Garden Tool Basics

See All Gardening Tools:http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/2/OutdoorLiving/GardeningTools.jsp

Gardening is a great hobby and having the right tools will make your work easier and set you up for success

The basic gardening tools you need depends  on the type of garden you have.  We’ll cover a few garden types: small urban garden, a larger garden and window-box or container gardening.  

For  smaller urban or larger gardens you’ll need something to dig, move materials and loosen the soil.

For digging in your garden, a spade is the best choice. 

A garden fork looks like a pitchfork but with wider shorter tines.  It’s the perfect tool for breaking up heavy soils or mixing materials like compost or manure into the garden.

A shovel is different shape than a spade, and it’s used differently.  It’s good for digging large holes for transplanting trees or shrubs and also works well for moving loose materials like gravel, garden soil and mulch.

The thin, flat blade of a hoe is perfect...

...for loosening or cultivating soil, weeding or making rows in a vegetable garden.

For removing debris or rocks in your garden, you’ll need a rake.

It’s also the best tool for smoothing soil in your garden beds.

A leaf rake is also a useful.  

Tines are lighter, longer and more flexible that garden rake.

It’s the right tool for sweeping up light debris or weeds.

If you have a larger property or a lot of heavy materials to move around your garden, a cart or wheelbarrow is a must.

It can really save time and effort in carrying materials or debris to and from your garden. 

If you’re gardening is on a reduced scale, a lot of the bigger heavier tools needed for urban or medium sized gardens won’t be a good choice.

Fortunately there are smaller versions of the larger tools that work perfectly for container or window-box gardening.

A garden trowel is essential for digging smaller holes... 

.

..for transplanting or for moving small amounts of soil into containers.

A cultivator works like a rake only smaller and is used to loosen soil around plants and mix in nutrients...

A weeder works very well to root out weeds in tight spaces.

Hand tools are also very useful for constricted areas in larger gardens. 

And last but not least, gardening gloves are a necessity to protect your hands from wear and tear as well as dirt and water.

Good quality tools make gardening a pleasure and help ensure that you get the results you expect.  And all of these garden tools and more are available 

...at Canadian Tire.