Good gardening tools

[Tsmith3]

Hi I'm a complete novice, so far have killed a broom and a pitch fork... (get what you pay for I guess) I would like to replace my cheaper garden tools with ones that won't just snap on the first use...
I need a new rake, gardening fork, (for stubborn dirt on paving slabs) broom, shovel, and maybe a nice gardening kit (planting - trowel etc).
Any assistance as to a durable semi decent brand (don't wanna break the bank, but will if it means I get stuff that lasts longer than a month)
The current stuff I magnusson from b&q... found the wooden handles to be somewhat inferior quality... the metal threaded bit on the broom just sheared off entirely and the fork handle splintered and snapped while moving a rose tree... (wasn't taking much pressure to lift it compared to some plants I have tried moving since after gluing it together... twice...)

Any brands that don't have this issue?
Any recommendations welcome

 

[marlingardener]

Are there farm auctions or even home auctions near you? Attend a couple and pick up the tools you need. You don't need a pitchfork, you need a digging fork. A Palmyra broom will work for cleaning the paving slabs, and don't buy a "kit" of gardening tools. Pick out a trowel that feels right in your hand, and perhaps a three prong weeder.
As to brands, I really like Fiskars for pruning items, and Ace Hardware tools (which you may not have in the UK) for digging, raking, and general gardening. I like wooden handles which are easier on my hands than fiberglass (can't do a proper job wearing gloves!).

 

[Tsmith3]

Brilliant thank you
No auctions in my location sadly. Will certainly look at the items you suggested

Are there farm auctions or even home auctions near you? Attend a couple and pick up the tools you need. You don't need a pitchfork, you need a digging fork. A Palmyra broom will work for cleaning the paving slabs, and don't buy a "kit" of gardening tools. Pick out a trowel that feels right in your hand, and perhaps a three prong weeder.
As to brands, I really like Fiskars for pruning items, and Ace Hardware tools (which you may not have in the UK) for digging, raking, and general gardening. I like wooden handles which are easier on my hands than fiberglass (can't do a proper job wearing gloves!).

 

[Mike Allen]

There is an auction house in Lymington that usually has gardening tools out back.

Surprising how many gardeners don't know what a pitchfork is used for. I remember a TV program, Gardeners World. A young woman, Sarah Raven I think, was featured repairing a damaged lawn. Amongst her tools was a pitch fork?????????

 

[DirtMechanic]

There is an auction house in Lymington that usually has gardening tools out back.

Surprising how many gardeners don't know what a pitchfork is used for. I remember a TV program, Gardeners World. A young woman, Sarah Raven I think, was featured repairing a damaged lawn. Amongst her tools was a pitch fork?????????

Pitchforks come in different sizes. These also repair pitchmarks. They are all very useful on their own way.

 

[Mike Allen]

There are now several forks that misleadingly called pitchforks. Dung forks, manure forks and the like. The origin of the pitchfork applies to the two pronged extra long handled fork. As the name implies, it is used for pitching as in forking,lifting/tossing hay from the ground to haycarts etc.

 

[Durgan]

A lot of new crap in tools being sold. Hand tools are not good even if you look. I have recently on power tools gone electric. Small garden engines will not start and nobody can fix them. It is not just Chinese tools, NA is selling junk too.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Scissors. I like scissors.

Pruners are cool and weirdly shaped, but scissors come in as custom for fingers and not only are they just scissors, the heavier ones are shears capable of thicker tomato and other vine cuttings. Plus I like the way you can stick them in deep and do those precise nips. Hard to do that with the tools designed for woody stems that are stubby and curve like the nut-cracking beak of a parrot or other @zigs like beak.

 

[CljS]

The best and coolest garden tool I've used is a water treatment product called ThunderGro. It made my novice attempts at lawn maintenance and yard plants come alive. Northern Michigan has a short season and poor sandy soil but my yard started looking like I knew what I was doing. It started being fun, watching the transformation gave me the confidence to start trying to grow veggies and even some small watermelons. Since then I have had lots of practice and feel I have shed the novice label..

