These tools are the basics. I have used these on a daily or weekly basis during my first season of gardening. Honestly this is the practical end of the list of tools you will probably need. You will find elaborate lists out there and maybe you will decide to go somewhere in the middle. Check out our Seed Starting Guide for Zone 6b or check out Grace Walk Farms for a lot of encouragement from a grace filled family who has created a beautiful, fruitful garden.
Gloves
My fingers got serious cracks in them the first few weeks in the garden, with the cold and wet. After wearing gloves regularly they have had much fewer problems. This will vary based on the person, I do have a family history, if you want to call it that, of cracked fingers.
TROWEL AND RAKE
These two tools are the very basics that you will need to plant any size of garden or flower bed. When you start, just start here. If you want to try out gardening, start small.
Overwhelm either in the scope of growing, pest issues or the harvest in the first year can really make you disenchanted with gardening. If you love the spring garden, add more in the fall.
BOOTS AND HAT
Sun protection is a must if you plan to spend much time in the garden. We wear light colored long sleeve cotton shirts and hats. Boots are my preference due to the type of mulch we used in the garden. It is just not that comfortable to be out there barefoot. It also helps in the spring when the ground is really soft. It is really the same issue for me as the gloves. My feet will crack if they are caked in cold mud.
BUCKETS AND BASKETS
The reason you need these is for hauling tools or supplies out to the garden, collecting vegetables, moving dirt, sometimes water, always use these to get weeds out of the garden and into an area of the yard where they are less of a irritation. There will always be a use for a bucket out in the garden. I am certain you will use it. If you love to thrift, look out for some beautiful baskets, especially if you like to romanticize life!
nippers
You will want to have a small nippers or garden shears. This helps with harvesting, but also pruning plants as you help the grow to their full potential. Nearly every time I go out to the garden I have something to cut and these are just a great tool to have handy. For the record you can make certain tomato plants (indeterminate) vine if you are willing to prune them back until they are at your preferred height.
shovel and Rake + WHEEL BURROW
These are tools you will need for a larger garden. As you get bigger and need to expand gardens you will want more tools like a broad fork or cultivator. We believe in a no till garden so you won’t hear us advise to get a large tiller.
SHOVEL/RAKE
When you are working a large patch of ground it will be necessary to have a shovel and rake so that you can capture more debris or dirt in a shorter amount of time. This is simply the next level to the hand trowel and hand rake that you already have.
WHEEL BURROW
You will want to be able to move large numbers of potatoes. leaves, weeds, etc. and a wheel burrow has been around for many 100s of years for a very good reason. Please save yourself a little back pain, lift right and get a wheel burrow.
That’s where I have started and encourage others to start as well. Don’t make your first years complicated. Plant foods you will eat, learn a lot and keep it simple.
