Nothing beats the taste of homegrown fresh vegetables and fruit. The stuff in the supermarkets, and even some of the fresh markets, just can’t compare. I suppose knowing how much love and toil went into growing your own vegetable garden makes everything taste all that much sweeter anyway.
With more and more people being put off by GMOs and other related things, vegetable garden popularity is on the rise. So why not start a vegetable garden of your very own?
Now, you might be thinking that the idea is very tempting, but you wouldn’t have a clue where to start. Or maybe you feel that it would be a huge task to take on?
While starting a garden from scratch, and caring for it afterwards, does take up time and needs effort, it is something that is viable to almost anyone if they have the will to do so.
So, if you’re wondering ‘what do I need to start a vegetable garden?’ this article is for you. We will let you know exactly what you will require if you decide to give it a go.
Tools needed to start a vegetable garden
Having the right tools are essential for creating, and getting the most out of your vegetable garden. You don’t need anything flashy or out of the ordinary though, just some old school, staples, that have been used by gardeners since who knows when.
Below you’ll find a list of the tools you need to start a vegetable garden along with a short description of each one.
Garden spade
The granddaddy of digging tools is a must have for any gardener, and a good one is worth its weight in gold, so I would advise to pay a bit more for yours and get one that’ll last for years to come. It’s always tempting to buy some cheap, made in China, spade, but trust me, when it comes to these tools, it’s worth shelling out a bit more.
Spades are not only used for digging, they are very versatile and can be utilised in many different ways such as lifting and moving materials, giving nice edges to your lawn, and countless other things.
Wheelbarrow
When starting a new vegetable garden, you need to get the soil just right for your future crops, and that means adding compost, manure and other organic material to your soil. All this material needs to be shifted around, and in quite large quantities, so a wheelbarrow is a must. There are different types of wheelbarrows out there. For example: single wheeled types with two handles, or double wheeled, single handled. Each has its pros and cons, so I suggest looking into this online to see which suits you best.
Garden fork
Garden forks are excellent tools for piercing and helping to break up thick, dense soil, something that is nearly always required when starting a vegetable garden. Aerating your soil is something that you will become very familiar with if you start growing your own crops, and a garden fork is a great tool to tackle the job with.
They also have other uses, such as working with compost, or mulch.
Hand trowel
Another absolute essential is the hand trowel. These priceless little garden tools are especially useful if you’re growing in containers, or if you plan to transplant seedlings that have been started off elsewhere. They can also be used to dig up weeds in your garden beds without causing too much damage to other plants.
There are different shaped trowels available out there, each suiting some purposes better than others, but it’s nothing to lose sleep over, and any decent stainless steel headed trowel will be just fine.
Rake
We all know that rakes are extremely handy when it comes to Autumn time and we’ve got a load of fallen leaves to clear, but they are also used by gardeners for scarifying lawns and raking soil. Both scarifying and raking soil are skills any gardener worth his salt should be a dab hand at, so having a good rake or two in the toolshed should be right up there on your list of things to sort out. Not all rakes are the same though, there are actually quite a few sub-types such as garden rakes and leaf rakes, so again, I would advise looking into this more or asking at the garden centre about the different ones available.
Hoe
The hoe has been used by humans since the beginning of recorded history, right back to the ancient Sumerians and Egyptians and the dawn of agriculture. They are still as relevant today as they were all the way back then, and another addition to your garden toolbox that can be labeled as completely necessary, especially if you are looking to start a vegetable garden. Hoes can be used for preparing and cultivating soil, weed removal, and harvesting root crops. They can even be used to make shallow trenches for planting seeds in.
Pruning tools
I’ve decided to group all these kinds of tools together for simplicity. If you’re doing a good job at taking care of your vegetable garden, things are going to grow. But sometimes things might grow too much and get a little out of control. This is why you need pruning tools like secateurs for smaller jobs, or loppers for larger clipping and pruning jobs.
Garden hose and Irrigation systems
Plants need water to grow, everyone knows this, and having a good combination of a decent garden hose and some kind of micro irrigation system can work wonders in your vegetable garden.
It’s important to buy a good quality garden hose that is long enough to reach every nook and cranny of your garden, all the way to the far corners. You also need a spray nozzle that has multiple patterns or spray modes, so you can adjust the pressure and outflow as needed. Micro irrigation sets, or drip irrigation sets, can be bought quite cheaply these days and they can be really handy for certain crops, especially when teamed with a good garden timer.
And that’s about it. This set of tools should see you through all of the tasks that will need to be handled when you start a vegetable garden.
Of course, a good set of gardening gloves should always be worn when working, and not just with tools. Scratches and cuts happy all the time that could easily be avoided with gardening gloves, so put them on!
Till next time. Happy gardening to you all.
