Hello Everyone,
So far we picked a garden style and a location. In ground planters have ordered their soil test. Now we need to think about what equipment and materials we need to acquire. We’re early, and that’s a good thing! We can take our time and find good deals. There also could be supply chain issues for garden tools and supplies as we get closer to spring, if we start now, we should not have to worry about shortages. Luckily, I have already written an article covering most of the yard tools you need for the lawn and garden here. Go through this list and think about what you need in order to have a successful season.
NOTE: Please don’t feel like you have to buy all of this stuff, or that you even have to buy brand new stuff. I’m a big fan of Facebook marketplace for finding this type of equipment. You can save money buying gently used items. I believe it’s important for everyone to try to buy as much as we can local or used. This helps by not empowering the big corporations and giving money to China.
I know this may not make a big difference in the global market, but I always try to source locally if I can. If you already have some of this stuff, great! Here are a few items that are not on the list in the article that you will need for your garden (affiliate links ahead). I’m providing affiliate links to amazon for ease in case you would rather just order this all at one time and be done with it.
Outdoor Garden Necessities List
Garden hose - take a look at your garden location to see how long of a hose you need, I would get at least 25 extra feet. I choose to get the more expensive water hoses since the cheap ones tear up pretty fast.
Tarp - Whether you are building a raised bed garden, or in ground, you need to put down some type of material where your garden will be to kill the grass. Find the darkest color and cheapest tarps you can. As ab alternative, anything will do, cardboard, a piece of plywood, any type of material that will block the sunlight and kill the grass. You’ll need to measure your area to figure out how many tarps you need. Go ahead and buy this and put it down where your garden is going now so that the grass will begin to die. This step is not required if you plan to use a garden fork or a tiller, but it’s not a bad idea to do this regardless of your method. Use steaks to hold the tarp down.
Garden Sprayer - There are many different types, I think I like these the best. Get whatever you prefer.
Garden water filter - optional, I use one like this on my garden
Wheel Barrow - These come in handy when you’re gardening, you can move dirt and debris around easily with these. I like the single wheel type because they are easier to maneuver and fit in tighter spaces
Garden Fork - I have not used one of these, but they are a useful as a tool to penetrate deep into the soil to soften it up and make it easier to cultivate. If you’re not planning on using a tiller, you will need something like this to break up the soil. Here is a video showing how it works. (Link)
Autist Note: You can really go crazy with your garden and build just about anything you can dream up. I’m covering the basics to get you going.
Raised bed gardeners building their garden boxes with wood will need to source tools for building. Luckily, I wrote up an article covering tools you will need here. Look over this list to see what you may need in order to build some sweet raised beds out of wood.
You will definitely need the following, (Hint: it’s good to own most of these tools anyway. Especially if you are a home owner, or plan on being self suffecient.)
Battery operated drill
Drill bits and screw drivers
Tape Measure
Carpenter Pencil or Marker
Hammer
Skill Saw
Speed Square
Sledge Hammer
Screws
Again, you don’t have to buy all of this stuff right now. Just go over your plans and these lists and start working on acquiring some of these items over the next month or so. You’re early! Let’s Go!!
See you next week,
WAGMI
Your Friend,
Farmer