Garden Tool Must Haves- Down and Dirty Tools to Start Gardening on the Homestead

Choosing gardening tools for the homestead can be overwhelming and expensive. So, what are my picks in gardening tools for the homestead? If you can only afford one tool to start, let it be the mighty trowel. With a trowel, you have the power to dig a hole to plant your seeds/seedlings/started plants. It is useful for digging weeds, breaking up transplants in the flower beds and harvesting root crops. It is certainly not the only tool you would need, but would be the first choice in my arsenal. Trowels are small, easy to store away and cheap. You may easily be able to pick one up at a yard sale. Of course, this is assuming your homestead garden bed is prepped and ready. I would also recommend a hand cultivator (usually 3 pronged), a 5 gallon bucket, kneeling pad, gardening gloves and something to water with.

I use the trowel and hand cultivator every time I plant or weed the gardens.  They both work in tandem to loosen the soil and dig holes when planting. The trowel works for digging the deeper roots of weeds and the cultivator, I use to disrupt the shallow roots of weeds and  invading plants I want to keep under control. It also easily rakes up waste. I place any weeds, roots and plant material into the 5 gallon bucket to be transported  to the compost pile. The bucket also doubles as a tool caddy to and from the garden site and holds plenty of water if you do not have onsite irrigation handy. It is great to transport soil and compost to the garden. If I had nothing more than a trowel, hand cultivator, bucket and cushioned kneeler, I could surely get a good crops of plants in my garden. Even an old towels works well as a kneeler to protect your joints and clothing when gardening. You could start gardening with these tools for $20 or less.

Once established with these basic tools the next step would be to invest in more advanced tools to make gardening easier. A broad fork or spade for digging new plots would be high on my list, as would a watering system. This could be as easy as purchasing a sturdy watering can to as simple as using a ladle to scoop water from your bucket. Remember, high tech and expensive, gardening does not have to be! Hoes, heavy rakes, a hose and pruners are next on my hierarchy. From here, you are only limited by your wallet. As your homestead grows, so may your need for more advanced tools. Things to keep in consideration is whether or not you want to use gas powered tools like rototillers. This will depend on your finances and your physical ability. As mentioned earlier you may find items in yard sales but keep in mind you will want to disinfect them to keep disease out of your gardens.

Don’t forget to be creative when trying to save money. A fallen branch and some string can work just as well to stake a tomato plant as a purchased cage. A pair of work gloves you have laying around can be used for gardening without have to buy another pair of gloves. The object of homesteading and specifically gardening, is to grow healthy food and save money at the grocery store. Keeping our purchases for gardening tools for the homestead to a minimum leaves money for other areas of improving your way of life.