What are your favorite gardening tools?

[Chris_W]

In our latest newsletter (http://www.perennialnursery.com/newsletter0312.html) I talk about my favorite gardening tools. I definitely wouldn't be without a good pair of garden scissors and I wouldn't be without my spading fork, as most of you who have shopped here would know

What are the tools that you regularly use in your gardens that you wouldn't be without? Let us know

[Tigger]

Hori-hori type garden knife. I prefer the stainless to the traditional black steel, but it's an essential tool. Useful for planting small bulbs, weeding, splitting perennials, cutting back tough leaves (iris), and even sawing trough small branches. That and Felco pruners.

David

[thy]

Fiskars

Agree with you about the spading fork, I think everybody use them a lot here, then my small garden spade, Both light weight from Fiskars- but not close to the price you can have them for

Then my sissors all 4 of them are Fiskars, but different types, one is with a thingy making it easier to cut bigger branches, but it is difficult to open and even I have told everybody it is not to be closed, they do and I have to waith for someone to come and open it up
I like my Felco too, but the blade easily get problems and have to be changed.

Then 2 years ago I found a new useful thing a circle hoe, great for smaller weeds and can go very close to the plants. It is an US thing

Pia

[ogrefcf]

I love a good pickaxe.

[ademink]

Great article, Chris!!!

I have always been a HUGE fan of the spading fork - it's my #1.

I also use kitchen scissors and bypass pruners all of the time.

For raking, I love the metal ones w/ adjustable tines. I got one on clearance from Smith & Hawkins. My mom LOVED it and borrowed it....never to be returned. LOL

[Bob Scott]

I have a long, narrow shovel that I love.

[Chris_W]

Thanks for the replies! I was looking into the circle hoe last summer after Brian's winged weeder finally broke after 15 years of use. Still haven't found a replacement but other people suggested that one to me before too.

And yes, I have a really good pickaxe that comes in very handy from time to time, especially if I'm trenching.

Another tool I didn't mention is my solid steel, flat edged spade. I actually find this the most useful for putting in edging. You push it straight down and then wiggle in back and forth to create a "V" shaped wedge where your edging will go, making a groove much deeper than the edging itself. Then after you lay the edging into the groove just push down on each side with your feet. Whenever I put in edging this way it never heaves out. If you try to push it in, it always pushes back out later...

Thanks again, and keep the replies coming

Chris

[Buckeye]

My 2 favorites are my Felco #8 pruners and my Radius spading fork.

[millcreekmoose]

I use many of the tools you mentioned, but wish I could find the trenching shovel and garden fork with longer handles---and not priced @ over $60 ea. I'm only 5'7", but bending over the handles of the standard forks and shovels gets to my back a lot sooner than when I use a long handled round point shovel. And unfortuneately, many of my plants haven't enough room between them to safely use the wider shovel. I have a shorter, hand held (approx15") winged weeder I got several years ago. The blade is smaller and is very good for finish weeding close to the plants.

[Chris_W]

Welcome to the forums!

I've heard others talk about wanting to find long handled tools, but it seems like the shorter "D" handle is more common, and yes, prices can really get high on some things. I'm always leery about spending a lot of money on tools because I'm never sure how long they last.

I'm going to check into the hand held winged weeders - thanks for mentioning it

Chris

[thy]

Fiskars have tools made for high men, My son have them. Price in US, do not have a clue, but the prices Chris have mentioned are not possible here and I know he was rather short of money when he bought them.

Winged weeders, so thats the name for the 3 or 5 fingered thingy you use in the garden
My ex, ex added a new very long handle for mine, worked good for more than 10 years.

By the way, the circle hoe have problems with weed grass if bigger.

Pia

[oldcoot]

When that Old Coot was actually doing Gardening, his favorite tool was a good trowell He had one marked in inches so he could know how deep to plant. An old time garden fork with about 6 tines works good too. Coot with fond memories......

[Ginger]

My favorite tool is my hands No matter if I use tools, eventually they are thrown to the side and I am on the ground with my hands buried in the dirt. I love to feel the dirt in my hands..

[Midnight Reiter]

I have a little hand rake that I love: long tines and narrow 4" width . And I totally love my Felco loppers!

[isadora]

I am seldom without my Felcos, I am always having to cut something. I also carry a pair of sharp Chinese garden scissors for cutting weeds out of the moss paths. I have three because I keep misplacing them. My favorite digging tool is a small hand pick, I use it for everything from digging planting holes to prying out rocks and recaltricant weeds, and for lifting small wildflowers and perennials I want to move. And of course my sturdy hand trowel and an old pocket knife I use for digging out weeds in difficult places. I also have a small angled hoe that I use for cleaning out weeds by hand from the garden paths.

A big plastic nursery tree pot (30 gallon) gets dragged around everywhere for leaves, weeds, trimmings, everything trashy about the garden, and then there's my trusty wheelbarrow, which sometimes carries the tree pot as well as rocks, gravel, mulch, soil, whatever. I have a couple of shovels I wouldn't be without, a sharpie for digging out things in my rocky soil and a scoop for moving the aforementioned mulch, etc. And a spading fork for turning the compost pile. Add a leaf rake, and a blower to keep the leaves off the moss paths, and that pretty much covers it.

Sandy

[gamekeeper]

Ashamed to admit I always had a spading fork but never used it as I was unsure of its purpose but Tried on word from Chris
and it is great for planting.

[morgansrgr8]

I'm right there with Ginger. I end up with my hands in the dirt.

[boops]

I second Ginger-my manicurist is always yelling at me. But I also love my Fiskars pruner and a large spade shovel.