WHAT ARE THE BASICS TOOLS A NEWBIE WOULD NEED ....

presume no budget ... i know there are 1000 tools they might need someday .... but lets just talk about the bare minimum ...

anyone inspired to start any other topics for newbies .... just do the caption like mine ....

anyway ...

the absolute primary is a SHOVEL .... had about 20 of them over the years .... my favorite for the last 13 years is a SEAR CRAFTSMAN fiberglass handle shovel .... break it.. return it.. go figure ... which i did only once.. and then realized that in breaking it.. i was using the wrong tool for the project.. and working WAYYY TTOOOO hard.. lol ... they do make saws for those roots. .. lol ...

AND DID YOU KNOW .. EVERY SHOVEL HAS ITS OWN ANGLE ... oops ... i find some nearly impossible to use... because of that angle ....

and let me be clear... buying cheap is NOT going to work out in the long run. .... and i learned that with tool #2 ...

PRUNING SHEARS .... i used to buy the $5 shears.. once or twice a year .... then one day 20 years ago.. invested heavily in a pair FELCO's .... saving hundreds of dollars ... and the difference is between cutting with fine cutlery and using a ruler to cut things.... the felco's can be taken completely apart.. cleaned.. and honed ...

start with a cheap pair .... but if the gardening bug really hits .. invest in good tools ...

the only other thing i can think of is a hand trowel .... and i will leave that to others ...

if i get enough replies/encouragement here.. i have ideas for other posts ....

GO NEWBIE GO!!!!!

ken

Power tool: small garden tiller (not really necessary for most flower beds)

1. Gardening Spade (as opposed to shovel)
2. Garden Fork
3. Hoe (lots of kinds; favorite is the regular one)

4. Hand Trowel
5. hand scratcher for weeding around plants.(optional)
6. Pruners

Ken, is absolutely correct, don't buy cheap. I did that with so many garden forks and spades it is embarrassing. Finally got some really good ones from a good company.

We have had the same basic tools for over 40 years. They are washed off after every use and left to dry in the sun, then stored in our garden shed.

The tools a newbie needs to start with, depends on what kind of gardening the newbie is doing. It is impossible to recommend tools unless you know that. Pruners which are necessary for shurbs a bushes wouldn't be necessary if you only had trees and flowers.

My advice is to buy the best you can afford and take care of them.

I think gldno1 has pretty close to a perfect list - I'd add a rake as well, maybe two, as my handrake is pretty essential for working in any planting beds while my leaf rake is used for larger, unplanted areas. And my hoe is really a 3-prong cultivator so that it is more of a dual purpose tool, working like a hoe as well as disturbing/loosening soil and leveling it out.

A basic pair of bypass pruners - and this is the primary tool I would not go cheap with - is an extremely versatile tool that can be used to cut back perennials during or at the the end of the season, remove any damaged or diseased portions of plants, cut flowers for indoors, deadhead, divide/remove roots, take cuttings with and prune shrubs and smaller branches from trees. They are also indispensable in my garden for dispatching slugs and cutworms :-) If there is a single garden tool I would never consider being without, it is my Felcos.

i would prefer to kill the grass... add 6 inches of mulch... and let it lay fallow for a year ... one year later.. is is extremely arable ... soft ..

but if down the line .... you see a need.. a use.. and feel that it will payback the cost.. go for it ...

hoes .... boy that is a throwback ... i have seen them.. i have them.. and i would rather poke out my eyes with a garden fork than use one for more than 5 minutes ... but it is a great workout .... lol ...

shovels.. many of mine are give me's.. dead relatives... keep buying every new idea that comes along .... short handled ... square... etc .... maybe i exaggerated ... lol ..

i i think gld means a 3 tine hand thingee .. link below .... and that is VERY useful .... no comment on that seller.. just a picture ...

i think painter has mid winter crankiness .... lol ..

ken

I don't use a great variety of tools. I think this would be my list of tools most used:

Retired kitchen knife- wonderful for getting those weeds with long tap roots and dividing plants

Shovel- I agree with ken on the fiber glass one. Best shovel. Before the fiber glass one I was using my grandfather's old wooden handle shovel. Splinters! Now I use it as a stake for larger plants...

