Garden
tools are a basic yet essential part of landscape upkeep. While quite
a few of our tools have existed for centuries, today many newer innovations
have arisen. This is particularly true when one takes into consideration
the many power tools designed specifically for plant care and management.
Garden tools are designed to accomplish a variety of tasks. These include
cutting, cleaning, digging, watering, and measuring. As far as the basic
options available, most people will recognize such things as spades,
rakes, hoses, and shovels. However, it is good to get to know the different
varieties of each in order to effectively assess which one will best
suit your needs.
Here is a guide to a few of the different varieties of useful garden
tools that a person may come across:
•Forks – These items have their roots in agriculture. The
tines of the hay style will be rounded while those of a spading one
will be more flat. The former is best for moving such things as hay,
mulch, and compost. The latter is better designed for working within
soil, e.g. turning or aerating it and lifting or separating plants.
It is also very helpful for digging within rocky soil.
•Hoes – Light ground breaking and weeding are the most common
tasks these products are called upon to perform. They are a very ancient
tool and today come in many different types. The average style will
have the rectangle blade at a right angle for chopping. One more specifically
designed for weeding will have the normal flat blade as well as sharp
points on the opposite side. These are very helpful when it comes to
pulling weeds up by the roots. The warren style has a V-shape as opposed
to a flat blade. This makes digging easier and it is more ideal for
planting. It is also shaped to easily cover up what it uncovers. Action
type hoes have an open blade which allows it to go around the plant
as it slices underneath. Finally, a mortar tool for mixing mortar or
cement products may be found in the gardening section as well.
•Rakes – These generally come in leaf, thatch, and garden
styles. The leaf rakes, as the name sounds, are designed for moving
lots of leaves, grass clippings, and similar material. They include
a broad back and cover lots of space. Remember that, while bigger ones
can catch more leaves, they also require more strength to pull. A thatch
rake is designed to gather thatch such as straw, reed, sedge, and rush.
Garden styles, on the other hand, have strong tines. This allows them
to both effectively move material as well as work soil for planting.
A flat top allows the rake to easily level worked soil. The head may
be attached in either a flat or bow style.
•Spades – These are like smaller versions of shovels. They
may come in garden or drain styles. The garden types have square edges
to best handle cutting, digging and edging needs. A drain one may also
be known as a trench style. This has a narrow head for narrow spaces.
Occasionally, people use the term spade for the smaller garden tools
known as trowels.