Your Must Have Lawn Care Tools

[route507too]

Hi everyone - I'm new to lawn care (and gardening) and need to do some shopping for lawn care (and gardening) tools. The only "tool" I own right now is a small round point shovel that I use to shovel dog poop. Glamorous, I know.

I need to outfit my shed, but I only have a rough idea of the tools I'll need. Help! So far I think I'll purchase a rake, pruner, lopper, garden gloves, spade, wheel barrow, hose, lawn mower (at some point), knee pads, hand cultivator, pitchfork, and hand trowel.
I may look into purchasing a core aerator too. Any thoughts on this?


What tools do you find yourself using constantly? What should I absolutely add to my arsenal?


Thanks for the advice. I definitely need it!

[Kisal]

I wouldn't bother with the core aerator, myself. You can always rent one when you need it.

I find I use my shovels (2), spades (3), rakes (2) and hoes (3) more than anything else in my tool shed. I'm sure everyone is different, though.

If you're going to buy knee pads, invest in a decent pair. I have some contractor's knee pads that are wonderful, even on my old arthritic knees. I think I paid just over $20 for them at either Home Depot or Jerry's (can't remember which. )

[hendi_alex]

I've been gradually moving away from wooden handled garden tools, as I'm just too careless, sometimes lazy, and leave them out and the handles eventually give way. I really like the fiberglass handles on larger hand tools and rubber or plastic grips on the small gardening tools.

I bought this hand tool last November and it is quickly becoming a favorite.


Also like the looks and feel of this recent purchase:



The EZ Digger has been a long time favorite. It comes in a long handled and short handled version. I have the long handled one.



All of these are available through Amazon.com.

Of course the round point shove, four tine rake, action hoe or hula hoe, gardening trowel all come in handy for gardening chores.

[rainbowgardener]

I use a sharp tined rake something like this:

garden rake

for de-thatching the lawn

and a leaf rake

leaf rake

Other than that, my favorite hand tool is the trake:

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/trake.html

[route507too]

Thank you all for your tips - and especially pictures. Some of the tools you showed me I'd never seen before.

I'll be sure to print this thread out when I go on my shopping trip. Good advice about the wooden handled tools as well. Right now there is neither a garage nor a shed on my property, my storage options are limited to the basement and underneath the back deck. I think it's probably a good idea for me to avoid the wooden handled tools. I know myself, and I have a feeling some of my tools will be left out in the elements.

Thanks again.

[tomf]

This was posted in the lawn care forum so I am assuming you are talking about lawn care tools. The first issue is what size lawn or lawns are we talking about; the number one thing to consider is mowing the lawn. If I had a real small lawn I may use an unpowered push reel, if I had a small lawn that is typical of many subdivisions I would consider a battery powered electric mower. With ¼ acre or more a gas powered push mower may work well; ½ acre or more you may want a ridding mower. If you have lots of acres then a tractor is an essential tool.
Then there are tools for spreading lime and such, raking and weeding. There are many good weeding tools out there.

I have a number of acres of lawn, some of it is scattered is in meadows in the woods so this is what I need to take care of it.
As I consider my land to be a wild life area I avoid putting poison on it and there is way too much lawn to pull weeds so I only do it to about an acre or so near the house. I have been planting grass that need little to no water and am disease resistant to keep the need down, besides much of my lawn is to far away from any water.
I have two riding mowers with tow behinds like a lawn rake, trailer and spreader. I have a seldom use 6HP push mower for tight spots. For the fields and when the outer lawns get out of control I use a full sized tractor with a PTO driven brush hog. The brush hog is made for clearing brush and mowing fields so it is a bit much for lawns therefor I want a finish mower for the back of the tractor. I also want a lawn vacuum for the back of my riding mower. Photos of what I want are below.

I want a 5 to 6 foot finish mower.



I want one of the lawn vacuums that shred the stuff it vacuums up and dumps it in the trailer.

[rainbowgardener]

Why vacuum the lawn? If you have a mulching mower that chops the grass clippings, then leaving them there just feeds the lawn.

[tomf]

I have some areas where in the fall the trees dump a ton of leafs and it is to much to mulch. I have been using the lawn sweeper to pick them up and then dump them into the garden. And some times due to spring rain the lawn grows fast and it is hard to get to it all when it is dry.