Hand trowel- plastic kind from Walmart. Those kind with the wooden handle and metal digging part bend so easily in our hard soil. Plastic ones are under five dollars. I usually end up using two a year.

Pruners- For many years I used the cheap-o ones. Now I know what a good pair can do! No more searching in the lawn after that little spring pops off...

Rake- for the mountains of leaves around here. I like the ones with the plastic tops. The metal ones are so annoying because you always end up skewering the leaves with the prongs.
CMK

ken

I recommend a Soil Scoop. Haven't used a trowel in over a decade since switching to the SS (except when I lost my beloved SS somewhere buried in a bed and had to use an old trowel in a pinch - and wouldn't you know after I purchased a new SS the old one turned up). I just find the SS easier to use/easier on my wrist/more useful than a trowel, but hey that's just me.

Have had the same shovel for something like 15 years. DH hates my shovel - the straight handle. He bought himself a shorter, D-handle shove, which I find very uncomfortable. Point being, tool fit (which includes not only size and weight but design) is an individual issue.

Kevin : )

Craftsman fiberglass handle shovel (I'm on number 4. I have the heaviest clay soil you ever saw. Entirely too heavy to till...) I have, but do not use, a sharp shooter and an English garden fork. The handles are too short for my tall frame. I use my good old yellow handled shovel for everything.

Felco pruners (Amen to all comments above. Mine are probably fifteen years old and they are beautiful.)

Pruning saw. So easy to use. Works on anything too big for my felcos.

ERGONOMIC trowel. The difference between hand pain and no hand pain for me is my Corona trowel (carried at Lowe's). I have a big fat one and a long skinny one that is great for planting bulbs.

A really good pitchfork for mulching. I got mine at a Farm Supply store many years ago. If I remember right, I paid $50 for it. Worth every single penny.

A five gallon bucket: great for weeds, seeds, bulbs, tools, etc. FREE.

A good tape measure, preferably one that has a hook to go on your pants pocket. For bedding plants, I know how long my trowel is, and how long it's blade is. This doubles as a measuring tool.

A garden rake (especially if you plant seeds in the ground), and a high quality leaf rake. Quality is everything: the job is easier and faster, not to mention the savings over the long haul. Rakes that lose their handles every few pulls will make you cuss (and that's not nice. :)

I don't suppose it's an absolute necessity, but I would sure hate to be without my wheelbarrow. NOT a contractor's size one, just a plain old standard one.

And finally, I seem to use tin cans alot: for scooping fertilizer from the fifty pound bags I buy, for scattering same fertilizer, for dipping water out of holes that aren't draining.... Eat soup. Save cans. :)

one roll of masking tape... yard stick.. and your shovel ...

wind tape around the shovel shaft at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 feet .. the top of the spade itself is usually 12 inches ....

then you wont lose the measuring tape in the garden ...

and OMG... how many hundreds i have spent on hoses ... just trust me here.. buy FLEXOGEN .... mine are going on 20 years.. and still look brand new .... link below..

ken

You can do a lot with just a trowel even a cheap one.

I had about 5 different kinds of shovels but wanted the standard one, got chided for it, was $8 at Big Lots and it's the best, use it almost exclusively.

You can ask for stuff on freecycle. I found a wonderful fork just the right size for me at Restore Habitat. Got along without a hoe for years but think I had a pointed hand cultivator and the curvy pronged thing from years ago. Finally got a hoe, use it some but not very often. If anything, I've accumulated too many tools.

Buying a nice tiller was probably a mistake, hard on me and finicky with oil, a nuisance to drag out and change tines, useless on breaking sod unless you're into self torture, and just churns up a bunch of weed seeds, bounces and takes at least three passes to do it right especially if you're adding amendments to your soil. Then it's not fun to clean the tines and lose cotter pins.

Look into lasagna gardening. Essentially it's throwing on pieces of cardboard to fit the size of the bed you want, pile yard clippings on it, leaves, seedless yard debris, top with soil. The part I'd have to look up is how soon you can plant and I don't understand what happens to the roots when they hit the cardboard which can't have decomposed fast enough.

