Gear Up for Gardening Season

The beautiful Fisher Blacksmithing Trowel.

While we undoubtedly have some winter weather ahead, spring isn’t so far away. As garden centers start to restock, the professional gardeners at Homefront Farmers  thought we’d create a list of garden maintenance tools and accessories you’ll find helpful for the coming growing season.

Trowel—Great for transplanting and other small digging jobs, a good trowel is a mainstay of any expert gardeners toolkit. Narrower versions are easier to plunge into the ground. Experiment with a few different ways of holding the tool to figure out what is most comfortable for you.  Fischer Blacksmithing hand forges beautiful, heirloom quality tools, including this narrow trowel, in Bozeman, MT: Fisher Narrow Perennial Trowel, $58

If you’re afraid you might lose your tool, the Fiskars Ergo Trowel might be a better option: Fiskars ErgoTrowel, $7.99

Small Shovel—For digging tasks too big for a trowel, such as turning in soil amendments, a shovel is good to have around.  Unless you’re tall or will be moving a lot of soil, we recommend a shorter handle for easier storage. A “D” style handle provides a comfortable grip. This Ames Round Point Digging Shovel is a soild, made-in-the-USA option: Ames Round Point Digging Shovel, $19.99

Pruning Shears—A sharp pair of pruning shears is less likely to damage plants and reduces the transmission of diseases. Whether you’re pruning tomato plants or training small fruit trees, the Swiss-made Felco 6 is a good option: Swiss-made Felco 6, $55.99

Garden Cart—For hauling around vegetable garden amendments, scraps, and of course your huge summer harvests, a sturdy garden cart is nice to have around. This Medium Gardener’s Supply Cart is a strong, attractive option made in Vermont: Medium Gardener’s Supply Cart, $299

Gloves—After a long winter, your hands are likely to be a little tender. Protect them with these attractive gloves from Burgon & Ball: Burgon & Ball Gloves, $38

Garden Hose—A flexible, lead-free, phthalate-free, drinking-safe hose is perfect for washing your veggies or giving your garden an extra drink.  This American-made hose from EarthEasy is a good option: Premium Drinking Water Hose by Earth Easy, $54.95 for 50’

Compost Bin—Even if you did a fall cleanup, you’re likely to have lots of yard waste come spring. Don’t send it to the landfill! Along with food scraps, your backyard waste can be turned into quality soil through organic garden composting. Homefront Farmers offers several attractive options starting at $350 including delivery in the Fairfield County area.

Cold Frame—Want to get an early jump on growing your own organic food? Serving as mini-greenhouses, cold frames allow your organic vegetable garden to keep producing in cold weather months when growing would otherwise be impossible. Our cold frames are locally made using quality cedar wood and a temperature sensitive piston that automatically regulates the climate inside.

There are certainly other useful tools and accessories. What are some of your favorites? Let us know and we’ll share with our clients.

Not a fan of getting your hands dirty? Don’t have the time to reap the rewards of backyard gardening? The expert gardeners at Homefront Farmers are here to help! We offer home gardening services and much more. Contact the expert gardeners at Homefront Farmers for a complimentary site evaluation today.