Hello garden gals and guys! As we get into the heat of the growing season, there are lots of garden chores to keep up with.  Every gardener has their favorite tool, one that’s always nearby when they’re busy doing garden chores.

Here are the five favorite tools in my greenhouse that have revolutionized my garden experience.

Hori-Hori Knife

This is probably the best all purpose tool I’ve ever owned.  My hubby gave it to me for Christmas one year and I always have it on my hip when I’m gardening.
It’s stainless steel and it’s awesome.  I use it as my trowel to dig holes for my plants, to cut twine, open bags of soil, and cut small trees and stubborn weeds that try to grow around the perimeter of my garden.  
It has a serrated edge and a straight edge.  The serrated edge can be used for larger jobs like removing saplings that try to sneak their way into my garden cage every year. I use the straight edge to open bags of soil, chicken feed, stuff like that. There’s even measurements on it so that you can dig consistently to a certain depth, if needed. Here’s a closer look.

Stirrup Hoe

I actually have two of these.  When my garden needs to be weeded, this handy tool gets the job done.  You just slide it along the soil and it slices weeds off at the root. No more bending over to get those weeds and having back pain later.  Nope.  I only showed the lower part of the hoe here, but it’s got a nice long handle so you can stand up straight while you give those weeds the axe.  
One look at it and you can see why it’s called a stirrup hoe.  Some gardeners call this tool by other names, but it looks just like a stirrup you’d put your foot in to ride a horse, so stirrup hoe is what I’ll stick with.  
I’ve had these tools for years.  Hubby always sharpens them for me when they get dull.  

Garden Shears

I never harvest my vegetables without my garden shears.  I learned that lesson the hard way over the years.  I won’t even discuss how many times I broke plants when I first started gardening because I tried to snap off a veggie and the whole stem snapped with it.  Especially when it comes to peppers and tomatoes.  
Before you go to harvest any of your garden goodness, I highly recommend a good, sharp pair of garden shears like these.

Harvest Basket

Speaking of harvesting, you need something to put that home-grown goodness in.  I use this small basket.  It’s rather on the small side, but you can use any size basket you want.  Whatever strikes your fancy.  
This basket has a very special meaning to me.  You may not know it, but I’m a writer. One of my favorite writers is Maya Angelou.  Shortly after she passed away, I had the opportunity to go to her estate sale.  
While there at her home, I stumbled upon her greenhouse and when I went inside I found this basket.  I paid fifty cents for it because the people running the estate said it wasn’t worth much because it was covered in cobwebs.  That was fine with me.  I’d like to think Maya Angelou used it for something at some point.  So I have given it new life by using it to gather my harvest.

Wide Cast Sprinkler

This is another gift that my hubby bought for me.  
It’s a sprinkler but it’s really neat.  The little black feet have spikes in them so you can position the sprinkler where you want it and not worry about it falling over. 
You attach the hose at the bottom here:
You can adjust the height of the sprinkler up or down depending on your needs.
Pretty neat, right? So that’s it folks.  These are the tools I can’t live without.

Garden Progress

Okay, this isn’t tool related, but I thought you’d like to see some garden progress.  I’ve got baby tomatoes!  These first ones are called Indigo Rose. I just love the dark hue of the stem and the fruit.  This is my third year growing this variety and I love them. 
Here’s a shot of some of my cherry maters coming in.  I just might have some ripe tomatoes by July 4th!

My greenhouse basil is very happy.  I need to make some pesto soon.  If you look to the right, you can also see two tomato plants I stuck in there.  They are very happy together.  

It’s Your Turn

Do you have a favorite garden tool that makes your gardening life easier? How’s your garden growing? Share it in the comments!