Tools of the Gardening Trade

I love gardening! There’s just something therapeutic and satisfying about being outside, listening, smelling, breathing, living nature that revives my very being. Each season brings new experiences and I hope to learn more.

After a very inspiring email I received from my Mom, I decided to post some of the tools etc that have been very helpful in my gardening endeavors.

I do a lot of weeding on my knees so, this wonderful squishy knee board really helps a lot! I don't always use the gloves, but they seem to help grip the weeds better than my bare hands as they have a anti slip coating on them. Aren't those Million Bells lovely!

I've had these crocks for YEARS! They were given to me by an elderly friend as a thank you gift for helping her pack when she was moving. They are the most comfortable footwear I own! Sometimes, if my feet are hurting, I'll even wear them inside when I'm washing dishes or cooking. I wear them in the garden all the time. Some of the vegetables I grow I get as plants that have already been started at the greenhouse. The trowel is perfect for digging the right size hole to plant them in!

Of all the tools I have, the roto tiller has to be my favorite! I just can't imagine how I've ever gotten along without it. You may notice that it's called "Super Bronco"... They didn't name it that for no reason, but I have managed to tame the bucking machine. It's rather temperamental in that, if you don't maneuver it correctly, it will really take off! Fortunately for me, it has a safety mechanism so if you let go of it, it'll stop, Notice I said, 'IF you let go'. One day, I was tilling doing just fine when, all of a sudden I hit a patch that 'spooked' my tiller and it jumped and galloped away... with me holding on for dear life. I felt like my daughter when she was little walking our dog who was actually walking HER! All she could've done was let go of the leash and she would've been fine but, she held on for dear life and soon she was being drug across the yard until I hollered at her to let go. Now, said dear daughter was watching her mother do the same thing and laughing rather hard about it. 

Now that I have mastered the skill of tilling with it, it has really been a blessing! I till just before planting my row to make the grown freshly soft. I till between the planted rows periodically to keep the weeds down so my garden doesn't get out of hand.

Here's the ever faithful hoe for those narrow places that the tiller can't get into such as between the rows of corn. Eventually, the corn, which is planted just a little closer together, gets too big and it's not a good idea to till between them even if you fit through because it could damaged the spreading roots below the ground. 

This is another must-have! Diatomaceous Earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. This fine powder has many uses and can even be taken eternally. What do I do with it? I sprinkle it on the leaves of my plants and it helps stops unwanted pests from eating the leaves. I have been told that when the beetles etc eat the leaves, they eat the D.E. which slices their intestines causing them to die. Sounds barbaric, doesn't it! According to Wikipedia it dries the little culprits insides up and causes them to die. However it works, I only know that it DOES work. 

This is a picture of my bean plant. Notice that the older leaves on the bottom are full of holes while, the upper newer leaves look nice and healthy!

My dear hubby brought this compost tumbler home for me. It has a vented lid on both ends for easy access adding scraps such as egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit peelings, vegetable scraps. I've even plopped a few earth worms in there! Ever so often, I flip it the over putting the fresher scraps on the bottom. If you have a good compost, it should not have a foul odor but a nice earthy smell.

My childhood love for wagons overtook me this past spring. I was bound and determined to buy one and had it delivered to my door. My sweet boy assembled it for me and I wheeled my green buddy out the door and into the garden! It has been so convenient to have! Until I got a hose, I had to haul the water down to the garden and water each plant by hand (a rather time consuming chore) so I was able to haul 3 5-gallon buckets at once instead of just one. I pull it around as I'm weeding. The sides come down and I can sit in it while I harvest or weed, or prop my feet on it while I sit under the tree and shell peas.

When my little friends come over, they have a blast pulling each other around in it.

When you have a garden as large as mine, (104' x 68') rain is a real blessing? Living where it's humid and we usually see lots of rain, there are still times in between that I need to water if I want my pantry filled. Even though my wagon was a great blessing in hauling all that water to the garden, a hose was a quick addition to my "tool chest". But I was still spending HOURS watering with the hose and so a sprinkler was gifted by my dad who didn't want his daughter turning into a lobster standing in the blazing sun. It works GREAT! You see, ever since I got it, hooked it up, turned it on -  it rained! It's been raining pretty regularly ever since! Amazing, isn't it? Sorry, I don't have a picture of the sprinkler, but I guess everyone knows what a sprinkler looks like anyway!

Diatomaceous Earth works great for certain pests but, not for furry cute ones such as rabbits and squirrels! I watched one such long-eared cutie pie take his liberty on one of my biggest marigold blooms the other day! Dad said it was time for me to get a BB gun. I was a little worried about it as I don't want to actually KILL the critters, just scare them off. Dad assured me that it wouldn't harm them so, I was excited to try it out. Only problem is, just like the efficiency of my sprinkler, I haven't seen on single critter since I got the gun! Actually, I take that back.... My husband was out there pounding stakes in for my tomatoes to be strung up when I saw a CRITTER!
ME: "OOOH! A target!!!"
HUBBY: "Where?"
ME: "There!" pointing to a black cat on the far side of the garden
HUBBY: "that's not a target! That's the neighbor's CAT!"
ME: "I just want to see if I could actually hit it!"
HUBBY: "Are you crazy??
I didn't answer that as I realized I would have to be a good aim if I were to avoid shooting my husband. I don't think he would've appreciated it too well.

Well, this is the end of my list of tools for now. Do you have a favorite tool you like to use in the garden? I'd love to hear about it.