The Want List: Gardening Tools for Green Thumbs
You can grow a lot in your backyard with the right tools. Let these ones help bring your garden fantasies to life.
These absolute must-haves are all the difference in taking your green thumb from sea foam at best to a bona fide emerald hue.
Garden Planner
They’re not just for your social calendar. Arranging companion plants, like tomato and basil, encourages mutual growth, making it important to plant accordingly. With this handy dandy notebook, you can put pen to paper and make sure you’re on top of best practices before seed settles into soil. Think of the caprese salads you’ll grow!
$32.00 at Papier
Intervale Seed and Plant Spacing Ruler
One of the most underrated yet significant tools for gardening? A ruler. Dahlia tubers prefer to be planted 12 inches apart. Pepper plants want 18 inches of space, in rows 30 inches apart. Musquee de Provence pumpkin seeds need at least 36 inches of space from the next to mature properly. With this purpose-built version, you’ll never have to guesstimate, so there’ll be no surprises when the season peaks.
$24.95 at Gardener’s Supply
Felco Pruning Shears
Though your plant may look overjoyed with life, the extra limbs that fill it out are referred to as “suckers,” because that’s what they do: suck the energy from the fruit-bearing stem. They’re the vampires of plant life, and these pruning shears are their garlic, so you’ll definitely want a pair of these in your tool belt.
$59.39 at Gardener’s Edge
Striped Memory Foam Kneeler
Don’t neglect your knees as you hyper-focus on that future harvest. This cushioned kneeler is aesthetically evocative of an English country abode, providing a stylish padding between overalls and soil that feels as good as it looks (but we won’t get too lost in the weeds over it).
$42.00 Terrain
Stainless Steel Hori Hori Weeding Knife
Part ruler, part weed whacker, part trowel, the Hori Hori knife is the renaissance tool of the garden. It can do a bit of everything. Made in Japan with high quality stainless steel, you’ll be able to saw through tough roots, separate plants, and dig holes to plop seedlings into with precision.
$26.00 at Nisaku Japan
Gorilla Carts 4-cu. ft. Poly Yard Cart
Lugging tons of mulch and compost doesn’t have to be an all day, sweat-through-two-shirts affair. This is the monster truck of garden carts. Its durability withstands seasons of wear, it’s a pleasure to maneuver through the obstacles of the garden, and it dumps a pile of compost right where you want it with the pull of a handle.
$99.98 at Lowe’s
Haws Professional Long Reach Watering Can
Water makes the magic happen, so it’s worth investing in a watering can that won’t meet the trash can at the end of the year. This 2.4-gallon from Haws was crafted in England using the company’s “time-honored” methods, so you know it’ll withstand season after season.
$178.00 at Terrain
Steele Utility Tote
Constructed of durable canvas in an on-brand olive green, this bag was specifically designed for gardeners. There are nine pockets (nine!) to organize your tools, your gloves, your phone, your water bottle — even some of your harvest. Equipped with fancy and comfortable leather handles, you can tote-ally carry this bag from the garden to an overlook fit for a sunset picnic.
$107.95 at Steele Canvas Basket Corp.
Vegetable and Flower Wicker Basket
Sure, a harvest basket allows you to carry your bounty to the kitchen, but its function needn’t be restricted to utility. The one, with its rattan weaving, blends with any decor. It can even be repurposed as a breakfast-in-bed tray or decorative display for your collection of local newspapers.
$79.50 at Kouboo
Tomato Cages
Trellising is essential in the garden. It provides support and keeps the plants from tipping over once the fruit begins to form. Tomatoes on the garden floor? We don’t want rot before there’s even a chance to harvest! These sturdy red towers not only afford your plants assistance for full vines, but also proper air circulation and fewer opportunities for diseased plants.
$59.95 (Set of Four) at Gardener’s Supply
Classically-Stylish Garden Gloves
There’s nothing like a dirt manicure, but perhaps you’d like to preserve your fresh coat of non-toxic polish. These comfortable gloves, made from recycled materials, allow you to dig in without caking your cuticles in soil or getting pricked by the rose bushes, regardless of the state those nails are in.
$42.00 at Hudson Grace
Outdoor Garden Protection Kit
A consequence of growing food and flowers is that sometimes bad bugs will come. Hornworms will chew tunnels through your tomatoes. The striped Colorado Potato Beetle will wreak havoc on the foliage of your nightshades. It’s a common nuisance, but there is defense. Arm your shed with netted tunnels to keep birds and pests away from plants. Then there’s sprays, which you’ll want to read before you apply. Arber’s Outdoor Kit is fit for organic standards. The contents of the kit won’t only protect your plants, but also help them thrive.
