Your must-have garden tool of 2009
Posted on June 9th, 2009 – 11:41 PMBy Jaime Chismar
Quick — What’s your best garden purchase of 2009 so far?
Me? I just went out and bought myself a cultivator.
When I prep my soil in the spring, I usually use a pitch fork and a rake to fluff up the soil in my raised beds. It works great for small spaces. No roto-tilling, no worries.
A few weeks ago, I scored a plot at a brand new community garden in St. Louis Park. The city had plowed the field, but big chunks of sod hid under the soil. My pitchfork and rake technique was painstakingly slow. After thirty minutes, I was covered in dirt.
My new neighbor, Betty, made quick work of her plot using only one tool. It ripped through the clods while making nice neat rows.
“I found this cultivator in my daughter’s garage. I think I am the first one to use it.”
I just had to have one.
So, what is your must have garden tool of 2009? Has it met your expectations or are you looking for your receipt?
PS: If you’re looking for soil prep tips, check out: http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/essential-tools-working-soil.aspx.
18 Responses to "Your must-have garden tool of 2009"
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Digging fork. Useful for just about every task from turning compost to conditioning soil. Plus, you can get all menacing with it and yell at the squirrels to GET OF MY LAWN!
The article you linked…that guy seems like kind of a luddite. Sometimes you just can’t replace 6.5 horsepower. Besides…as a gardener don’t you *want* to scare off the birds, rabbits and squirrels?
It isn’t a tool but I broke down and got some real gardening shoes (not crocs). I had always used an old pair of tennis shoes before and felt it was just a matter of time before I slipped on wet grass and landed under the lawn mower. Anyway, these are water proof, easy to slip on and have great traction. I won’t be getting any fashion awards but that is seldom my concern while digging about in the garden.
Scuffle hoe. For those little weeds that can overnight become menacing & flower spreading seeds all over. Cuts the little bighters right off at the roots.
For the tight spots: an arrow hoe, pointed so you can get right next to the wanted species to get the invaders out.
Amanda, you are smart with the “real” shoes. You can point out to any fashion police coming by that it isn’t very fashionable to be missing toes or wearing a cast after a mishap. I have a pair of old baseball cleats for a slope I need to mow at work.
Good call on the scuffle hoe. It makes weeding so much easier. You can enjoy the sight of their bare roots gasping for water as the sun chars them to a lovely shade of wilted brown. It’s better entertainment than most prime-time TV too.
…I think I’m enjoying this too much. 
I’m with Debw - scuffle hoe. I love cutting off those pesky weeds! I also have a many-tined fork with a long handle that I use for turning compost, moving mulch or piles of weeds, etc. It came from the barn at my childhood home, and we always called it a manure fork.
For new tools: I am loving my soaker hose I’ve put in my shade garden, especially this year!
For old, beloved “tools,” I’m with the others about footwear. I trade between old sneakers and work boots I bought in 1985. When rhubarb or hostas need digging and dividing, the boots go on the feet.
I also invested in soaker hoses this year for two lines of bushes/trees that have been sadly neglected over the past 3 years…I wonder how much they will grow now with regular waterings. They are burning bushes and some type of green bush, I am guessing the green bushes that I call “cucumber bushes” because they grow to resemble…yes, cucumbers.
Always my favorite tool is a smaller version of the spade. I received one from my grandma years ago. When the handle broke I used a rake handle (which was too long) because I couldn’t part with the spade. After much searching I found a new one at a garden center and had to have it.
Hmm, so far I bought cage-type things (pardon my very technical verbiage) that keep my peonies from completely laying on the ground once they bloom. Only took me 3 years to buy them!
I could go on and on about tools. I like both the Hula Hoe and the scuffle hoe. For down on my knees cultivating, I like the Garden Bandit.
For big work, nothing beats a good digging fork. Unfortunately, I keep bending them. I’m contemplating dropping $80 on one that comes from England.
If shoes count as tools, well, then my favorite new tool is my Carhartt overalls. They’ve got built-in knee pads.
Ok, Peter, enough with the tantilizing description of your stuff!
Laura, my peonies look great–even with all the rain, thanks to the cage-type things I also began using. I, uh, bought them within the last two years and finally installed them. I also staked my delphiniums and oriental poppies _before_ they began flopping over. Does this mean I’ve become a grown-up?
You know those weedy trees that keep popping up and are hard to get rid of? You can clip them off at the ground, but when you’re not looking, it sends up new shoots that are bigger than the one you clipped off. Siberian elm, I’m talking about you.
Anyway, there’s a tool for them. It’s called the Weed Wrench, but it should be called the Tree Wrench.
Link: http://www.weedwrench.com/
They are often used to remove buckthorn.
It’s a pricey tool. Fortunately, some are available to be loaned out from community gardening organizations.
hrm, scuffle hoes look interesting, i might have to get me one of these!
A reel mower. We have very little grass and the Brill is the perfect size.
A shovel - the kiddy size but made of steel. I call it my “digger” because it can dig little holes, big holes, divide plants, weed dandelions and burdock, and doesn’t weigh a ton compared to its full-size counterpart.
Available at Menards for a mere $10.
I actually bought it last year, but the Cobrahead is the best small garden tool I have (best big one: a great shovel). Cobrahead digs up weeds, cultivates, makes little furrows for seeds, plus you look a little dangerous carrying it around.
Greengirls Connie Nelson, Robyn Dochterman and Jaime Chismar are dishin' the dirt from the backyard garden and beyond. Whether you're a greenthumb or greenhorn, they're eager to learn from your misshaps, mistakes -- and most importantly, your sweet successes -- all growing season long.
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