There are three basic garden tools that I consider to be necessities. These are the ones that I use constantly.

  • Stainless steel garden trowel. I have several garden trowels around, but this is my favorite. It is solidly made and will not rust. I also have a larger one made of cast aluminum, and that is also a favorite when a larger size is called for.
  • Pruning shears. I have several of them around, and the main reason that this one is still here is that I also got a clip-on holster for it. Far too many of them would get lost when using it for pruning jobs around the yard. I would set it down and forget where I put it until it had rusted beyond use. The main use for them though, is for harvesting from the garden.
  • Garden knife. This is a Japanese knife made of stainless steel. It gets used for all sorts of things, like planting sweetpotato slips and rose cuttings, sawing through roots when running a water line for the chickens, and general poking around in the garden. I plan to make a Kydex sheath for it that I can attach to my belt. Someday maybe I’ll actually get it done.

We have all accumulated a wide variety of garden tools, but the rest of them tend to get buried at the bottom of my box of garden tools and they are never missed. These three tools are the necessities.