Greatest Garden Tools

I had an email recently asking me about gardening tools so I thought I would show you my most treasured and used tools. Just to let everyone know I am a bare bones kinda girl. I don't like fancy but tend to lean toward the old fashioned tried and true gardening accessories. See the hoes above. O Wise One and I each have our own hoe. My husband and children pick at me about hardly ever seeing me outside without my hoe and my dogs. This is the most useful tool I think I own. Wherever I go I launch my attack on weeds with my hoe. It is ALWAYS razor sharp. Ordered many years ago from the Amish it has a shorter handle and special shape that is unique. It has served me faithfully all these years and the family will probably bury it with me when I die. It is exactly the right length for me to hoe comfortably without hurting my back.  O Wise One does not use my hoe, he has his own. 

In many of my gardening pictures you will see my hoe. Unlike me it is very photogenic.

After my hoe these are the tools of the trade. My trowel, two pairs of gloves, a leather pair and a rubber pair. I get new gloves every year because trust me by the end of the garden year they are ready for the trash. I use them hard. Every year I buy these gloves from Mid West gloves in Chillicothe, Missouri. Why? Because these are gloves made with American produced products made by Americans. These people employ many of my neighbors in the surrounding towns. They give them a job with decent wages and benefits. They pay taxes in my community and contribute to it's growth and well being. Therefore I buy their product and always will!  Period. Besides that they make a heck of a good product for a REASONABLE PRICE. Now that's a bargain in my book. Other than that just a couple pair of sharp pruning shears of assorted sizes completes my tool caddy.

These tools usually get packed from garden to garden in this tote..... It's that simple.

 This is my Ames True Temper Garden Buddy and the best trowel I have ever owned. It is a stainless steel trowel.

It has a serrated edge for cutting bags of mulch and soil, a sharp edge for cutting sod, see the notch in the blade for cutting twine. 

And a weeding end for popping out those weeds. Works great on dandelions. I have had this one for about 4 years and it is still going and I do give it a workout. If you are looking for a handy trowel and all around tool for your garden you can't beat this one. You can find them online or at Ace hardware stores. I even saw them on Amazon. You can usually find them for under $20.

My trowel, unlike me, is very photogenic too! You see it all the time in my pictures but just don't notice it...

Some of the other most used items are my wheelbarrow....just a plain old contractor's wheelbarrow.  And don't forget a good shovel for dirt and pitch fork for straw. I also have a small push planter that sure saves my back when planting a big garden. 

My oldest son made this for me years ago for my birthday and I will tell you it is one of the best presents I ever got!! I think it was a kit you put together. I have hauled everything in this trailer attached to my husband's 4 wheeler. I simply pull it by my beds or gardens and weed and prune away. When it is full it goes beside the compost pile to be emptied only to be filled another day. Sometime I am going to have to replace the wood on it but that is a project for another day : )

The sun is supposed to be shining this weekend with temperatures in the 70's so I can assure you I will be in the garden by sunrise. If someone new to gardening asked you what tool would you recommend?  What is your favorite garden tool? 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter