Essential Gardening Supplies for Home Gardeners

Over the past few weeks I have been teased with a few warm and sunny days. I head out and turn the soil, mentally planning what will go in each bed. Time is spent browsing online sites for essential gardening supplies and drooling over the plants already at my garden centers.

I KNOW I can’t plant for another month but the suspense is killing me! Since Mother Nature is just waiting for me to plant in order to send me an ice storm, I am making good use of my time by making sure I have the best gardening tools for home gardeners ready to go.

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gardening supplies for home gardeners

 10 Essential Gardening Supplies for Home Gardeners

There are a number of gardening supplies that are absolutely essential to a successful season and other gardening supplies that just make gardening a whole lot easier.

Biting your nails waiting for spring to arrive? Make the most of your time by making sure you have the best gardening tools for home gardeners before you need them. 

Essential Gardening Supplies for Home Gardeners

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Gardening Gloves:

If you want to prevent calluses and blisters, gardening gloves should be at the top of your list of gardening supplies. I wear them when shoveling mulch but also for getting rid of weeds. We have a few weeds with thorns that really hurt when grabbed with bare hands.

Also, I have had some pretty nasty allergic reactions to weeds that I have yanked out of my yard. Get gardening gloves that fit well and don’t fall off easily. I prefer the ones with the leather palm for additional protection.

Wheelbarrow:

We have two of these, a large one for mulch and a smaller one that I use for moving rocks, bags of soil, or whatever else is too heavy for me to carry easily. I have thrown out my back a few times lugging bags of soil around the yard. Now I just put them in the wheelbarrow (or have the husband put it in there) and I can roll it from bed to bed as needed.

Garden Trowel:

A garden trowel is a small, handheld shovel. It is usually long and slightly narrow to allow for digging holes. A garden trowel will make planting seedlings much easier than digging with your hands. It is one of the best gardening tools for home gardeners if you are turning the soil in a pot.

I have discovered a number of plants that do well in pots on my patio so I can save the garden beds for things that really need a lot of space.

 long handled shovel with a pointed tip

Pointed Shovel: 

Before you start planting, you need to break up the existing soil and turn in some nutrients like compost or manure. A long-handled shovel with a pointed tip is one of the most essential gardening supplies to have if you want healthy, happy plants.

Do not try to put plants into rocky, hard soil that has not been supplemented with additional nutrients. They will not thrive and your hard work will have been wasted.

Pruning Shears:

While you may not need pruning shears to trim back your garden plants, you might need it to keep other plants from taking over your garden area. I have a number of bushes near my garden beds. They grow bigger and bigger every year. Gardening shears are helpful to keep them under control. They are also helpful for trimming the grass around the bed itself.

I don’t really have a traditional large garden since I don’t have room. Instead, I have strategically planted beds all over my yard and the surrounding landscaping. If I didn’t have pruning shears, my garden beds would be hidden by weeds and grass very quickly.

Pruning is vital for healthy plants. Watch this video below for tips on how to prune tomatoes and improve your harvest this summer!

How to Prune Tomatoes for Earlier Harvests, Higher Yields & Healthier Plants

Garden Fork: 

That little 3 pronged garden fork you see next to the garden trowels in the store is called a cultivator or garden fork. It is very helpful in weeding between rows of plants and aerating soil around an existing plant when you don’t want to disturb the roots.

 

gardening supplies hose

Flexible Garden Hose:

Down here in Georgia it seems to rain quite a bit until RIGHT when I put my plants into the ground. Then, the drought seems to hit and I have to water every 3 days to keep things alive. Make sure you get a flexible garden hose that is long enough to reach to your farthest garden bed. Also, invest in a gentle spray attachment for the end so you do not end up power washing your crop. You would be amazed at how much damage you can do with a stream of water that is turned on too fast!

Other Gardening Tips You Should Read

Watering Can:

Depending on the location and size of your garden, you may want to invest in a good watering can with a rain spout. I find these to be most effective at watering my plants that are in pots on my patio but also use them for delicate things like newly sprouted beans and radishes. Water that is too forceful can kill delicate new plants.
 

Gardening belt or bucket: 

I am still looking for a good system to carry around all my tools in. A gardening belt or bucket with individual compartments makes carrying around your garden supplies much easier.

During planting, throw in all your different bags of seeds, garden hand tools, industrial strength scissors, twine for holding back plants, your garden journal, and a pencil for taking notes. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to walk back and forth to my patio to grab something that I needed! Good exercise but very time-consuming.

A handheld flame weeder:

Weeds are the most frustrating part of gardening for me.  Rather than bending over to pull weeds, a flame weeder will allow you to kill them with fire, keeping the surrounding plants healthy and happy.  Check out my post on how to use a flame weeder and avoid all those artificial weed killers in your garden. 

10 gardening supplies garden pic edit

A bucket for carrying your harvest in:

I will admit, I have walked back to my house with a shirt full of blueberries from my bushes because I forgot to bring out a bowl. I have also tossed potatoes into the wheelbarrow with the gardening tools because I didn’t have enough hands to hold them AND push the supplies around.

A good basket for holding my harvest is high on my list of essential gardening supplies! What is on YOUR list of must-have gardening supplies?

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The best gardening tools for home gardeners

5 thoughts on “Essential Gardening Supplies for Home Gardeners”

    • There are a ton of plant varieties that will grow well in pots! We have done tomatoes and peppers, herbs, and even eggplant. If you get sun the options are endless!

      Reply
  1. Hi, do you have any tips/suggestions on how to do an herb garden on a patio? Im looking to plant mint, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, cilantro. Thanks for the info!

    Reply
    • Herbs need LOTS of sun so if you have that, all you need is a good quality soil, something nutritious for them like mushroom compost or manure, and a pot with good drainage. I don’t have luck starting herbs from seed. Get small plants from the nursery or local hardware store. You can do several different herbs in one pot, depending on how big they get. Or, scatter several pots around the patio for larger plants. My basil grows about 2 feet high! Many of the herbs you mentioned are perennials here in Georgia. I have a large rosemary bush that sticks around all year and the thyme and oregano come back every year but it depends on where you live. Mint is VERY invasive so be careful where you plant it or keep it in a pot to control the spread. Herbs from the garden are a lot of fun. Parsley is very easy to grow as well and sage makes a very pretty flower in the summer.

      Reply

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