A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. As a general rule, garden shovels have rounded, concave blades that come to a point. Shovels are mostly used to dig holes in dirt, but are also handy for moving soil, snow, or other loose materials. As crazy as it sounds, people frequently get spades and shovels backwards. The key difference is the cutting edge, but spades actually are the ones with the flat tip, not the pointed or curved tip as one would expect. Spades are primarily used for gardening tasks, such cutting edges and borders or loosening the topsoil, they may or may not have a D-handle. Meanwhile, the…

Also known as a garden fork or a spading fork, this is an all-purpose fork found in most garden sheds. With its piercing tines, a digging fork can penetrate soil much more effortlessly than a spade, particularly compacted or rocky soil. A digging fork’s function is just as its name suggests, for digging. When choosing between a digging for vs. pitch fork or compost fork, a digging fork is the tool you want when you are digging into a compacted, clay or rocky bed. The strong tines of the digging fork are able to penetrate problem soils that a spade can have trouble cutting into. The digging fork can be…

A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural and horticultural hand tool used to shape soil, remove weeds, clear soil, and harvest root crops. Shaping the soil includes piling soil around the base of plants (hilling), digging narrow furrows (drills), and shallow trenches for planting seeds or bulbs. Your type of garden will dictate what type of hoe is best for you. A veggie garden may require a sturdy, wide hoe. If you have perennial gardens, a more delicate touch and a thinner hoe may be required. Hoes are useful in preparing garden and flower beds and cutting down weeds. The characteristics of a good gardening hoe will depend on who is purchasing the tool. Different types of hoes suit different…

Gardening is easier when you choose the right tool for a particular task, and it’s hard to get by without loppers. What are loppers used for? They are tough pruners used to clip thicker woody stems as well as thinner stems that are hard to reach. Loppers are the second most useful tool in your pruning arsenal. The long handles let you reach far and exert high leverage with minimal exertion, letting you comfortably cut anything that can fit entirely between the blades when they are open. Typically, this includes wood of up to one inch in diameter or more, but for most of your cuts on much smaller wood, you’ll prefer the…

A rake is a garden tool consisting of a row of metal or wooden teeth attached to a long handle. Modern hand-rakes usually have steel, plastic, or bamboo teeth or tines, though historically they have been made with wood or iron. The handle is often made of wood or metal. You can use a rake to make the earth smooth and level before you put plants in, or to gather leaves together. Rakes are effectively designed to pick up leaves and other garden debris without damaging the lawn and the soil beneath. Soil rakes are intended to level and grading the soil before the plants and seeds are been planted in the soil. Overtime soil loses it moisture in summer seasons which can harden…

A trowel is a small hand tool used for digging, applying, smoothing, or moving small amounts of viscous or particulate material. Common varieties include the masonry trowel, garden trowel, and float trowel. Many gardeners find hand trowels immensely useful, and they are quite common in gardening sheds as a result. Garden trowels can be used for planting seedlings, transplanting, weeding and digging small holes which are too small or delicate for a spade. The design of a hand trowel includes a sturdy handle and a scoop shaped blade, somewhat like a miniature shovel, except that the blade is longer and narrower, proportionally. This design makes a hand trowel ideally suited to working in the…