Gardening – Essential Tools You’ll Need to Maintain Your Garden
Introduction
So you want to start gardening? I have been gardening for over 30 years and have become somewhat of an expert at it. I have gardened in California, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nebraska, Alaska and now Nevada. So I have experience in gardening in all different types of climates.
I would say the most challenging climate was Alaska, here I was able to use a greenhouse to help me with my garden.
The tools you are going to use depend really on the size of your garden. I will discuss tools I used that were for a medium size garden of around ten feet by ten feet.
Tools For Preparing The Ground
When I started out, I used a shovel to break the ground.
I got wiser and invested in a small tiller to help me prepare the ground for planting. A small one works fine because you can control it better, a large one controls you.
After you break the ground, you will want to smooth the ground with a rake to even it out for easier and equal distribution of water. Besides it looks better, too.
After smoothing, use a hoe to make equal rows for planting your vegetables. You can also use the hoe to remove the weeds as the season progresses.
Tools For Planting
Once you have the ground prepared, you are ready for planting. Now there are chemicals on the market that you can use to control weeds before they emerge.
I use this for plants I grow that are not seeds, but have already emerged such as tomatoes. The reason is if you use a pre-emergent weed control, you will have to wait about three weeks before you can plant vegetable seeds.
You may also need some support sticks and twine for plants that grow tall such as tomatoes and beans.
Growing Season
During the rowing season your main job is to keep your plants watered and weed free. For these tasks use a sprinkler for watering your garden and a hoe to remove the weeds. You may also want to use your hands, here gloves are useful.
Harvesting
This is the fun part. What you need for this is really just a basket or a bowl, depending on how much you are harvesting.
Other Tools
With the cost of vegetables rising, you may want to extend your growing season by building your own greenhouse.
Conclusion
Very few tools are needed for growing a garden. Some tools you should consider are tillers, hoes, rakes and even a greenhouse.