My other grandmother used a butcher knife, she was terribly crippled with arthritis, and I know there were other tools around. Somebody may have spaded for her at times. I have that knife but use a serrated, damaged one frequently. I've also used spoons.

I've seen people clear and plant areas as they go, didn't think it would work but it did for one lady's whole terrace. Pull and dig out grass, plant, mulch, keep weed free then repeat nearby.

Shovels: A good hand trowel is what I use the most (almost every time I'm out there). The runner up is a tall shovel with a small "head" that is very lightweight. I don't have a lot of upper body strength, so this "baby" shovel is just right for me and doesn't wear me out just carrying it around. The next most useful shovel is a transplant shovel, which has a very long, narrow, square-ish head. This one is great for getting very deep to get underneath roots when moving shrubs. And all great gardeners move all their plants at least three times, right? :p (That's what I tell my husband anyway).

I agree about the pruners, but I don't have a really nice pair and think that's what I'd like to add! I also like a pair of small sharp scissors for cutting back perennials or deadheading things that don't pop off readily with fingers. I have a big pair of loppers that I use for cutting off large branches.

Here's the basics -

1) Felco pruners #2 - mine are over 20 years old, have only had to sharpen and replace the spring

2) Large shovel - new one is contractor's grade after literally tearing the metal apart on the previous one - although it did last about 20 years

3) Japanese weeding knife - use this is a weeder and trowel

4) Garden fork (I call this the "pitch fork" although a pitch fork has longer handle and tines)

5) Wheel barrow or garden cart

For me there is a long list of other essential gardening tools - rakes, spade, hoe, smaller shovels, assorted pruning saws, loppers, scissors for deadheading, watering cans, hoses, sprinklers, and probably others I am forgetting. :)

it is what i call a breaker bar.. or watering wand ... link below

it breaks the pressure of the water from the spigot ... i have no clue where i picked up that term.. because google surely doesnt understand it... lol ..

which will lead to a whole other post.. go figure on that

ken

I forgot to mention several years ago I bought 2 little shovels and 2 rakes for kids. None of the grandkids got interested so they just sat. Saw them at Walmart one day.

When I started digging again, I was older and didn't know if I could do the heavier kind so I spaded at least three beds with the kid shovel. I didn't get as deep, but it worked well enough. I can now use the fork and regular shovel, got some strength back from working but couldn't keep up with a younger person.

Somebody helped me and bent one of them, so you can't force them but the other one I've used for 4 years now. It's very handy for setting out plants that are too big for my bulb planter and faster than a trowel. Amazing the things you'll grab when you go out to do something.

I forgot pruners too. I'd like that kind mentioned but expensive. I have a nice lopper, saw (the arched kind with the blade). Use those a lot. Also have a small electric chain saw.

The kid rake has also come in handy several times in tight places.

As I went along, I invested in a good drill with an augur, the augur I didn't get in tightly enough so it scared me, have to be careful.

I forgot about hoses. And soaker hoses. Got those. That one at your link looks nice and would like a 100' one, but they look expensive.

One shorter soaker hose has worked well, and I'd like to get the other going but need to have somebody at the hardware store cut down some hose so I don't have to have the drip all the way from the faucet to where the plants are.

Also for the shorter hose, that problem was solved by a helpful guy at the hardware store found a laundry hose, perfect length. The drip doesn't start until it's in the garden. That has been immensely helpful because when it gets super hot, my stuff would wilt, don't have to worry so much now plus watering you should not do it in the sunlight, and I had to.

Maybe I'll get a wand again but it's the cheap hoses that drive me nutz, don't have a reel and have to keep untangling them.

Don't buy one of those dandelion weeders from Harriet Carter. It looked like it would be just the right thing but broke after just a few uses, and I'm not hard on things.

We finally got rid of most of the nasty stuff in the grass with Weed 'n Feed then later an app of 24D? Then just spot treating with more Weed 'n Feed. I hated to go that route. There is supposed to be something better than Weed 'n Feed. I also paint with Roundup and tried boiling water won't use vinegar.

