Gifts for Gardeners

There are a few tools that I would never be without in the garden. While there is no substitute for your brain, back and hands, these tools make a lot of garden tasks a whole lot easier.

tool wax, watering can, street shovel, rose gloves, gardener's hand repair, rice knife, brass hose splitter, cultivator, Clyde's garden planner

Clyde's Garden Planner: Helps you determine best seed sowing dates based on your growing zone and average frost dates

Rose Gloves: Keeps the thorns off your skin, and also protects from the itch caused by tomato plants, cucumber plants and squash plants

Heavy-Duty Street Shovel: These are priceless for moving wood chips around. They don't bend like plastic and aluminum scoop shovels, and the smaller blade limits the load size (and saves your back!)

4-prong cultivator: While I rarely use this tool for weeding, I use it more than just about any other garden tool. I find it's just right for digging a furrow to plant potatoes, and then mounding the soil over them.

Rice knife: Sooner or later, every gardener will let the weeds get ahead of them. When they're too abundant to pull and the stems are too much for the weedeater to handle, I've found that a rice knife is the easiest way to get them under control. It's handy for cutting down sugar sorghum too.

Metal watering can: Yes, the plastic ones are cheaper. But over time, I've found the metal ones are a better value as I get years rather than months of service from them. They are usually better balanced too. If you keep the size to a gallon, and have one for each hand, it's easier on your back and shoulders.

Brass hose splitter: Much as I hate dragging around garden hose, sometimes it's unavoidable. I like these because you can leave the hose attached to the bib or hydrant throughout the growing season (still need to remove for winter) while still having use of the spigot for filling watering cans or washing hands.

Tool handle conditioner: I am terrible about leaving my wood-handled garden tools out in the rain and sun. In the winter, I try to gather them all up, give a light sand and wax the handles to help protect them from the elements.

Gardener's Hand Repair: I don't really like wearing gloves (or hats, for that matter) and playing in the dirt plus frequent hand washing can really do a number on my skin and nails. This helps.

Black & White on the left, Color on the right

Black & White Garden Planner: You'll be money ahead and far more pleased with your gardening efforts if you plan ahead before you dive head-first into the growing season.

Color Garden Planner: Same format, different fonts, but with a different cover and color illustrations embedded in the planner pages

You can learn more about the differences between the two garden planners, as well as how to use them HERE: