Hand Gardening Tools

For the successful gardening, there are certain procedures that are to be carried out at particular stages of plantation. Prior to growing plants, correct soil bed preparation should be done by turning the soil and removing stones and debris (if any). Following this, seeds are sown or plantlets are planted as per the cultivar. In order to control weed invasion in the garden bed, it is necessary to pull the weeds or any other unwanted plants. For accomplishing all these, basic hand gardening tools are necessary such as a cultivator for churning soil, a trowel for digging and a weeder for pulling weeds.

Commonly Used Hand Gardening Tools

Though there are several automatic gardening tools, many people still prefer to use hand tools. They are less costly and convenient to use. Some hobbyists practice gardening as a physical exercise. Hence, for them, hand gardening tools are a much better option than the automatic ones. Following are some basic hand tools that are necessary for gardening.

Garden Shovel
Garden shovel is an essential tool for digging, cultivating, lifting heavy soil and at times, irrigating gardens. The two most common shovels are standard digging type and border spade. Garden shovels with tread on the blade are heavier and more effective for digging. Speaking about the lightweight shovels, those with stainless steel or carbon steel blade are better options. They are non-rusting and are equally effective.

Garden Trowel
Garden trowel is an extensively used gardening tool. It consists of a flat metal blade and a short handle. In gardening, it is used for soil leveling, digging, bedding plants and mixing fertilizers. Garden trowels with stainless steel blades are non-rusting and durable.

Garden Pruner
Garden pruner, as the name suggests, is used to remove the branches of flowering plants, hedges and big trees. A garden pruner has a blade and a handle; the configuration of these varies based on the type of a pruner. Usually, shears are meant for trimming and improving shape of hedges, whereas pruning saws are used for pruning hard tree branches.

Garden Weeder
Garden weeder is available in various shapes and sizes, all of which are designed to remove weeds. For example, a crack weeder is used for scraping hard weeds from the surface of rocks and crevices. Garden weeder can also be used as an ice scrapper. It consists of a long handle and a head. At present, many gardeners prefer to use weeder instead of a garden hoe.

Garden Rake
Garden rake is an equipment used for the multiple purposes in gardening such as loosening and leveling soil, raking gravel, removing large weeds, collecting dried leaves and dead grasses from gardens and lawns. A typical garden rake consists of a row of projecting teeth attached transversely to a wooden handle. Nowadays, steel and plastic teeth rakes with metal handle are available. Some of them have double-sided teeth, in which one of them is a dull blade.

In addition to these basic hand gardening tools, there are several other equipment that can be added as per the growing area and/or gardening types. For example, if you are planning to start a rock garden, then a marrow trowel should be preferred to work in the tight spaces. In another case, dibber is used in heavy clay soils for sowing seeds.