You might be surprised just how handy a decent pair of kitchen shears can be.

mao

You'll go with the weed 'n feed, 2,4-D and RoundUp but you won't use vinegar....... what's up with that?

Now that you ask me, I'm not sure but don't want to use it in the lawn and ruin the good stuff nearby. Might be good for cracks in the sidewalk.

If you can convince me a good and effective way of using it without tediously painting it on stuff, I'd be willing to give it a try. Yes, I'll finish painting with the RU because it works, wasn't cheap, and want to use up what I have, got the mix yourself and neighbor uses the pre-mixed all the time, and he's mostly into total organic. Like does vinegar work on crabgrass patches? That's my next major problem to solve, and I don't want to use pre-emergent because it will stop the grass seed I sprinkled in the fall from germinating.

Like would it work as well in my pump sprayer where I have to protect a plant, transplant another, and kill everything else and start over? And what strength? I guess if my apple mess won't acidfy the soil unless I have billions, maybe vinegar won't either.

You know, I would also recommend to newbies that if you want your gardening to be a "couples activity"...and it can be a wonderful way to spend time together....and it can be a wonderful way to fuss....Anyway, get duplicate tools for each other. Tools that fit each body type. You can't work together if you don't each have tools.

I had to smile at mao's advice, which is absolutely true, but I may well be a much taller (5'9") woman than her husband. <:)

My most basic tools I wouldn't be without:
Bypass Pruners (finally bought some Felco's #6 for this season)
Metal rake
Pointed end shovel
A good metal trowel
My trusty plastic wheelbarrow (although I would LOVE to get a flat bed cart like at A M Leonards, but I can't afford it YET lol)
I also have a telescoping small 3 tined hoe that I wouldn't do without
I have a "garden claw" that is pretty good too
I have never tilled anything in my gardens and I have wonderful soil
I just layer shredded oak leaves, mushroom compost or whatever I have on hand, over the beds, with fine pine bark for mulch twice a year, every year. I have loads of worms and each year it gets a little better to work.
We have clay soil, which is nutrient rich, but not great for drainage, but as I said it is getting much better each year. I also have a few raised beds.
I have just started with trying to make leaf mold which I will also top dress the beds with every year, or when the leaf mold is done.

Past 3 years:

- Broke 3 shovels
- Went through 4 pruning shears
- Went through 1 hedge shear
- Went through 2 pruning saws
- Bow saw is still good but replaced the blade 2x

I keep 2 pruning shears on hand...one for doing the delicate pruning the other for pruning to the ground.

I've had my Felcos going on 20 years, have sharpened them countless times and replaced the blades once. Have used them on things that they were never intended for or branches larger than recommended without problems, not that I'd necessarily encourage this practice :-) My pruning saw of choice is also a Felco - same lifetime guarantee and easily replaceable parts.

i actually get generic ones from tractor supply for about half ... but i break them about every other year... the handle breaks ....

put FELCO in the search box at amleo .... for a great overview of the types offered ... i have NEVER seen them on sale .... anywhere ....

i really recommend that you go the closest yuppie high end nursery.. and TRY THEM FOR FIT .... and frankly ... buy them if the price is within shipping of online prices ....

they have right handed.. left handed .... small.. med.. large.. etc .... and repair packages .... all the pieces are replaceable ...

and i learned a trick for sharpening ....

i have 8's .... which are perfect for a normal mans hand ...

listen... if you are breaking your tools this frequently .. YOU ARE WORKING WAY TO HARD .... the right tool for the right job.. and work smart.. and your tools will last forever ..... practice really helps also ....

good luck

ken

Felco #2 will be my next purchase...I can't argue $50 for 20 yrs. I already spent $30 on the ones that are trash.

Defintely not a fan of the bow saw, worked well with cutting the bigger trees down...I don't own a chainsaw so my bow saw was my best friend taking down the Black Cherry to the left.

Before, Black Cherry with borer and blight issues

After...little Crusader Hawthorn went in its place...can't even see it, lol!

mxks- We've been married 37 years and we still garden together. Planting and dividing lend themselves to shared work but we always weed at different times and I do all the deadheading. When edging I use the half-moon edger, he comes behind me with the shovel, and I empty the wheelbarrow.

mao

I have tons of edging to do this spring...is half-moon the way to go?

mxk: my husband and I have been married for 35 years next June. He has been a truly good sport about my gardening obsession over the years. He once followed me around the gardens of Monticello for two hours holding an umbrella over me in a pouring rain and lightning storm. (We were only going to be there once!)

