If you’re starting out with your veg patch this season, don’t feel overwhelmed with all the equipment you “need” to buy. You can keep things fairly simple…here’s a list of absolute essentials to get you started.
- Hand Trowel – when it comes to planting, this is our tool of choice.You could use a dibber if you prefer.
- Hoe – invaluable for keeping on top of weeds. Long handled or small handled, it’s up to you. Use your hoe on raised beds on a weekly basis and you’ll find it much easier to keep your plot weed-free.
- Gloves – you may find you don’t always want or need to wear them when you’re tending to your crops, but when it comes to pulling up brambles or nettles, they are pretty essential!
- Secateurs – we use ours all the time for pruning unruly squash plants, cutting back invasive brambles and things like that.
- Garden Twine – always needed to tie in tomatoes, beans and other crops.
- Trug or Wheelbarrow – for clearing old plants, gathering weeds and so on.
- Garden Fork – for digging over beds before planting and for digging up root veggies at harvest time.
- Hand Fork – for digging up tough weeds, like docks and dandelions, that have rudely invaded your raised beds mid season!
- Watering Can – unless you have a very large plot, you’ll probably find a watering can preferable to a hose as you can be a bit more careful with the water and where it goes.
- Bamboo Canes – for building bean supports, for staking tomatoes and other tall crops.