Garden Tool Kit Necessities

Whether you are going to be doing some minor puttering in the garden, or a major landscaping project, you need to have the right tools. Without the right tools, it is next to impossible to get any task done. Here is a list of the absolute necessities that you will need to have in your garden shed in order to complete most basic and routine gardening tasks.

• Shovel. Perhaps the single most important tool in a garden is the shovel. With the shovel in hand you can dig holes, plant trees, and just about anything else that you can think of. Shovels have a long handle to provide leverage, and have an angled blade to allow easier digging.
• Spade. While it may look like a shovel, spades are a different creature all together. Spades have a flat, square looking blade and a short handle. These tools are used primarily for transferring dirt, working with sod, and so on.
• Rakes. Rakes are good for all sorts of general work in the garden. Some examples of the use of a rake are spreading around mulch or evening out topsoil (which require a garden rake), or helping to collect leaves and trimmings (use a leaf rake for this task).
• Forks. Particularly useful in areas that have clay soil, a fork can be an absolutely essential tool. Used in the same manner that a shovel or spade is, a fork will actually aerate your soil, and help you to mix things together better than just about any other hand tool.
• Hoe. Whether it is being used to get rid of weeds, or to help cultivate the soil and break up the dirt, a good hoe can never go wrong.
• Trowel. Serves the same purpose as a shovel or a spade, but only on a smaller scale. These tools are perfect for planting individual plants, and doing smaller precision planting.
• Weeder. Similar in nature to a hoe, a weeder is a hand held tool that you can use to help get rid of weeds. This tool is ideal for use in tight spots or small gardens and flower beds.
• Watering can. An indispensible watering tool that you can use for precision watering. Make sure that you pick one that you can easily carry when full, since full watering cans get exceptionally heavy.
• Hose. The perfect tool for delivering lots of water to your remote plants, and to help save you a lot of walking. Simply attach the hose to a watering wand, sprinkler, or even without any attachment, and spray the area you want watered.
• Watering wand. Great for attaching to a hose and watering hard to reach hanging plants, or diffusing your water enough so that you don't damage delicate plants. The best kind of watering wands will have an automatic shut-off system, which you can use to help avoid over watering.
• Sprinklers. The perfect tool for watering large areas, such as your lawn. These items are perfect for when you don't want to spend the time actually sitting outside with a hose; or for the early morning or late night watering, when you would rather be in bed.
• Wheelbarrow. When you do gardening work, you will typically need to move a lot of heavy items. These items can be anything from new topsoil, to the dirt you just removed for your new tree. The easiest and best way to get those heavy items from point A to point B is with the help of a wheelbarrow.
• Gloves. There are all kinds of different things that can hurt your hands when you are doing any gardening or landscaping work, and protection is never out of order. The best way to protect your hands from damage is by getting some good quality gardening and work gloves. These items will help protect your hands from both blisters and splinters, among other things.
• Knee protection. While not strictly speaking a tool, knee protection such as knee pads or mats are an invaluable help when gardening. Anyone that has done any gardening at all can tell you that you spend time on your knees, so make that time as comfortable as possible.