He's as obsessed with his lawn as I am with my flowers, so we often garden together. Translation: out in the yard at the same time. Sometimes we even get close enough together to talk to each other! :) Seriously though, although I, too, enjoying gardening best alone, I am very glad he's interested. I love his company at botanical gardens and must-stop garden centers I spot from the highway on trips.

DH would rather undergo Chinese water torture than tour a botanical garden...

He doesn't enjoy gardening, and I don't enjoy company while gardening, so it's a perfect arrangement.

But, he does seem to enjoy the "manly" chores like digging big holes, digging beds, removing trees/bushes, climing up in trees with a chain saw. So I keep him around LOL!!

Yep, felcos are #1. Try using the rotating handle before buying. I found them ridiculous. I'm sorry, but I don't get the point, nor did my hand.

any new thoughts???

ken

My favorite tool is my stainless steel trowel that has lasted for at least 6 years now, despite being left outside on a regular basis.

I also use Felco hand pruners.

Wouldn't be without a hand cart for moving heavy items, like large pots and bags of bark mulch etc.

We get a LOT of use out of plastic 'milk cartons' They are really wider than the old milk cartons and were purchased from a nursery that was going out of business for $1. each.

A water powered hose reel has been a 'real' solution to the hose lying all over the yard. Works great.

ken

Someone on another forum posted that powdered laundry detergent will neutralize ticks in the lawn without harming the grass. With the early spring/unusually warm weather this year, word has it the ticks will be more numerous than they've been in past years. I picked up two jumbo boxes of PLD so I can sprinkle it as I work my way around the garden doing spring clean-up.

A tick found its way up my leg last year and I decided to take whatever steps I could not to repeat the experience this year. I've got crushed eggshells I saved over the winter that I'll sprinkle around my perennials to keep the slugs from chowing on new growth.

I can't claim to win every battle with the critters, pests & predators but I give it my best shot, as often as possible without using toxic chemicals or atomic weapons.

to bump up some of the old posts...

do you have any of them bookmarked??? ... feel free to bump the yourselves ...

ken

ken

My Felcos. Had mine for 15 years... same pair... and wouldn't garden without them. Keep them clean and they'll last forever.

One short-handled shovel .... with a rectangular blade and straight edges. Good for stepping down on (it has a little ledge for stepping on on top of the blade) and cutting into the edge of the garden. The blade cuts down about 7 or more inches. Then I pry up and lift out the clod and turn it over to dry. This tool gives me a nice crisp edging to my gardens.

Two long-handled shovels for digging, transplanting, etc. We use two because we often have to go at the larger plants from several sides to get the roots... things like grasses we want to reduce in size, daylily clumps, etc.

One large, wide-blade hand trowel with a ergonomic grip so my wrists don't ache.

One narrow-blade hand trowel to plant or dig out things.

An old... I mean 40 years or more ... metal wheelbarrow. Can haul rocks or stones (like to build with stones or use large ones in the garden) in that baby. She's getting rusty but still works.

1 collapsable cloth, lightweight wheelbarrow my DH bought for me online. It's great for collecting weeds and dumping them in the compost.

And my absolute favorite tool that I discussed once on the NE site.... Edie's Stabber. I've copied/pasted what I wrote about it in 2013 and included the photo.

"I've inherited one of my mother's favorite garden tools, a dandelion pulling tool, affectionately called "Edie's Stabber." This thing has to be 50+ years old and is indispensable. I stab the dirt underneath the weeds. This loosens the soil ---- easy to pull out, especially if the ground is dry. I also use this tool to turn over the soil, especially near the base of plants where weeds are growing. The shaft is so narrow that it doesn't really lift a plant, just moves the dirt around. I'm showing a pic of Edie's Stabber because you can see it has a really long shaft. At our house, Edie's Stabber is the preferred gardening too."