Master Gardener Volunteer Juli Pomainville shares her insight into the tools and items that have made her gardening pursuits more fun and effective. Many gardening items can be bought at the dollar store, which is why many prices listed start at $1. The items are divided into three categories: Tools, Care & Clothing, and Other Useful Things.
TOOLS
1. Ratcheting bypass pruners: $10-40
This style requires less hand strength than traditional pruners. Pick one with a soft handgrip to absorb pressure. Read the labels carefully, and look for an anvil style with hardened carbon steel replaceable blade. The tool itself should be made of something that won’t rust, like aluminum.
2. Little bitty pruning shears: $1-15, and alcohol prep pads: < $5
Although my big ratcheting pruners can cut more tender stems with ease, they’re heavy. I like a tiny pair in the pocket of the carpenter’s apron I wear in my garden, mostly for pruning my tomatoes and peppers and for cutting flowers. Alcohol wipes are handy for wiping down the blades if you see a little blight or fungus and don’t want to spread it to other plants.
3. Thumb knife: $4.50-9.00
Best. Invention. Ever. P.S. Do your gardener a favor and pick up a carabiner
thumb knife
hook and one of those little zipper pouches meant for ear buds to store the thumb knife. This knife is little and always falls to the bottom of the drawer or bucket.
4. Japanese style hand sickle: $20-35
Half hoe, half sickle, this tool allows you to weed quite precisely around plants. It is meant to be dragged slightly under the soil, so weeding very tall weeds may not be fun. This is meant for that fresh crop of weeds that springs up overnight. Look for high carbon steel, and be aware that some models come in right or left-handed models.
5. Hori-Hori: $25-35
This knife-like garden tool cuts, measures, digs, tills, and saws. Look for one
Hori hori
with a nifty sheath that you can put on a belt. Be sure and include a soft cloth for wiping the dirt off the blade before returning it to the sheath.
6. Folding knife: $10-40
I use my folding knife almost every time I’m outside, for slicing open bags, cutting plant ties, weed pruning, harvesting, slicing a splinter off my raised bed, cutting zip ties to re-structure wire fence sections. There are certainly beautiful ones available, but mine is plain old stainless steel that I got as a promotional sample from a construction vender. I do wish, though, that mine had a hawksbill blade.
7. Replacement hand tools: $20
Some tools really are worth paying for. If your gardener is making do with rusty, bent-handled hand tools, look for some new ones. They are often sold in a set of 3. Look for one-piece rust-resistant cast aluminum heads with soft/contoured handles for comfort. Having a ruler engraved on the trowel is a bonus. Some brands have a lifetime warranty.
CARE & CLOTHING
8. Wide brimmed hat with UV protection: $7-35
Brand isn’t what’s important here, it’s all about protection from the harmful UV rays from the sun, and face it, gardeners don’t do their thing in the shade.
UV resistant hat
Pick a brim at least 3” wide that will keep the face in the shade. Venting for air circulation across the scalp and a tie to keep it from blowing away are both good features.
An investment in sun protective clothing may be a good idea for your gardener. The best are rated SPF 50 or higher. As a comparison, a cotton tee shirt has an SPF of 4.
9. Personal care items: $6-20
Gardener’s soap should have some sort of scrubby ingredient to get the dirt off, and be certain that there is a good moisturizer in it such as shea butter, olive oil or coconut oil. Gardening is hard on the skin. $7-15
A good broad spectrum sunscreen, with an SPF of at least 30 that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Make sure your label says “water resistant” or “very water resistant” and buy a large bottle; adults need to use at least 1 oz for good coverage. $6-12
A moisturizing lip balm with an SPF of at least 30. $4-8
Insect/tick repellent spray. If your gardener doesn’t like chemicals, there are products made with essential oils available online. $ 6-20
10. Gardening apron: $15-100+
Gardening aprons are meant to protect your clothing, give you a place to keep frequently used tools and supplies close at hand, and even provide a place to put harvest you are collecting. Features to think about: What part of their clothes need protection from dirt and tears? Should their apron be long enough to kneel on? What tools should the pockets accommodate? Do they carry packets of seeds to fill in garden gaps? Do they need a chest pocket for phone or glasses? Do they bring back vegetables and flowers by the armload? There are gardener’s aprons that address all these things, and you can choose any feature you like. I caution you to get one with reinforced pockets regardless of other features – garden tools are hard on pockets. Important consideration: if your gardener tends to “load up” heavy or has a bad back, get something with shoulder straps rather than an “around the neck” strap. I wear a carpenter’s apron stocked with all my favorite “daily tools” and I carry a 5-gallon bucket to load up with weeds or veggies, depending on the day.
