We are often asked what are best or essential garden tools, the answer depends on your garden, the size and the types of plants you are growing.
We are concentrating on those basic tools needed for most gardens.
For tackling tasks, including pruning, digging, sowing, weeding, hauling, composting, and general gardening chores .
We are concentrating on those basic tools needed for most gardens and why you would want to buy it. A few recommendations as well.
For tackling tasks, including pruning, digging, sowing, weeding, hauling, composting, and general gardening chores .
Gloves and Footwear
Boots of some sort are a must, you can use work boots like our Mongrel boots, Blunstones or any other strong boots that will keep your feet safe and dry.
Gloves are a must, they protect your hands from scratches, cuts and also from sap which can be irritating and cause rashes.
Secateurs and Loppers
Bypass pruners use a scissor-like slicing action perfect for live plants, whereas anvil pruners use a single straight blade that chops down against a flat surface, which is better suited for dead wood.
Felco have been made in Switzerland for well over 60 years, first choice by nurserymen around the world and they come in different sizes.
Okatsune bypass pruners made in Japan, they are light weight, have very sharp blades made from carbon steel and they do have a different spring and locking system to the Felco. Other Japanese brands with good recommendations are from Tobisho, and Niwaki some with Aogami Hitachi Blue Paper Steel blades
Three main types of steel used in Secateurs and Loppers
Carbon Steel – Usually the cheapest, good for lightweight work, blades are more prone to chipping.
Hardened carbon steel and high-carbon steel deliver very sharp cuts like all running tools they should be cleaned and oiled to avoid rust.
Forged carbon steel are the heavy duty ones. Often referred to as the gold standard, long-lasting, and chip-resistant tool, and if you oil and clean then as recommended they will be with you for many years.
Loppers.
Loppers are used for cutting larger stems and branches in a small garden they may not be needed, especially if have a pruning saw. We use Nishigaki Large Branch Lopper, Corona X Series Pro Bypass Loppers, Wolf Garten as well. All we can recommend. Again 2 types, bypass loppers for living plants because they make clean cuts that help with healing. Anvil loppers are regarded as better for dead wood
How to choose secateures
- Look for strong handles
- A safety catch is a must, however many of the thumb operate catches do get stuck after a while.
- Look for a style that fits your hand
- Good quality steel is important
- As for bright colored handles so you wont lose them, not really a factor we would consider when looking for gardening tools.
Pruning Saws
We have used Wolf-Garten saws, good quality Swedish steel blades “push and pull” teeth and reliably for us over many years. We also use a Silky Saws Pocket Boy Folding Saw, great for smaller jobs or finer work. Yes it folds up and go into your pocket.
All purpose Garden Knife.
One of the most useful small tools you can buy is the Japanese Hori Hori.
Again you can buy Stainless Steel or Carbon Steel. Carbon Steel for easy sharpening, stainless steel for low maintenance.
Use your Hori Hori for weeding, digging small planting holes or use the serrated blade for cutting through roots.
Garden Fork, Spades and Shovels.
Forks are used for turning soil as you add compost, manure or other soil additives, digging root crops such as potatoes for harvest. Lifting clumps of perennial plants for division and creating the soil.
Mulching forks are used for shifting mulch, they are better for this purpose that shovels.
Spades are used for digging where a cutting action is needed, such as cutting through roots, dividing perennial plants, digging lawn edges, digging planting and again turning soil.
Shovels are used for shifting soil, gravel etc.
Garden Hoes come in many forms, they are mainly used for weeding and light tilling of the soil. Well suited for use in the veggie garden.
Selecting Garden Tools
We help you select the best, from a long list, as well as give a few tips on maintaining tools in good condition. Looking for a rake, do you want a leaf rake, a garden rake to soil, or a landscaping rake to help level large areas, useful for new lawns.
Basics, these are the hand tools such as spades, shovels, nursery barrows, and watering cans can certainly make gardening chores easier and well maintained quality tools are easy to use and last for many years.
Weeding Tools come into a category of their own and look at then in depth here.
Everything is built to a price, cheap tools may do the job however they rarely last, so what do you need to look for?. The most expensive is not always the best, you need to find a product that is right for you, as well as being sturdy and reliable. When selecting look for :
- A guarantee is always good, a manufacturer that stands by the product
- A quality handle, strong and secure, gardening if a tough core sometimes
- Consider stainless steel for long lasting, however not all stainless steel is of good quality
- A reputable manufacturer
- Strong welding and construction to take the strains and stresses of heavy use
Essential Tool List
- Fork
Used for loosening and tilling soil, digging weeds and lifting plants and bulbs - Spade
For digging holes for planting, turning soil - Secateurs
For pruning roses and shrubs and all sorts of small jobs… our favorite gardening tool, never go into the garden without a pair. - Pruning saw
For larger pruning jobs, - Gardening gloves
Really essential and much easier on the hands - Watering can
For watering in newly planted plants, for applying liquid fertilizer to garden plants. Haws Watering Cans are a popular quality brand available from Sage Horticultural. - Garden Hose
Essential in all but the smallest garden. - Wheelbarrow
If you have a garden larger than a basic courtyard a wheelbarrow is great for mulch, compost, manures and general garden work. - Chippers and chipper mulchers
For larger gardens chippers and mulchers are well worth the investment
Our Favorite Garden Tools
We use ‘felco secateurs’, they last for years, you can get replacement blades and parts and are a pleasure to use, don’t go into the garden without them
We have a ‘Wolfe’ garten fork, we have only ever owned four garden forks, one was actually belonged to my great grandfather, strong, a pleasure to use and it lasted to so many years it is unbelievable. We did by a new fork about 10 years ago, and it lasted about 18 months, went back to using grandpas. We then found a nice looking ‘new design’ garden fork, it bent a prong after two weeks, and it was stainless steel.
So we went back to grandpas, the handle broke, well after 50 years it was about time, so we found a Wolfe garden fork for sale, it has been a real beauty, feels great to use, and it might just last as long as grandpas.
Oh yes, we are fixing the handle on the old fork, but I have a feeling I like the feel of the Wolfe one just a little more…..
We also like our wheelbarrow, pruning saw and a little hand fork for weeding… very handy
Garden Tool Maintenance
The first step is to always put tools away clean. A quick wash and a wipe of the blades with a slightly oily rag will do the job.
Sharpen regularly, its much easier to run a stone or a file over the blade of a pair os secateurs every two months than it is to try to bring them back from being really blunt. They will be easier to use as well.
Wooden handles will last for many years. If you use a mix of linseed oil and turpentine (50/50) twice a year they will outlast most gardeners. Simply rub it in with a soft cloth at the beginning of winter, and again during summer.
- Rub a little of this on the blades of spades and forks as well before putting them away for the winter.
Sterilize. Before using and cutting tool make sure it is clean, a rub with tea tree oil will do the job.
Where To Buy Garden Tools Online
Online and Retail Melbourne and Geelong based garden centres. Check out their large range of indoor and outdoor plants, Australian Natives, Fruit Trees and Edibles, Succulents, Gardenias, Camellias, Hydrangeas plus a full range garden products for delivery in Melbourne.
www.diacos.com.au
470 Monbulk-Silvan Road Monbulk VIC 3793
"Guaranteed mail order flowering bulbs, perennials, roses, trees, landscaping plants, garden accessories and community fundraising Austra lia-wide."
www.gardenexpress.com.au
PO Box 7040 Leura NSW 2780
Rare woodland plants, Trilliums Epimediums, Arisaemas, plus much more.www.lynnsrareplants.com.au