Written by Peter Lowe, Senior Coordinator of Horticulture Education & Community Impact
Every gardener remembers their first gardening tool, or so I would like to believe. If you are like me, then that tool holds a special place in your heart. For me, it was a pair of Felco No. 2 bypass pruners with a holster. I received them as a college graduation present from the group of volunteers that I worked with as a student at The Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens. Though the blades have been sharpened over and over, parts replaced multiple times and the handle grips dipped every few years, these pruners have been a daily and constant companion in the garden. Like my coffee, I’m rarely seen without them.
A gardener’s tool kit is a valuable resource, and it pays to be prepared for what the garden has in store. My list of tools below aren’t always “top” needs for the beginner gardener but should be in our sheds, nonetheless. If you have ever purchased a garden tool set you already have a hand trowel, cultivator, and transplanter in addition to a good set of garden gloves, a tub/bucket, spade, rake, and watering can.
Here are my “Top Ten Gardening Tools” you may not be thinking about when starting that gardening project:
Pruning Shears: Yes, we are returning to the pruners because they are, without a doubt, my number one most important tool in the garden, especially bypass pruners. Unlike anvil-pruners, whose blade slices down into a flat surface smashing or crushing the stem or branch you are trimming, the blade of the bypass pruners passes by the flat surface providing a healthier, cleaner cut. While anvil-pruners have a place in all garden sheds, used primarily for dead wood, they have not yet found their way into mine. Bypass pruners are the way to go for green living material that needs a clean cut. Rainy days are the perfect time to clean and sharpen your pruners.
Hori Hori: If you find yourself scratching your head at this one, have no fear, you aren’t alone.
The hori hori goes by many names including hori knife, soil knife, weeding knife, Japanese weeding knife, leisure knife or Sansai knife. First used as a digging tool in Japan, Hori meaning “to dig” and hori hori is the sound of digging. This tool is multifunctional with a serrated blade for cutting through roots and soil, a hook for cutting twine or catching a girdling root, measurements for plant spacing and depth, and overall digging, prying, tamping and transplanting. This tool is so valuable to a gardener that they make dual holsters for your pruners and hori.
Perennial Shovel: This miniature shovel, also called a floral shovel, is ideal for planting your herbaceous plants. The smaller shovel head is the perfect size for planting pint sized to gallon sized plants. With the head size between a trowel and normal shovel head, you disturb less soil and can make the right size hole for your smaller plants. The long handle means less stooping and bending, saving that back for larger garden projects. A lighter weight means more planting with less fatigue. It’s a win-win.
Scuffle Hoe: This hoe slices through weeds with speed and efficiency. While I learned this tool
as a scuffle hoe, it is primarily called a stirrup hoe based on its similarity to the stirrup on a saddle. A tool fit for a cowboy or girl! Cutting in a push and pull motion, this tool separates the top of the weed from its roots just below the soil surface. A great replacement for herbicide applications. The scuffle hoe also breaks up the soil surface aiding in cultivation.
Weed Torch: Some seasons it feels like there is an ongoing war against the weeds in our garden and you need to take extreme measures. What is more extreme than arming yourself with an open flame and torching those pesky weeds. Weed torches attach to propane tanks and use high heat to disrupt photosynthesis and destroy cell structure. Torches work best on young weeds, older, more established weeds may need repeated applications. This tool is great in those hard to pull areas like driveways, sidewalks, patios, and gravel.
Crevice Weeding Tool: For years I would use an old flathead screwdriver to pry weeds from in-betweenpavers on my
patio until one day at an industry trade show I was shown the light. Allow me to introduce you to the tool specially designed to get into those hard-to-reach crevices, the crack weeder. The L-shaped blade hooks under roots and the duel-cutting edge can be used to cut sod as well as weeds. This specialty tool works wonders on the narrow cracks in sidewalks, driveways, patios, retaining walls, and more.
Fondue Fork: If you are like me and love a good fondue party, you may have a few of these already lying around the
house. Litte did I know how life changing they were beyond dunking in a pot of hot melted cheese. I can’t take credit for this one, as I was introduced to this unique use by our Nursery Manager, Bridget Reed. If you grow anything from seed, or plan to, then you know at some point you must thin those tiny seedlings. Whether you are using the finger pinch method or plucking with tweezers you’ll disrupt or damage the roots of your seedling. With the fondue fork you can separate and pry young seedlings from the soil with little to no damage which allows for transplanting to another flat if desired.
Cut-All Knife: The cut-all knife is the perfect tool for dividing herbaceous plants into multiple plants. It slices through
root balls cleanly without tearing, ripping, or pulling. A clean cut is very important for a healthy transplant. I keep this knife close at hand in the spring and fall during planting season. It is incredibly useful on rootbound plants that have been growing too long in their nursery pot. Occasionally, gardeners come across a plant so pot-bound that even a hori hori can’t cut through the tangles. This knife slices through those moments.
Garden Fork: If you compost or are looking to starting a compost project, this is the tool for you. When I need to turn my compost pile, I grab one tool, my garden fork or as I call it a turning fork. This sturdy tool pierces the compost pile with ease. It’s not just useful on the compost pile but also in the soil. It is great for loosening up compacted clay and rocky soil. While primarily used for turning, digging, and breaking up soil it can also be put to work by spreading mulch and other loose material.
Cell Phone: In today’s technological world information is at our fingertips. If you have a garden question in the field, do a quick google search or call up your neighborhood horticulturist. Though more important than accessible information is your phone’s camera function. There isn’t a gardener around that hasn’t uttered the phrase “I wish I had taken a picture of that.” Document your projects, new plants, old plants, wildlife, and any other photogenic scene in your garden. Not only can you share these with other passionate green thumbs, but you can use them as references on what workedand what didn’t work through the seasons. A photographic timeline through the seasons is invaluable when thinking about making additions or changes in the garden.
While the list goes on-and-on and our garden sheds can quickly be overrun with the tools we collect, these are my recommendations for every gardener, experienced or not, to have on hand each gardening season.