization and decor, homesteading and organics, naturopathy/homeopathy, smart money management and frugal living, and who loves a good bargain/treasure hunt!

    Finding all my passions in one well-designed, well-organized, fun to read blog is invaluable. Thank you.

    As a recent home buyer, I am at the beginning stages of my journey, so your website is as inspirational as it is informative for me. Plus, I adore the fact that we love old houses!

    Keep up the great work and please, keep writing and sharing your story. You rock!

    Wishing you and yours good health and safety,

    Scarlet

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