Gardening Tools and Equipment Discussion

[grow_my_own]

It seems that this year, I have acquired quite a few of the gardening implements that I have been wanting, though I still have many more on my wish list! I thought it would be fun to discuss amongst us all:

A) What is your favorite gardening tool(s) that you currently possess, and why?

B) Which gardening implement(s) do you have on your "realistic/immediate future" wish list and which one(s) do you have on your "someday, when my rich uncle gets outta the poor house" wish list?

For myself, my favorite gardening implement that I currently have is my garden claw. Comes in very handy without killing my back. My second favorite is my kneeling pad. I also loooove my hula hoe.

On my realistic/immediate future wish list, I want to get a rain barrel this year and a wheel hoe.. one of these http://www.sustainablefarmer.com/bblog/?p=125 . I also need some soaker hoses and better garden gloves. A small 4-shelf portable greenhouse would be nice to have for starting seedlings, and I hope to pick up one of those this year, as well, so I can get a jump-start on seedlings next year.

On my "someday when my rich uncle gets outta the poor house" wish list, I want a big 16 x 24 foot hoop-style greenhouse filled with raised beds and a "dream" watering system so I can grow fresh produce year-round.

How about y'all?

 

[so lucky]

Do you plan on using the water in the rain barrel for veggies or just ornamentals? I'm kinda stumped on this. Most things I've seen say that using the water run-off from regular asbestos shingles in the vegetable garden is not a good idea. I'm wanting a rain barrel, but I think I will meet major opposition if/when I bring it up.

 

[digitS']

(Asbestos shingles??!)

My favorites are long-handled spading forks and 4-prong cultivators. I like just "scratching around" in the garden .

Rich uncles? I don't know if either that I have left could be rich. For one thing, they've been retired so long that they probably think that spending 25 for a beer should be just about right , and it might not be a good idea to trust them with a beer, anyway. One had the idea that WW2 veterans shouldn't have to pay property taxes. I don't know why his kids let him get away with acting on that. Yeah, you're right. He doesn't actually own the property he lives on any longer. Or, he doesn't own much of it. Even my 94 year-old father could have told him the errors in his thinking on that one (but I'm sure he wouldn't have listened).

I suppose that if I could have most anything I wanted it would be a nice pond. And, some guy to look after it for me . I've always thought that using pond water for irrigation would be a good idea. Especially pond water from a pond well-stocked with lunker bass .

Steve

 

[NwMtGardener]

Heh, i was also wondering about the asbestos shingles...we have asbestos siding, but the water in out rain barrel is gathered from the standing seam metal roofing and plasticc gutters, so i'm not worried about putting it on my plants.

I really need to get one of those skinny, 8" leaf rakes...i remember how handy they were when i worked for the garden company, we used them like a hoe...up on their side, chopping off the weeds, then to gather up detritus.

I really need a new really nice pair of hand pruners...

 

[dickiebird]

I don't think you'll find many asbestos shingles, lots of asphalt, and I don't think they will show up in runoff water.

THANX RICH

 

[897tgigvib]

My favorite garden tool is my newest one. A garden tractor and garden trailer that was given to me in mint condition perfect everything. With it, I'll be able to haul compost lots easier than with my 10 cubic foot awesome wheelbarrow.

Next is my Stihl Chainsaw that I used to cut my bed frame logs to length with.

My Vaughan Hammer/Hatchet is also a garden tool to make the beds, and the Stanley 35 foot fatMax tape Measure.

My 2 flat headed shovels, and my regular shovel are important, as is the light hoe.

I bought a telescoping cultivator and a long handled mini width stiff leaf rake. They are great to reach weed seedlings.

the 2 and the 5 gallon buckets are very handy. Do all my hoses count as tools. Seems like they should, along with all the watering nozzles. The setup saves dragging 200 feet of hose. One hose per walkway is much more better!

Do my watchcats count as tools?

I may experiment with a soaker hose later this season for one bed. If it works out I'll switch over to them in all the beds.


What tool would be on my wish list?
I already got that one granted! :rainbow-sun

Mmmm, in a year I'll be thinking of a 2nd garden nearby...

 

[thistlebloom]

Oooohhh...aren't tools fun?
Hey Marshall, I have a Stihl chainsaw too! It's the girlie model, you know the one with the wee little bar? But I can cut down a decent size pine with it .

My clippers and holster are my most indispensable tools. My knee pads are permanent fixtures on my knees, and I finally found some I love! Forget the overpriced "gardeners" knee pads that are nothing but an aggravation as they slide down, or the velcro stretchy straps pop off every time you kneel. I buy mine now in the tile department at HD. They're perfectly comfortable and I can wear them all day.

My stirrup hoe and little triangle hoe are keepers.

I got a new shovel last year that is heavy duty and has really wide treads for your feet. Great for all day digging, it won't bruise your foot like those skinny treads do.

Well, I like all my tools, but my new favorite is the nifty little trailer my husband made me for towing behind my truck. ( It's cute! ) It will hold all my tools ( ok, probably not all, but the ones I use most ), and that will free up the bed of my truck for hauling plants or debris. Then when I'm done for the day I can just back it into my shed. No more loading and unloading! I love my husband !

I drive a little Tacoma pickup, and my business signs are on the doors, not exactly feminine, but not macho either. My son works with me a couple days a week, and as we drove along I was telling him how excited I was about my new little trailer.
So I ask him jokingly if he's going to be embarrassed to be seen with me in my girl truck with my cute trailer all tricked out behind.

"What's this "gonna be"? " he asks with a straight face. Ha! He cracks me up! The little turd.

 

[ducks4you]

A) What is your favorite gardening tool(s) that you currently possess, and why?
My FAVORITES--have to be more than one--are:
--spade
--wheelbarrows:
largest, plastic bed, 2-wheeled
smaller, metal bed, 1 wheel
very small, the old ones with the hard, rubber wheel--I spray painted mine last Fall to extend it's life
--planting shovel (it's 1/2 wide and 2x as long as a spade)
--tiller
--electric recipricating saw

B) Which gardening implement(s) do you have on your "realistic/immediate future" wish list and which one(s) do you have on your "someday, when my rich uncle gets outta the poor house" wish list?
--3 rain barrels--probably will make mine in 2013--too pricey to buy
--small Tractor (I've researched them and dreamed of it, too)

 

[so lucky]

I don't think you'll find many asbestos shingles, lots of asphalt, and I don't think they will show up in runoff water.

THANX RICH

Oh yeah, I meant asphalt. What was I thinking?

 

[diggerthechickenman]

mine would have to be my 4 wheeler and small dump trailer, (since i don't "YET" have a tractor). and of course the impliments i built for it to prepare gorund for planting . dragging stuff is alot easier than trying to keep a tiller at bay.