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 What Every Gardener Needs |
| What Every Gardener Needs
by Leilani Rolphe
One of the most popular hobbies around the world is gardening. Working in a garden can fill one with a great sense of pride and accomplishment. Digging into the warm moist earth is a pleasure unlike any other. And, seeing the beautiful results of your labor will inspire spend more time in your garden, both working in it, and enjoying it. Gardeners often describe a sense of fulfillment and peace that they experience as a result of working in their gardens.
Every gardener has tools that he or she swears by. Some use modern gadgets and equipment to tend their gardens, while others swear by the simplicity of sticking to the old-fashioned basics. Gardening without tools is virtually impossible, at least in the initial preparation stages. The selection of gardening tools you'll choose should reflect your personal gardening style, as well as the size and extent of your garden. Your tools should also complement the amount of work you're able to handle, the time you spend gardening, and, of course, the amount of money you're willing to pay.
It's not necessary to spend a great deal on high-tech gizmos or expensive tillers, but every gardener should have some type of cultivating equipment. In spring, the earth must be dug up, turned, and irrigated. Most people incorporate organic fertilizer into the cool springtime earth as well, and the right tools can certainly make this task a lot easier. Depending on how serious you are about gardening, there is a huge variety of cultivating tools available.
If you are a fan of getting some exercise while you garden, you may choose to use some of the very common hand tools. These include pitchforks, rakes, spades, trowels, and, of course, shovels. These tools are fairly easy to use and are designed to help with preparing the ground for planting. To round out your collection of useful tools, you may wish to also have a pickax, a wheel cultivator, and a mattock.
Depending on the size of your garden, and the amount of physical labor you wish to commit to, you may wish to use power tools in your garden. Yes, they are somewhat more expensive, however, they get the job done with more ease. If you have a larger garden, a tiller will be very useful in preparing your soil. It is also helpful for people with mobility issues. A tiller is useful for breaking up the ground, to help mix compost and fertilizer into the earth, and to chop up any debris lying around. A tiller can be quite expensive, so they can also be rented at most tool supply stores. You may also choose to share with or borrow from a neighbor. Chippers, chainsaws, and shredders are additional power tools that are useful in the garden.
A nice addition to any garden is a small tree, some shrubs, or a neat hedge. To care for these plants, and to make them look their best, it is beneficial to have pruning tools. Pole pruners extend to about 15 feet. These make reaching higher branches a snap. On shrubs and hedges pruning sheers are usually sufficient. If the diameter of the branch you are trimming is more than a half inch, you may wish to use lopping sheers. These are useful up to about two inches in diameter. If these tools do not get the job done, you could consider stronger hedge shears and pruning saws.
Your garden will not survive without water. When nature doesn't take of your garden's water needs, it is a good idea to have watering equipment on hand. A garden hose with a good quality spray nozzle, or a sprinkler is very useful for those with a bigger garden or a grassy lawn. A basic watering can will be enough for a container garden made up of pots and planters. More advanced gardens may have irrigation systems with timers. These provide more accurate watering. Some gardeners may choose to use drip hoses for more even watering.
Getting down and dirty with nature and creating a lush, healthy garden is a dream come true for many homeowners, but trying to create or tend that garden can be a nightmare without the proper tools. You don't have to invest a lot of money; purchasing the basics including a shovel, trowel, pitchfork, and leaf rake is often all you need. And be sure to pick up a good pair of gardening gloves, or you'll quickly have calluses on your hands along with that dirt under your nails.
Author Leilani Rolphe contributes to a variety of web magazines, on home and garden supply and garden decor topics. You can get a unique content version of this article.
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