# Garden & fruit tree must haves



## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

What are you the top ten garden hand tools & the top ten things you add to your gardens to either prevent or remedy a deficiency, pest, or other problem?


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## SwordsandSaddles (Mar 14, 2015)

Grub hoe, shovel, sickle...bout all I got. I put traps and whatnot around my garden for the kinds of pests I was having.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

Top ten hand tools. 

Nail rake.
Swan neck hoe.
Dutch hoe.
Long handled spade.
Square mouth long handled shovel.
D handled 4 prong fork.
Hay fork.
Metal adjustable leaf rake.
Sickle.
5 prong hoe (three prong if you're not strong enough to use a 5 prong)

This is pretty much my entire tool box for the garden.
Although I could add good secateurs, serrated knife, bow saw and a 4 wheel trolley and that would be everything I use regularly. A lot of the tools I have had more than 30 years of constant use, a few are almost worn to nothing now . 

Top ten pest and deficiency remedies. To tell the truth I don't use many. 

Hardwood ash.
Copper sulphate (try not to use it though)
Lime.
Seaweed meal or liquid.
Manure from very healthy animals 
Magnesium sulphate.
Urine, animal or human
Home made soap if I need to spray pests (I don't usually spray, I prefer to let things run their course)
Bird and insect exclusion nets (both to protect vulnerable crops and isolate for seed saving).

Most important of all is quality compost. Mine takes about 15-20 days from start of pile until it's ready for the garden. It stays piping hot the whole time and takes a huge amount of blood sweat and tears to keep it like that. 
I can't make as much as I'd like to these days, used to do 10 ton piles , not anymore. If we can ever afford to buy a front end loader I'll be making it by the truck load again


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

Hoe, hand shovel, manure fork, wheel cultivator and a concrete spreader that I use to cover seeds. I also have a Earthway seeder but I don't know if that qualifies as a hand tool or not.


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## Genevieve (Sep 21, 2009)

I have:
hoe ( not fancy enough to know what kind lol)
shovel round tip
shovel squared off
garden fork 4 tines
rake ( its for working concrete but I commandeered it from the hubby lol)
rake for leaves
2 hand pruners
1 lopper for tree limbs
hand rake
hand trowel
hand fork
another thing I have for quick "hoeing" is a gizmo that has 6 sets of tines on it and you just roll it across the dirt and it weeds pretty good. don't know what it's called. can't remember lol

for amendments and pest control I use:
hardwood ash
lime
epson salts
old powdered milk
egg shells
food grade diatomus(sp?) earth
seaweed and fish emulsion

oh and birds! they do a darn good job on my beds.

I have recipes for making pest control solutions from everyday products like soap,whiskey, hot peppers, garlic,etc.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Bein a square foot raised bed garden it don't take much fer tools. Small plantin shovel, when them 4 pronged rakes ( use it lots), small prunin shears. That be bout it fer tools cause it just don't take much more en that.

Don't use much in the way a chemicals cause I ain't really needed em. From time ta time I add in some good compost the weeds er easy ta pull by hand. I keep moving the maters around and they do well. Biggest problem bein the danged squirrels diggin up the walnuts they barried in the fall!


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## Gians (Nov 8, 2012)

Shovel
Trowel
the metal part of a broken pitch fork I use to turn in food for my worms
bypass clippers
Puma knife with serrated edge
small sledge hammer to pound in stakes
hoe
metal rake
lopper
folding pruning saw

Pest control is usually by hand, once in a blue moon I'll use something(Sluggo) on the slugs and snails if they get out of hand. If garden plants get badly overrun by pests, I'll carefully yank the plant and garbage can it. It's a small garden with raised beds so usually don't have a lot of trouble...knocks on wood 
For amendments I use the worm castings, steer manure, peat moss and a liquid fish and seaweed fertilizer, wood chip mulch around the trees.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Shovel, hoe, hand hoe(no remarks from the peanut gallery), yard and garden rake, pitchfork and potato fork.

For remedies I grow dill, fennel and since someone recently was wonderful enough to send me the plants, now elderberry.

Several other "remedies" grow wild on my 2 acres, I dont garden them but I do help them along.


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## IlliniWarrior (Nov 30, 2010)

what I've found handy in that last few years is a bulb planter .... I "teeth" the edge with serrations for better cutting action ....

good for the occasional re-planting of flower bulbs ..... but also a quik hole for a cube root bedding plant ..... for tomatoes it makes a dandy boring tool for sinking that loooong stem down to depth ....


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

IlliniWarrior said:


> what I've found handy in that last few years is a bulb planter .... I "teeth" the edge with serrations for better cutting action ....
> 
> good for the occasional re-planting of flower bulbs ..... but also a quik hole for a cube root bedding plant ..... for tomatoes it makes a dandy boring tool for sinking that loooong stem down to depth ....


That reminds me of the other two garden tools I use often although not so much in the vege patch. Homemade 3 inch planter and 6 inch planter. Very similar to the bulb planter but much heavier with waist height handles and a peg to push it into the soil with your foot. I grow most plant in 3 or 6 inch pots and they speed up planting days quite a bit.


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## LilRedHen (Aug 28, 2011)

Genevieve said:


> I have:
> another thing I have for quick "hoeing" is a gizmo that has 6 sets of tines on it and you just roll it across the dirt and it weeds pretty good. don't know what it's called. can't remember lol


I have one of those thingies too, but it doesn't work too well in my rocky/pebbly soil that gets a very hard crust after a rain. Mine has a long handle and also detaches for use with a short handle.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

Round & square tip shovels, hoe, short & long tooth rakes,pitch forks, Machete ,ax & bush ax. Last three are for clearing land.
I have a tiller, but I could do with out it, just move much slower without it.


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Wellrounded said:


> That reminds me of the other two garden tools I use often although not so much in the vege patch. Homemade 3 inch planter and 6 inch planter. Very similar to the bulb planter but much heavier with waist height handles and a peg to push it into the soil with your foot. I grow most plant in 3 or 6 inch pots and they speed up planting days quite a bit.


My hubby plants his tomato plants with a post hole digger.  I think it's a bit of overkill, but it gets the job done quickly I must admit!


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## gam46 (Jan 24, 2011)

Although I won't be doing any "real" gardening for a while, I won't be giving up my favorite tools.

sharp shooter shovel
cobra tool
set of hoes, rakes, weeder with replaceable short, medium, and long handles
5 gallon bucket with pocketed insert which holds all manner of helps
a couple of hand-held pruners and a pair of kitchen shears for similar work
garden cart
gloves
good hoses with double-sided attachments for faucets
spray nozzles for hoses


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