14 Must Have Tools for The Vegetable Garden

I call these the must-have list because they make gardening life a tonne easier. Of course you don’t ‘have to have’ every item, you can adjust according to your gardening needs. 

If you don’t have some of these don’t feel you need to run out and buy them right away. Wait and see if you need them and then buy the right ones for you.

1. Gloves 

I started with gloves because they are a gardeners saving grace. Some gardeners are totally pro gloves with every activity and some love the feeling of dirt on their hand but when it comes to handling spiky plants, putting in timer stakes or rooting around in an area where there may be a bitty or 2 then your gloves are your best friend. 

Like most items on this list there is a wide range of gloves and even wider price range. I like to go for ones that are flexible but thick with a little bit of extra padding on the palms and fingers. This is because I use my gloves for heavy duty activities. When I am doing light activities like hand weeding, planting seeds or seedlings, light pruning and some harvesting I go bare hands all the way. 

Choose the gloves that are compatible with the type of work you would wear them for. 

2. Hand Trowel & Hand Fork

I find these are a must have. If you haven’t heard of these before let me explain. A trowel is a hand sized mini shovel and a hand fork is a mini hand sized fork. If you have raised beds I am sure you already have these in your kit. 

Hand trowel is ideal for planting, digging, harvesting and smoothing. Hand fork is ideal for aerating the soil, cultivating, light weeding and more. 

Handy tip - turn them upside down and use the handle to make the hole for your seeds or seedlings. 

3. Digging Fork

Because we have heavy clay soil I have 2 of them I use them that much. Each new garden bed requires it to be forked beforehand. Using a spade or shovel when the clay is hard is like digging into concrete and when it’s wet it sticks to the blade. This is why the digging forks are forking priceless in our garden. 

 A digging fork can be used for a variety of things. Turning compost, turning soil, aerating and cultivating garden beds, loosening soil around plants and spreading mulch. 

Don’t confuse a digging fork which is what we are talking about with a pitch or sometimes called a garden fork. A garden digging fork has 4 to 6 thick tines that don’t flex. A pitch or garden fork has 6 or more thinner tines that are flexible. It is used to move large quantities of lighter material like compost, mulch, straw or dry grass.  You might choose one of these if your garden calls for it. I have a spunky purple one that I use to pick up horse poo. 

4. Hoe

A garden hoe is great for getting into places where weeds might be a little out of reach during the growing season especially if your garden beds are large or a little crowded. There are several types of hoe that might be good for your garden. Depending on the job will depend on the hoe. 

If you want to weed your garden use a paddle or draw hoe as it’s designed to slice weeds off at their base. Use it like a broom, just like you are sweeping the weeds. 

Another option is a stirrup hoe. This one you can stand at the end of the row and use a back and forth motion to cut through the roots of the weeds without too much soil disturbance. 

Handheld hoes are available too but I use my trowel most of the time so I didn’t bother with one. 

5. Secateurs 

Secateurs or garden shears are a must. And if you have a hubby like mine who likes to use them to cut hoses and all sorts of non plant materials then guard them with your life. 

Your secateurs will be used for harvesting, pruning and taking cuttings. Keep them clean and sharp.  Ideally clean them after each use with some alcohol. This will help prevent spreading diseases from one plant to another, even ones you didn’t know about. 

Sharpen them or have them sharpened when needed. Sharp secateurs means less crushing damage to plant stems and this means less plant stress and potential for disease.

And don’t use your secateurs for non-plant things, as tempting as it is! This is what the next must-have item is for.

6. Scissors

It’s amazing the things you need scissors for in the garden. Twine to tie back plants, opening bags of compost, mulch etc, cutting off plant labels that just don’t want to budge from their pot holder, opening seed packets and fertilisers, clearing out drip line nozzles, cutting hoses ect.  I use just old household scissors, nothing special. 

7. Shovel and/or spade

Firstly let's talk about the difference between a shovel and a spade.  

A spade is generally wider with a curved blade with a little folded bit at the top called a step designed for you to step on and apply downward force. They have a shorter fatter handle with a T or D grip at the top. They are used for digging trenches, edging by helping to break apart the dirt as you dig into solid ground. 

A shovel has a longer blade that is often curved inward, they have long handles that can sit at an angle to the blade and they don’t have a T or D grip on the top of the handle and they don’t have a step as they aren’t designed for a downward force like a spade. They are used mainly in garden beds and for moving loose dirt. 

Choose your garden weapon wisely. If you only have raised beds or pots then it’s unlikely you will need a spade. 

8. Rake

A rake can be very handy in the garden. Again depending on your garden needs will depend on the rake you need. There are more rake choices out there than there are days in a month but by working out what you need it for will reduce the choice to one or maybe two.

For raking leaves or cut grass on the lawn go for a plastic leaf rake.

For levelling or loosening soil or raking rocks and larger clumps in garden beds then for a metal or bow rake which has hard thick metal tines

I have always purchased the lower-priced products and have found them to work just as well. 

9. Garden hose with adjustable nozzle 

This is one you don’t want to scrimp on. Get yourself a length of hose suitable for your garden size and location from the tap. No point buying a 10-metre hose when the corner of your vegetable garden is 25 metres away from the tap. 

You also want to make sure that all connections are good quality and on tight. Check them regularly. 

An adjustable nozzle means you can adjust the flow strength and flow type to suit the plant you are watering. 

A few extra tips. 

If you have hard to reach plants use a watering wand. 

If you are someone who gets frustrated easily don’t use an all in one recoil unit, go old school and wind it up yourself and put it on a hose hanger.

If you are on tank water get yourself a timer that will cut out after a set period of time. The amount of times I have left the hose on after using it and it has popped due to the pressure is too many to count. We now always set the timer for 60 mins or less so that in the event that I leave it on and it has a failure we can only lose a limited amount of precious water from the tanks. 

10. Watering Can

A hand watering can is used for hand watering but also for liquid fertiliser application. It’s far more directed than using a hose attachment. Make sure to clean the rose out regularly to prevent blockages, especially if you are using organic homemade garden teas like manure or weed tea.

11. Flexi Tub

The all-purpose do everything garden tool. Haul compost, soil and mulch. Mix fertilisers carry harvests, the list is endless. Including keeping all your hand tools and bits and bobs together. 

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