The Natural Life - Chapter 7 - Tool Time Part 3
The Only Yard and Garden Tools You'll Ever Need
Garden tools will be used in an outdoor setting and subject to severe abuse, I would go for a little higher priced items. Some of them will come with a lifetime warranty believe it or not, and I’ve been able to get broken tools replaced without much hassle, so it’s a good idea to look for warranty offers when buying these types of tools. Let’s begin:
Shovels - There are three types that you will find useful, most other types are not necessary.
Spade Shovel- Must have on the farm, used for digging or shoveling just about anything.
Flathead Shovel - Good to have for cleaning up a chicken coop or making a flat spot of dirt.
Sharpshooter Shovel - This shovel has a long skinny blade that helps to dig a narrow but deep hole. It’s helpful in tight areas.
Rake - There are two types of rakes you will need…
Garden Rake - This one is for raking heavy stuff like dirt, weeds, etc. Very useful tool.
Leaf Rake - You’ll need this one to rake up leaves and grass clippings.
Post Hole Diggers - You gotta have a good pair of these on your farm, you don’t use them every day, but when you need them, there’s just no other option. Great workout too! I’d like to see an @bowtiedox challenge using a pair of these.
Garden Hoe - What did you say about my mama!? Just kidding. When your garden starts getting weeds growing up close to the plants, this is just about your only hope, or you can pull the weeds up by hand. There are many different weeding tools, some of them are good, some of them are a gimmick. This is really all you need.
Ax - A good ax will always have a home on a homestead. I don’t use mine very much since we don’t use firewood for heating our home, but it’s good to have a nice ax for when you need to show off to your old lady.
Pitchfork - If you have animals that eat hay, these are actually quite useful.
Chain - It’s imperative that you have a good thick chain with a hook on each end. This will be used to pull trees, trucks, and everything else.
Garden Spade - I use these occasionally when you need to transplant a small seedling. It’s nice to use a small shovel like this instead of your hands, or a big long handle shovel.
Garden Shears/Snips - These are good to have when you’re trimming back vines on your tomato plants. I don’t use these to pick vegetables, you gotta learn how to pick all your vegetables efficiently with your bare hands or you’re NGMI.
Loppers - These are helpful when cutting large branches back away from a riding trail or pruning trees. This tool is going to break on you if you get a cheap one, go ahead and spend a little money and get a decent one or you will be throwing it away in a few months.
Leaf Blower - I use this probably the most out of all of my tools. I like to keep the porches and garage blown off nice and clean. You should probably buy one of these locally so that you can bring it back if there are any issues. Most places have a replacement plan you can buy, which I highly recommend. I just go with cheap models since I’m not using it professionally.
Chainsaw - I’m torn on Chainsaws. I really want a good Stihl Chainsaw, but I just can’t break out the money for one. I ended up going with a cheap one made in China, but I actually love it. You will need a longer bar like this one if you are cutting bigger trees. Even If you don’t think you need a big chainsaw, just go ahead and get a big chainsaw, they look way cooler than using a small baby chainsaw.
Brush Cutter/Weedeater - I use this probably second most. You should buy one of these locally so that you can find a good deal and get warranty service if needed. They don’t have the one I use on amazon, so I will post this really nice one. When you guy a string trimmer, make sure it has “brush Cutter” capability. This is a saw blade attachment and it’s great for clearing bushes and limbs.
Well that’s it, that should cover everything to get you started tackling your homestead projects. Next week we’re going to start talking about Chickens!
I’ll holler at yall later…WAGMI
Your fren,
Bowtied Farmer