🛠️ Let’s Talk Tools & Supplies! 🌱

Every gardener has that one tool or supply they just can’t live without. Maybe it’s the old pair of gloves that’s seen better days but still fits perfectly. Or the hand trowel that feels like an extension of your arm. Or perhaps it’s something newer, like drip irrigation or a clever gadget that makes your life ten times easier.

Some tools are lifesavers, while others… well, let’s just say they gather dust in the shed.

So here’s the question: What’s your go-to gardening tool or supply, and why does it earn a permanent spot in your garden routine?

Whether it’s humble, high-tech, or hilariously unconventional, we’d love to hear your favorites—and maybe discover a new must-have for our own gardens!

buckets.

My 3 most commonly used gardening tools

• Shovel (spade)
• Spading fork
• Long-handled Cultivator

Much of my composting is composting-in-place. This requires removing 8 to 10 inches of soil so that compostables can be added and covered with the soil. I like to do this in every 3rd bed with material from the 3 beds, buried together. I will also use more-or-less finished compost from the bins in this manner – buried, shovel required.

The 2 beds not dug out require cultivation and that is where the spading fork plays an important role. It is a much easier tool to use than a shovel. Even running a rototiller for the same amount of time requires more effort and although it covers more ground, the tiller is unlikely to reach the depth of a spading fork.

Fertilizer can be worked into the soil surface with a spading fork especially if a 4-prong cultivator is used to follow up. The 2 also play a role in weed removal with the fork loosening the soil and the cultivator pulling the weed out.

Steve