Proper Garden Tool Purchases Can Save You Money
 (Read 50+ times)
By Harold Sink
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Throughout the years, gardeners have used various tools for various purposes. Some gardeners have a wide variety of tools, while others try to be savvy and have a minimal number at best.
A minimalist, like me, would more than likely have the basics:
Round point shovel,
Leaf rake,
Flat till garden rake (long handled),
Narrow transplanting trowel,
Lopper,
Bow saw,
Hand tiller,
Grass shears,
Hedge shears,
Scissors, and
A good pair of gardening gloves.
Oh and let’s not forget the lawn mower. That will be the biggest purchase next to the plants.
These are the same tools my parents and grandparents used when they worked in their own yards and gardens. Of course, they had many other tools I found to be pointless to use since these basic tools were enough for me.
The first yard I kept for someone was trimmed with the grass shears, without gloves. I learned my lesson after that day. Take it from me, “Wear your gloves.”
With such a variety of tools, more mechanized gadgets are making their way into the business of gardening. Electric and gas operated, you can find lawn edgers, weed and grass trimmers, bush trimmers, chainsaws and much more.
The best laugh I had was finding out that someone invented a weed remover. Okay, go read my article on “Is it Mondo or Monkey Grass?” I can see removing a few weeds in a yard that has been well maintained.
This is why you will find other gardeners adding to their tool list with such things like,
Bulb planter,
Rounded trowel,
Short handled point shovel,
Drain or trench shovel,
Bow garden rake,
Thatch rake,
Spading fork,
Square hoe,
Warren Hoe (triangle shaped),
Cultivator,
Matlock and/or Pick,
Weed whacker,
Metal edger,
Bypass scissors, and a
Pole Saw.
You are going to find more tools than this out there in the market for gardening. Just remember that budget of yours, as it can get out of control if you like tools in general.
A single tool can have many uses. You can turn that shovel into your own rototiller. Dig out a two or three foot square area, turn the soil over, and chop it up fine. Use your hand tiller and rake the weeds out ridding the dirt of future weeding.
Using a narrow transplanting trowel facing you in a cultivated garden is an easier way to turn over the soil if you are working a small area. This is where the gardener in you comes out.
Avid gardeners tend to use fewer tools because they have learned the many uses they can get out of one tool. On the other hand, someone with limited time or reduced health may find it more to their benefit in having certain tools for quick work.
Whichever route one takes in deciding what tools to use, take the time in selecting the right tool for the right job. Buying a tool over and over again is a sign that you may not be selecting a good quality of that particular tool.
It is understandable if you use a tool quite frequently that it can wear out in a short amount of time. Buying a tool of quality to begin with will reduce the amount of money you spend on replacements in the future.
Newcomers to gardening will find it best to make a list of what is absolutely needed to maintain their gardens. This will reduce frivolous purchases, and turn them into knowledgeable and expert gardeners in the future.
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Author Bio Box: Harold Sink
 32 years of personal experience
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/GardenToolBG.html (reference for proper names of tools)
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