 

[DirtMechanic]

The best and coolest garden tool I've used is a water treatment product called ThunderGro. It made my novice attempts at lawn maintenance and yard plants come alive. Northern Michigan has a short season and poor sandy soil but my yard started looking like I knew what I was doing. It started being fun, watching the transformation gave me the confidence to start trying to grow veggies and even some small watermelons. Since then I have had lots of practice and feel I have shed the novice label..

Humic materials are really cool. Did you know there are at least 12 identified even though we can only purify about 4? And since alkalie and acids are used we really are not sure they are the exact same as the fossilized versions but the effects certainly are noticable.

 

[Mr_Yan]

My two favorite tools are under rated and tend not to be thought of:
Good gloves - not the floppy leather junk
Full brim hat
(don't be afraid of high SPF / UPF sunscreen either)

What's your scale and what type of garden do you have?

Learn to take care of your tools. Good tools are expensive but worth it.

I like wooden handled tools as I can replace the handles. I also find oiled wood much more comfortable to use for hours than either varnished wood or fiberglass. I used a spoke shave and file to remove all the varnish from the wooden handles I have then applied boiled linseed oil to them.

I also sharpen digging shovels. Keep a file around.

For raised veg beds I like a hand mattock.

My preference full length tools should have longer handles than modern ones are sold with. Shovels and rakes should have a handle about up to your eyebrow when the point is resting on the ground.

I spent all of last weekend using a few different shovels, sledge hammer, and my small mattock and removed about 100 sq feet of 4" thick cement.

 

[CljS]

Humic materials are really cool. Did you know there are at least 12 identified even though we can only purify about 4? And since alkalie and acids are used we really are not sure they are the exact same as the fossilized versions but the effects certainly are noticable.

You are correct DM.. What I gather from talking with the inventor of ThunderGro, they only use humic to lower the surface tension of the base water in order to attenuate the mineral component.. the label reflects what a governing body would allow on the label. Every thing in that state causes cancer, apparently including minerals.

 

[DirtMechanic]

You are correct DM.. What I gather from talking with the inventor of ThunderGro, they only use humic to lower the surface tension of the base water in order to attenuate the mineral component.. the label reflects what a governing body would allow on the label. Every thing in that state causes cancer, apparently including minerals.

I discern from your post that not a single person got a written commitment from the plants?

 

[Rooty]

Brilliant thank you
No auctions in my location sadly. Will certainly look at the items you suggested

I have a few Fiskars tools, hand fork snapped on me this week. Not being used for anything out of the ordinary, I also had the extendable loppers but took them back after a week because the spring fell off. Also had a pair of secateurs which were okay, but use Felco now. Expensive but top quality.

 

[Rooty]

Just saw the date on the thread! Doh!

 

[Marck]

These are divot pitchforks used by golfers. One more reason golf is a depressing waste of time and space...

Pitchforks come in different sizes. These also repair pitchmarks. They are all very useful on their own way.View attachment 83881

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Gold leaf soft touch garden gloves, soft enough to weed, tough enough for just about any thorn.

When looking at small hand tools look at the way the tool and handle are joined, it is the weak spot, and not necessarily better for being dearer. An all in one pressed shape will snap where the bit that goes into the handle joins the blade. A spot weld can be okay, but not always, a solid bit of metal welded firmly to the blade can last generations. I have a small fork and trowel my father inherited from my grandfather, they must have been in continuous use for over a hundred years

 

[Amateur Gardener]

EZ Kut Lil' G Ratchet Lopper. It's be able to cut thick, dead branches with ease. Customer service is responsive and answered my questions within a day. Plus, these loppers look fancy!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I am on my third pair of loppers in a couple of years, I think I am a bit heavy handed. I have stopped buying the economy ones, so hopefully these will last a bit longer.

 

[Amateur Gardener]

Fiskars 9124 Pruners. I've put it through a lot of use over the years but it's still in good shape. It's easy to clean and only requires the occasional sharpening.