Gardeners choose their favorite tool
Every gardener has a favorite tool. In this list of tools and accessories that Penn State Extension Master Gardeners in Butler County claim they could not live without, you’ll find tips and ideas to make your gardening hours more enjoyable.
Soil knifeKaren Schmidt, Master Gardener since 1999, claims the versatile soil knife as her favorite gardening tool. Its features include a stainless-steel blade that prevents rust, one sharp edge, one serrated edge, depth markers to help with bulb planting, and a notch to cut twine.Great for weeding, planting, and cutting, the bright orange knife has a comfortable grip with a protective handguard and is easy to find if you mislay it.
Digital hose timerA Master Gardener since 2014, Dennis Culley relies on his digital hose timer with a soaker hose to water his garden on his schedule.He provides directions, “Arrange a soaker hose around the plants in your beds or run it straight along a garden row of plants. Use regular garden hose to carry water to your planting area; then attach the soaker hose. Add a hose splitter and attach a second soaker hose to water larger planted areas at the same time.”
Padded kneeler bench and glovesFrom the Class of 2011, Mary Kruger says, “There are two things I cannot garden without. First is my padded kneeler/bench. Since I can no longer kneel, the bench is my lifesaver. By the way, it is bright purple. My other necessity is a pair of Atlas garden gloves. They are so flexible and really keep the dirt out of my nails and the prickles out of my fingers.”Carol Nagg, an 18-year Master Gardener, is happy with a good pair of gloves, too.
Garden clawFrom Angela Fishman, Class of 2016, “My favorite tool is called a garden claw. By twisting it, I can break up the top 6 to 8 inches of my raised beds. It also helps to break up the weed roots to make pulling easier.”
Chipper shredderBetty Graham’s favorite garden tool is her chipper shredder. Her perennial flower beds were generating so many trimmings that her two compost bins couldn’t keep up with the supply. Disposing of fallen tree branches and shrub prunings was a problem in her residential setting.Now, she shreds it all, which reduces the volume and speeds decomposition. She shreds limbs up to 2 inches in diameter for mulch. What a great way to recycle yard waste. Graham has been a Master Gardener since 2014.
Vintage forged bladed hoesLewis Palka, a new Master Gardener, writes about his favorite tools (pictured), “These one-piece forged bladed hoes or diggers have been my favorite all-purpose planting and cultivating tools for 50 plus years and I suspect they are from the 1950s. The handles have been replaced over the years and they needed minor sharpening and blade straightening from time to time. I have wonderful memories using them with my dad in gardens of the past.”
Collinear hoe and harvest knifeCarolyn Glendening, a Master Gardener since 2005, reports the collinear hoe with a replaceable blade as her favorite tool. Light weight with a nice long handle, Glendening uses this hoe to weed around and under many of her dearest plants — all this while standing up. Because the blade can be removed, it is easy to sharpen.Her other favorite is her harvest knife which she uses for weeding and digging.
Action handle hoeJulie Habsburg, who has been a Master Gardener since 1998, reports her can’t-live-without garden tool is an action handle hoe. She says that it makes surface weeding around plants so much easier, because she just pushes it back and forth, with a push and pull motion. On her acquisition of the hoe, Habsburg says, “The hoe came with husband, 35 years ago. Two great finds. Both have helped me, tirelessly, in our many gardens throughout the years.”
Five favoritesMary Reefer couldn’t stop until she had listed five of her favorite gardening items.Cobrahead cultivator — a well-engineered, tempered steel blade wonder of a tool. This tool acts as a cultivator, weeder, edger, scalper, furrower and planter, and can cut through even Western Pennsylvania clay soil.Ratchet hand-held bypass pruner — makes pruning much easier for everyone, but especially for those with weak or arthritic hands. Use it for everything from tree and shrub pruning to removing old raspberry canes and deadheading roses.Gardening apron — needed to hold your Cobrahead cultivator, pruner, seed packets and cell phone so nothing gets left behind while gardening.Rain gauge — to indicate whether you have received the one inch of rain per week necessary for a happy garden.Row cover — to protect emerging seedlings from rabbits, keep the cabbage worm butterfly and the squash borer moth from cabbage and squash plants, and cover crops when there is a danger of frost. You can lefget material sold as row cover, but Reefer waits until she finds a sale on tulle and purchases a bolt. She finds that it’s cheaper and just as effective.Reefer has been a Master Gardener for six years.
Susan Struthers is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener of Butler County.
