When it comes to gardening tools, we're all aware of the usual suspects: spade, rake, secateurs. However, if you're starting your gardening journey this year or want to level up your space, these non-obvious tools need to be on your radar.
Whether or not you've collected all the essential tools every gardener needs, more often than not, it's the more niche things that really help get the job done. And whilst we're all for lowering costs in the garden, investing in a couple of nifty tools can make completing your summer gardening jobs so much quicker and more efficient.
So, beginner gardener or not, here are five obscure gardening tools to add to your collection this summer to streamline your tasks and help make stretching your green thumb significantly more fun.
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With so many jobs to get done in the garden this June, we're all for finding ways to speed up the process and make the tasks easier. Which is why when I spotted one of my favourite online gardeners had shared her obscure yet essential garden tools, I had to shout about it.
"Secateurs, a hand trowel and shovel are all obvious, but what about the more obscure garden tools I reach for every day?" starts Chloe Plumstead, blogger and gardening influencer.
"Tampers, for pressing down soil to create a nice even surface, especially useful for seeds which need to be surface sown," she explains.
Made from durable beech wood, this square tamper is ideal for getting into the corners of pots and seed trays to firm and level compost.
If you're trying to transform your garden on a budget, then you'll probably be quite a fan of sowing your own seeds. Along with the tamper, this genius duo can make the process from sowing to potting out seamless.
"Seedling widger and dibber. The widger makes lifting seedlings from trays so much easier! And the dibber is great for potting on, particularly for longer roots," Chloe continues.
If you love growing your plants from seeds, this duo are an essential and will make the whole process so much easier.
Whilst we're a huge fan of secateurs, especially the Bosch EasyPrune secateurs, an alternative that can make various garden jobs easier is a garden knife.
"A garden knife for pruning plants, cutting twine, opening bags of mulch or compost, etc. Very handy," Chloe says.
Whether you're trying to deadhead plants properly or are tired of your scissors getting rusty and breaking, a garden knife is a real saviour to carry around with you when completing your garden tasks.
Perhaps one of the most versatile tools to have on hand in the garden, this folding knife will make quick work of pruning, deadheading, or even cutting twine.
There's no hiding from how frustrating it is to get rid of weeds in your garden, especially when they're popping up around your favourite plants or even in your patio containers. Having the right tool with you can make the eradication of the stubborn plants so much easier.
"A grubber or hand rake, I use these for weeding. The hand rake catches the weeds to pull them up directly, and the grubber disrupts the soil to make it easier to pluck them out," explains Chloe.
You may have spotted this in your recent trip to the garden centre, but the usefulness of a good hand rake is often overlooked.
Decluttering a shed is a task that most of us dread doing, especially when you've been particularly bad at hoarding heaps of seed packets and sad-looking bulbs. What makes it even harder is when all the labels have been worn away, and you're left wondering what everything is.
The same goes for labels in your veggie patch; it's all too easy to mistake a young dandelion for an early lettuce head.
"A permanent marker, after many plant labels with washed-away names, a permanent marker is essential (I like a white one, too)," finishes Chloe.
It can be way too easy to get mixed up with seed packets and plant labels, so having some markers to hand can keep you organised.
If you're vegetable gardening as a beginner this year, you certainly don't need to blow the bank on buying a shed full of tools. But investing in affordable tools can help you achieve impressive results and enjoy every step getting there too.