11. Garden clogs: $10-75
Waterproof footwear that slides on and off easily is a necessity. Look for a contoured sole and good treads. Do make sure there are no ventilation holes for soil or mud to fall through. Maybe tuck a couple of pairs of good wool socks in there for the cold spring mornings when your gardener just can’t wait to get out there.
12. Gloves: $1-45
The right gloves will protect your gardener from infections, insect bites, cuts, scrapes, splinters, etc. Make sure your gardener is ready for anything. Here are my favorites:
Thornproof gauntlet-style gloves for working with brambles or thorny plants such as raspberries or roses, and for pruning woody shrubs. Be sure you get the long gauntlets to protect tender forearms. A Velcro or elastic cord at the top will help keep insects out and gloves on. $16-35
Gloves with nitrile coated palms and fingers and the rest made of a breathable knit fabric that keeps hands cool. There are plenty of nice ones out there, but I’m careless and sometimes leave mine in the sunlight and spoil them, so I buy mine at the dollar store. $1-20
Jersey work gloves are soft, and protect from blisters during long hours of shovel and rake work. You can also get an insulated version for a few dollars more. $1-12
Cotton gloves offer the least amount of protection, but for light gardening days, they are all you need to keep your hands clean and offer a little protection. $1-5
Claw gloves are a nitrile coated glove with plastic claw-fingertips. I got a pair for Christmas last year, and I love them for digging that layer of compost into the first few inches of soil, planting seeds, and weeding. I often wear just one and wield a tool in the other hand. $4-8
Bionic gloves. Now, I don’t own these, but they are meant for arthritic gardeners. Bionic gloves have some different features: some are heated or use infrared light, some may have special fingers, some have supported wrist wraps. Most are adjustable and are soft so that the joints and muscles are supported to make gardening more comfortable. I’ve included an image of them so that you can spot them if you’re looking for them. $30-45
OTHER USEFUL ITEMS
13. Grow light for indoor seed starting: $25-250
If your gardener complains about leggy seedlings and you are tired of trays of dirt in all the windows, a grow light could be just the gift. As for pricing, it’s all about the size and type of light fixture. Some of the least expensive are sticks mounted on a tripod stand, or there are grow lights that look just like those fluorescent shop light fixtures we hung from the basement ceiling 20 years ago. Then there are ones that look like they came off a spaceship. Look for a Full Spectrum lamp, a timer, and LED bulbs.
14. Garden Marker for labeling row markers: < $5 ea.
The Garden Marker is a quick dry ink that is fade resistant, UV resistant and
garden marker
xylene free. It writes on wood, glass porcelain, metal and plastic. It cleans off my dollar store white plastic plant labels with nail polishremover (with acetone) so they are reusable year after year.
15. Rain gauge for monitoring moisture: $1-60
You can spend as much or as little as you like, and they all work the same…
16. Seed saving envelopes: $6-20
This is another item you can spend as much on or as little as you like. The envelopes pictured are “#1 Coin and Small Parts” envelopes. You can get a smaller bundle of 50 up to a bundle of 500. You can also get envelopes that say “Seeds” and have lines for seed type, date collected and notes; they cost significantly more.
17. 3-way or 4-way Soil Meter: $10-50
Lots of variables have an impact on how plants grow. This little tester will indicate soil pH, soil temperature, and if the area needs more water or light.
18. Plant pot maker: $15-20Plant pot maker
For the gardener who loves to grow seedlings for little-to-no-cost.
19. Garden hose: $30-50
Do you hear your gardener grumbling when they are dragging that heavy hose around the yard, walking back and forth to clear the kinks? Look for a lightweight, flexible, kink-proof hose that lays flat with no memory. Check that the outer cover resists abrasion, is UV and mold resistant, and is drinking water safe. Winner, winner chicken dinner!
20. Soil test: $13-40
Contact the Growline (SLCGrowline@gmail.com) at Cornell Cooperative Extension for the paperwork needed and instructions detailing how to collect a soil sample, and send it in for your gardener. The results will include recommendations and the Master Gardener volunteers at the Growline can help interpret them.
Here’s to planning for another beautiful and productive gardening season!Juli Pomainville is a Master Gardener Volunteer who has been growing flowers and vegetables in Pierrepont since she was a child in 4-H. She enjoys experimenting with trendy gardening techniques, tending an annual flower garden for residents at a local nursing home, and teaching Seed to Supper classes for beginning gardeners.
