Gardening can be a peaceful activity. There is a measure of peace and satisfaction that comes from getting close to nature, feeling the soil between your fingers, and ultimately being able to create that farm-to-table experience straight from your yard. However, the down side of gardening is that it can be hard on your joints if not properly done. Many feel that the trick to a successful garden is using the right tools. One recommendation for gardening is using long handled gardening tools. Having tools with long handles helps gardeners reach into tight corners and also reduces back strain and other injuries.
Phases of Gardening and the Tools Used
When gardening, a variety of tools are often used to perform different jobs in the garden world. Although some of the tools may look similar, they each have unique uses. For instance, did you know that there were three types of rakes? Do you know the difference between a shovel and a spade? When gardening, there are basic phases for which you will use different tools: preparation, planting, and harvesting.
Preparation isn’t just planning what you want to plant and how to plant it, but the very physical process of making sure that the soil you want to use is viable. Many times this is achieved breaking up hard earth and removing any stones or rocks. A long handled hoe is usually used to unpack the earth, while a long handled cultivator is often used for breaking up clumps of dirt. A bow rake can also be used to separate rocks from earth. Using long handled gardening tools gives better traction.
Planting involves the placing of seeds or seedlings into the ground. This is usually the most delicate part of the process and some people opt not to use tools when they place the seeds or seedlings in. For those who do choose to use tools, a long handled trowel is ideal for digging singular holes, while a warren hoe is more suited for making row trenches. Long handled gardening tools save time during this phase.
After watching the plants grow and making sure that you weed the garden during the growing process, the end result is the harvest, where you get to literally pick the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor. Though many of the vegetables are handpicked from their stalks or vines, vegetables like potatoes or other tubers or underground vegetable can be harvested with another long handled gardening tool, the potato fork. These forks often have rounded edges to minimize the damage to the vegetables.
Long handled gardening tools come in handy when tackling large gardening tasks. Long handled gardening tools are really effective at not only helping you reach places, but can ease some of the stress on your back.
