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Essential starter kit for the aspiring gardener
When you’re just starting out on your gardening journey, you’re confronted with a bewildering array of tools, nozzles and fittings. It’s hard to cut through the noise to find the pieces of kit that you actually need, while avoiding expensive gimmicks. The good news is that you really don’t need much to get your gardening kit started. Here’s what I recommend to get you growing without breaking the bank.
Shovel
As a grower, you’re going to be working in the soil and a solid shovel is an indispensable piece of kit that you will use for hundreds of different jobs. I have a pretty big garden, so I have a large shovel with an Aussie hardwood handle that can be replaced if it breaks. Looked after properly, I’ll be able to watch my grandkids digging holes with this one.
Farmers Friend Shovel from Cyclone Tools
If you have a container garden or are growing in a small space, then a shovel like this will be overkill, instead look for a quality hand trowel. Something made out of stainless steel with a wooden handle will last you a lifetime.
Hand Trowel from Cyclone Tools
Fork
To keep your veggies growing happily season after season you’ll need to make sure that you can aerate the soil every season. That’s where a good garden fork comes in, perfect for improving soil tilth (structure) without destroying the incredible world that lives beneath the surface of your veggie patch. Mine’s timber with stainless steel tines, another quality tool for life.
Garden Fork from Cyclone Tools
As with the shovel and trowel, if you’re growing mainly in small spaces and containers then a quality hand fork will be more than enough to meet your needs.
Watering Can
If you’re growing plants, you’ll need to make sure that you can keep them watered and happy. You don’t need any fancy kit for this, just a good old fashioned 9 litre watering can. I have irrigation, hoses, spray heads, the whole works, but I still use my trusty watering can every day that I’m in the garden.
Propagation Kit
Growing from seed can seem intimidating at first, but it’s an essential skill to master for any aspiring grower. You can make the learning process a lot easier by starting your seeds with a propagation kit. These mini green houses keep the temperature warm and the humidity high, creating the perfect environment for seed raising success.
Flori Seed Raising Kit from Backyard Farmer
Harvest Snips
This is the fun part! You’ve persevered, kept your plants alive, lovingly tending them until you’re finally ready to harvest! For many plants like leafy greens and herbs you don’t usually harvest the whole plant, that’s where a good pair of snips come in. They minimise the damage to the plant when harvesting leaves or fruit so your plants can continue to provide for you in the weeks and months to come.
Floral Snips from Cyclone Tools
What are you waiting for? Kickstart your home growing journey today with these essentials. You can find them at your local Bunnings Warehouse, Mitre 10 or independent garden retailers.
