50 Years Of Gardening – What Tools Do I ‘Really’ Use?

what I really use

Garden Tools [Landscapers4600]
Today I was reading a blog about what tools are need or useful in gardening. This set me to thinking, after 50 years of gardening [mostly vegetables], what tools do I really use and can’t do without?

Shovels

, I have several styles[types] round nose, flat bladed, long handles, short handles, standard width and narrow bladed shovels. The true fact is I only use 2 of them. A short D-handled 14 inch long bladed 4 inch wide spade to dig ditches to install water lines or to install under ground electrical service wiring. The other is my long handled, round nose shovel. It tills my garden, digs holes for transplanting everything from tomato’s to apple, peach and pecan trees.

Hoe’s

the first is a long handled, light weight hoe I use to cut weeds and light till soil around and near my garden plants. The other is much heaver industrial strength hoe to remove those really tough weeds and clumps of grass between the rows.

Rakes

I have one that is what I call a garden rake, about 14 inches wide, large strong teeth to rake dead plants, weeds and grass into piles for removal to my compost pile. The other is a steel spring toothed grass rake used to rake freshly mowed grass and leaf litter for removal into the compost pile.

Hand trowels

are in a box pushed far under a bottom shelf. Over the years I have collected all sizes and shapes, some designed for digging others for hand weeding and a few for raking around my garden plants. However like many gardeners my age, it takes me a a bit of effort to get down on my knees and a 911 call to get help to stand up again. They were never used much and now are only taking up space in my garden shed. They might be useful in a greenhouse or potting shed, I have neither.

Wheel barrow

or a little ‘Red Wagon’ for moving compost, dirt and other such things from one place to another in my yard and garden. Grinning, Useful for carrying great grand kids around as well.

pruning shears

Pruning shears

used mostly to cut feet and heads off rabbits I’m processing for my freezer. I think they can be used to cut and prune vines, bushes and trees as well.

I have at one time or another in the past 50 years purchased all sorts of ‘easy to use’ gadgets @ only $19.95 plus shipping, just to find when I removed them from the box they were junk, useless and nothing like the wizz bang gadget I saw advertised on TV 🙂 Being the sort of guy I am, I would sell this junk at a yard sale and if that failed will give it to a competing gardener ‘friend’. Grinning..

Last tool in my tool kit is two (2) red street paving bricks. One I have marked as brick ‘A’ the other is marked brick ‘B’. They are very useful in insect control.

Step 1. Place brick ‘B’ firmly on the ground, being careful to insure it is as level as you can get it.

Step 2. Remove insect by hand, using care not to cause damage to your garden plant.

Step 3. Place offending insect near the center of brick ‘B’.

Step 4. Quickly using caution to keep your fingers firmly on the sides of brick ‘A’ Smash the undesirable insect using brick ‘A’.

This tool is fool proof and 100% effective if used according to instructions. It uses no man made chemicals and can be considered – organic insect control.

Happy gardening

Why is common sense so uncommon?
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