16 Gardening Tools You Can Skip and Still Succeed
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Beginning a vegetable garden is a little like assembling IKEA furniture: you have all the instructions, various tools, and the occasional feeling that you might be making too much of it. Growing should be a fulfilling, earthy experience, but with so many products marketed to us, it’s easy to feel like you need an arsenal of fancy gadgets just to grow a tomato. Spoiler alert: you don’t.
Before you load up your cart with every gizmo that claims to give you the juiciest cucumbers, let’s explore some tools you can safely skip.
Fancy Soil Test Kits
Understanding your soil is important, but do you really need a high tech kit to tell you what’s happening under the surface? Basic observation will do for most home gardens. Good topsoil is dark and rich in look and smell and crumbles in your hand like cake. If you’re concerned about pH or nutrients, local extension offices often test soil for a fraction of the price. If Mother Nature gives you so many clues, why break the bank?
Overpriced Garden Clogs
Sure, you can post about those cute garden clogs on Instagram, but your old sneakers or any other sturdy, washable shoe will do just fine. Don’t spend your money on seeds or compost. Your footwear just needs to keep your feet dry and thorn free, and you are good to go.
Irrigation Systems
If you’re not growing a commercial farm, you don’t need a complex watering system. A watering can or garden hose will do as well. What the National Gardening Association has found is that plants do better when watered deeply and less often, something you can easily do without more complicated methods.
Bug Zappers
Unfortunately, bug zappers are not the safest way to get rid of the pests and kill many beneficial insects together with them. Rather than spending money on these devices, try planting marigolds and lavender so that they work as natural deterrents for unwanted visitors, as well as attract pollinators.
Gardening Apps
Do you really need an app to remind you to water some plants? Setting an alarm on your phone or even a sticky note on the fridge will work just as well. Also listen to your garden’s natural cues — droopy leaves, dry soil, are better indicators than any notification.
Expensive Raised Bed Kits
It’s actually surprisingly easy and cheap to build raised beds from scratch. You can make the same structure using repurposed wood or cinder blocks for a fraction of the cost. The amount of shine it has in its bed is not what’s important, but the health of the soil in that bed.
Specialized Garden Forks
All you need is a standard garden fork or a sturdy hand fork. A lot of the time these “ergonomically designed” or “super lightweight” forks are prone to breaking and don’t even come close to justifying their price tag. Use durable, no frills tools.
Plastic Plant Markers
You can skip the plastic markers and use household items such as popsicle sticks, old spoons or even flat stones. They are personal, they’re eco friendly, and they can be as efficient as identifying your crops.
High-End Fertilizers
The labels may tout incredible results, but simple homemade compost or aged manure does the job just as well. A study by Oregon State University says that adding organic matter to your garden enriches the soil over time and encourages sustainable plant growth.
Pruners With Extra Features
More-than-basic pruners are unnecessary. The expensive ones with added doodads? They’re usually overpriced and overcomplicated. One sharp, reliable, bypass pruner in the garden is good enough.
Motorized Tillers
If you aren’t managing a large plot, you don’t need a tiller. You need only a garden fork or hoe to loosen the soil and make it ready for planting. Plus, manual tools are better for your wallet and your ears.
Greenhouse Kits
Greenhouses are good, but backyard gardens don’t always need them. Without the hefty investment, your plants can be protected with a simple cold frame or even a plastic cover.
Plant-Specific Tools
Do you need a tomato cage, specifically one for tomatoes? Not really. Basic, multi-purpose supports such as bamboo stakes or homemade trellises support many plants. Don’t waste your time over specializing.
Gadget-Filled Tool Sets
A 25 piece gardening tool set may look like it would be nice to have, but you will probably only use a handful of those items. Stay simple: a trowel, a hoe, a rake, and a watering can. Anything more is overkill.
Mulching Machines Professional
It’s important to mulch, but in the right ways, you don’t need to use a machine to do it. Mulch can be grass clippings, leaves, or even shredded newspaper. It is a low cost, effective solution to recycling yard waste.
Over-engineered Compost Bins
Rotating bins and compost tumblers are nice and all, but you don’t need them. The same black gold for your garden can be produced with a simple pile in the corner of your yard — no bells or whistles needed.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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