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Spring is well underway, and whether you're thinking about growing a few herbs in pots on your patio or looking to expand your current garden to help offset your grocery bill, you only need a few basic tools to get the most out of your plants. And no matter what you're growing, whether it's ornamental flowers or edible plants, the basics still apply: make sure your planting area gets plenty of sunlight and has easy access for watering and maintenance.
I grew up on a commercial crop farm, and we always had at least a little garden for growing tomatoes, bell peppers, and sweet corn. And now that I own my own home, I've started up my own raised bed garden to grow herbs for cooking and making tea, as well as vegetables and native plants for attracting pollinators and other wildlife. To help you get started with your own garden, I've put together a list of the most helpful hand tools for breaking ground on and maintaining a variety of growing situations.
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A good garden trowel is an indispensable tool for any gardener, allowing you to quickly plant, repot, and divide up plants as well as break up clumps of dirt and remove stones and other debris from your planting beds.
I'll let you in on a little secret: it doesn't even have to technically be a garden trowel. The one I personally use is a vintage Craftsman mortar trowel, and I will swear by it until it falls apart in my hand. The sharp point makes it easy to dig in even hard-packed soil, and the offset handle makes leveling and clearing dirt less of a hassle. No matter what brand of garden trowel you go with, make sure it's made of good quality metal and has a comfortable handle, like the Fiskars ergo garden trowel. With its chunky, ergonomic handle, the Fiskars egro garden trowel is easier to hold onto and work with if you have fine motor issues like carpal tunnel or arthritis. And the wide, heavy duty blade makes repotting and cutting roots faster and easier.
A heavy-duty garden rake is an important tool for both raised beds and in-ground gardening, as it helps to quickly break up clumps of soil and level out your dirt. The one I have and recommend most is a Stanley brand, but any brand you're familiar with and fits your budget will be perfectly fine.
The Stanley rake has a heavy duty steel head that can handle everything from removing rocks to mixing soil blends and spreading compost. When choosing a garden rake, make sure the handle is long enough to reduce strain on your back and is comfortable to hold onto; wooden handled tools are also often cheaper than fiberglass or metal counterparts and more ergonomic.
A long-handled spade or shovel helps to quickly transfer soil and compost from bins and barrels to wherever you need to top up your garden. It is also a great help for when you need to dig out plants with stubborn roots, as the longer handle will give you better leverage. The shovel blade can also be used to divide large plants for better garden planning.
DeWalt makes a solid, wood-handled shovel that retails for around $30 and has a serrated edge for cutting stubborn roots or even slashing open large bags of potting soil, mulch, or gravel.
Even if you have an outdoor spigot and hose that can reach every part of your garden, a watering can is a vital tool for home gardeners. Along with controlling soil moisture, a watering can also lets you mix supplemental fertilizers in specific amounts to help struggling plants who may need different nutrients to thrive.
For most home gardens, a 2 US gallon watering can is more than sufficient to keep your garden healthy and well-watered. I highly recommend getting a a plastic watering can, as they are often the most affordable, and won't rust out on you. The one I have is from Rubbermaid and has lasted almost 10 summers of gardening and landscaping.
Breaking ground on a new garden can be tough work, and so can prepping established beds for spring planting after sitting untended all winter. You could rent a gas or battery-powered rototiller, but I've found that a hand tiller tool is more than enough for a home garden. The one I use is a Corona brand, and I've had it for almost 5 years. The steel tines are great for loosening hard-packed soil in my garden bins and helping to evenly distribute slow-release fertilizers like compost or bone meal.
I grew up in a pretty rural part of Ohio on a commercial crop farm, which taught me a lot about large-scale planting and harvesting that can be applied to home gardens. Things like crop rotation to keep your soil healthy, which plants add nutrients back into the soil, and how to care for fallow ground during the off season. While I've had varying levels of success in my own home gardens, the basics of how to properly care for not only your plants but the ground they depend on are universal.
Your garden can be as big or as little as you want it to be. However, you do have to be mindful of how much space certain plants need as they grow. Vining vegetables like peas, pumpkins, and cucumbers need lots of space to stretch out, so I recommend getting trellises to utilize vertical space.
Container gardens don't need much space at all, especially if you're growing flowers or herbs for cooking, making them perfect for homes with balconies or patios. Tomatoes also do well in containers, but make sure they're large enough pots to accommodate your plants as they grow.
If you want to use raised beds or plant directly in the ground, you'll need a much larger space, at least 6 x 6 feet to give yourself enough room to work. If you're looking to include sweet corn in your garden, you'll need to plant at least three rows to ensure it pollinates correctly, and this means you'll need a lot of space. A garden measuring at least 20 x 20 feet would give you enough room for three to five rows of corn and a few other vegetables and herbs.
It depends on where you live, as each region of the US and the world has different planting conditions. But the general rule of thumb is that it's safe to plant seedlings outside when there is no danger of a hard frost (meaning nighttime temperatures don't get below 40F), which is around mid-April for Ohio and other parts of the Midwest. But it may be earlier or later depending on what part of the country you're from, so you can check out the Farmer's Almanac for more detailed information.
To get your plants in the ground as early as possible, you'll want to start your seeds indoors at least a few weeks before, to give them time to germinate and grow strong enough to be transplanted and stand up to changing weather conditions. This extra time also allows you to restart with plenty of days to spare if you get a batch of bad seeds that won't sprout or lose your seedlings to a cold snap.
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