Guest Contributor: Cassey Anderson, Horticulture Agent, Colorado State University Extension
In this gift-giving edition of our popular gardening advice column, expert advice on the most important tools for the gardener in your life*
*even if it's you!
Gardening is a peaceful and wonderful activity, but there are things that can make it easier on our bodies. Below is a list of my personal favorite tools as well as a few that I love but are not, strictly speaking, necessary for a positive gardening experience. I’m not going to recommend specific products, but I will mention what types of things to look for in your quest to build your own ideal garden toolbelt!
For specific product recommendations, check out our companion post - Top 10 must-have gifts selected by Fresh Food Connect's staff and Giving GNOMEs!
Must have (in my opinion)
Hori Hori
I know I have written about this tool in the past, but it bears repeating for those of you in the back who may not have heard of it. Meaning “dig dig” in Japanese this tool is indispensable in my garden activities. It can act as a small trowel, a knife (sharp enough to cut, so be cautious), a mallet to shake soil out of roots, a ruler. The hori hori is the one tool I carry anytime I wander my yard regardless of if I have a goal or am just perusing. There are numerous different types, shapes, and configurations. Finding one made with stainless steel and a sharp edge are important, but different gardeners have different preferences of which style suits best.
Garden Fork a.k.a. spading fork
I would argue that a garden fork is more multipurpose useful than a shovel for many garden applications. You can turn soil, amend soil, loosen soil for planting and beyond. In heavy clay soil areas garden tools can be put through quite a test if you buy tools that aren’t strong enough to cope with dense and heavy soil. When looking for the garden fork that is best for you consider: length, balance, material (handle of wood, metal, plastic). The main thing to know is that this can be an investment, so don’t buy the $40 fork unless you have very easy to manage soils!
Garden shovel
Another valuable tool for any gardener, finding a good garden shovel can be important. You may like a shorter shovel with a handle or a long shovel, but this can help with digging, amending and overall yard maintenance. As with the garden fork above, spending more money on a shovel can get a better result, but I, at least, have found that you can get a few more quality shovels than forks for less money. If you find a shovel that feels good the next thing to consider is learning to sharpen the blade. A nice sharp blade can help cut into the soil much more easily.
Small hand saw
Although this doesn’t apply so much to most vegetable gardens, a small folding razor saw can be an incredible tool for removing small branches and twigs. Many of them fold up so you can keep them in a back pocket while working in the garden. You can select teeth that work forward or backward to double your sawing efforts. I have several of these stashed in my house, shed, and even my car! The main thing to note is that they are often hard to sharpen once they dull so either purchase saws that have replicable blades or budget a replacement every 5-10 years depending on your use.
Bypass pruners
A great tool for the vegetable and ornamental garden. I have used my bypass pruners for removing end-of-season plants (leave those roots in to improve your soil organic matter), harvesting larger plants like artichokes or broccoli as well as the more typical pruning jobs in the ornamental garden. This is another place where you can get a cheaper product, but likely will need to replace pruner or blade frequently. If you buy a quality pruner (around $60-80) it will last a long time and many have replaceable blades once you’ve abused it past the point of re-sharpening.
Nice to have:
Baskets and buckets
I am a lazy and messy gardener and so I know if I’m working on weeding, deadheading, or pruning, then a container will help motivate me from leaving my mess in a pile and moving on to the next project. There are a wide variety of tubs and buckets marketed toward gardeners, but I have found that searching the “home goods” section of your local big box stores can reveal a plethora of choices that are often more reasonably priced while still fulfilling the need. Do note with any plastic or flexible tote type materials that they will last better when kept out of the elements unless in use.
Rake
A rake, either for the garden (flat) or for the landscape (fan-shaped) can help with bed preparation and general yard cleanup. They are inexpensive and easy to find, and often you do not need to pay for the top-of-the-line product for success! If you have most of the tools listed above but don’t have a garden rake it may be something to add to your toolkit.
Broadfork
The final product I’ll extoll today is the broadfork. It’s probably going to be the most expensive tool that you purchase, but it can transform how you manage your vegetable garden. Broadforks look like a very large garden fork, and in some ways, you use them in a similar way. They can be used to help aerate the soil and incorporate amendments into the soil. They are low effort compared to garden forks or shovels but have a big impact. To use a broadfork, you press it straight down into the soil, using your body weight, and then grasp the handles on either side of your body and “crack” the soil pulling the tines up in front of you. This is a less invasive way to aerate and amend the soil than digging or rototilling with much the same impact. As with the other tools listed here, you get what you pay for so do your research when deciding what to purchase.
Happy holidays and good luck as those 2025 seasonal seed catalogs start coming in your mailbox so you can start your shopping for next year. As always, if you have additional questions, please reach out to your local Extension office.
Gardening in Colorado? Check out Grow & Give www.growandgivecolorado.org and in particular our Colorado Vegetable Guide https://growgive.extension.colostate.edu/colorado-vegetable-guide/ for more crop information on all of the above plants.
What if every gardener planted just one extra plant to share?
One small donation can have a tremendous impact. Just imagine, if every gardener planted one extra plant to share, collectively, we would have an abundant source of fresh, healthy produce available to be distributed to families experiencing food insecurity in our own communities! The free Fresh Food Connect mobile app connects you to a local hunger relief program, then manages and tracks your donations of homegrown produce throughout the season. Download the app today!