Choosing the Right Gardening Tools

Gardening vegetables becomes easier and more fun when you have the right tools. If you know which tools to use for gardening it can also make visiting a garden shop to buy tools easier.

Here are a few tips on how to choose the right gardening tools.

∗ The first thing you need to do is choose a spade for digging holes and cultivating your garden. Try to pick out a spade that has a handle that is comfortable. A good one to choose can be one with a D-style type hilt.

∗ Get a hoe for weeding and to aerate your soil in your garden. There are many hoes that have long handles such as drawing hoes, digging hoes, Dutch hoes, or triangle hoes. There are also some that will have a combination having a fork on one side and a couple of prongs on the other side.

∗ Choose a trowel and a hand fork to use in smaller garden areas or raised beds that do not have a lot of space. It is a good idea to use ones that have wood handles, as the metal can get cold when gardening in the winter.

∗ Choose a four-pronged fork for lifting vegetable crops and general cultivation in your garden. Try to pick a fork that has a head and neck that is made of one piece of wood, which will make it safer and more stable.

∗ Choose a garden rake to level and break up the soil in your garden. A stronger rake is a flathead one with more teeth. Rakes will have 3-foot wide carbon steel blades that have 5-foot shafts made of either wood, vinyl coated metal, plastic, or aluminum.

∗ You can use a cultivator in order to break up the soil in smaller gardens. There are either three or five pronged types of cultivators.

∗ You can also look into a power cultivator or a rototiller for larger gardens. You should choose an electric model with a front, middle, or rear engine. Pick the right sized horsepower depending on the size of your garden.

Safety Tips

∗ You have to choose the gardening tools that you are comfortable with so they are not too heavy or too long. When you choose tools make sure they are also comfortable in your hand. Many of the less expensive tools will have plastic handles and may not be as good as the wooden ones.

∗ When using the tools always try to work with a good set of gloves. Gloves will keep your hands from blistering.

∗ When you are hoeing always make sure that your back is straight so you do not injure your back.

Author: Jason Green