Other Equipment

Bucket

A bucket is invaluable in the garden. Just think of all the jobs you can do with a bucket - put weeds in it, carry weeds to compost bin, carry water, water plants if desperate( if YOU are desperate - you can use it - and the pour that on the compost heap- its a wonderful activator) etc. etc. .......

Wheelbarrow

There are many sorts of wheelbarrow on the market today but the favourite is still the old 'Navvy-barrer' and if you go to a builders merchant for it instead of a garden centre it will probably be cheaper. The type with the pneumatic tyre are the best and a lot easier to push than the ones with solid tyres. Some have a reinforcing strut at the front, these help to strengthen the front when tipping stuff out. Of the more expensive ones sold in garden centres some have a polythene hopper instead of a steel one. This certainly stops the hopper from rotting, but from experience, the hopper usually outlasts the frame anyway( its always the frame that goes!)

Ladies tend to prefer the lighter garden barrows which are a bit easier to handle ( especially the two wheeled varieties) and do not carry as much stuff so they are lighter.

Sack barrows are like the old porters trolleys and are designed to carry large sacks of compost etc. around, but you can do that in an ordinary wheelbarrow, so unless you are into buying your compost by the pallet load and having to move it there is little point in going to the expense of buying one.

Tarpaulin

One of the newer products on the market ( probably an old idea updated) is a plastic or nylon sheet with a handle in each corner. This intended to be put on the ground for putting compost or whatever on and then dragging it around(won't do the lawn much good though and I can't see it lasting long on rough concrete). I must admit, its pretty useful when trimming hedges, lay it out under the hedge and when you are finished gather up the corners and take it away. Saves a lot of sweeping up.

Garden Line

A garden line is an invaluable piece of equipment - especially to vegetable gardeners. There are quite a few different ones on the market, some of them quite expensive for what they are, but all that is needed is a ball of twine and a few garden canes. Might not look as fancy as a couple of carved sticks but you still get straight lines with it.

Gloves

Gloves are not really essential in the garden for most jobs, especially if you don't mind getting your hands dirty, but there are a few jobs where they are vital. Try pruning roses or a gooseberry bush and you will soon find out. It basically depends on what you are doing, how you do it and where you are. I have always worn a cheap pair of cotton gloves on the allotment for the simple reason that there are loads of small pieces of glass in the soil and I have had that many cuts that I don't take chances now. Prevention is better than cure - so they say.

Sieve

A sieve is really only needed if you need to filter out any bigger bits of compost when sorting out your heap. If you don't want to go to the expense of buying one only for occasional use, make your own by knocking the bottom out of a wooden box and replacing it with mesh of the size you require (6mm is about right).

Sprayer

If you are organic you will probably have little use for one of these. Non-organic gardeners will find them quite useful. They range from a little hand sprayer costing a few pence to big backpack models costing hundreds of pounds. Only buy what you need. There is no point buying a big 5 gallon sprayer just to spray a few greenfly on a rose bush, on the other hand you won't get far with a hand sprayer in an orchard.

Spacing board

Most vegetable gardeners will have one of these but they are not much use the the average gardener. I don't even think it is something you can buy (I've never seen one for sale anywhere). Most people make their own out of a length of board or 2 x 1 inch timber or whatever they fancy, and just make marks or saw cuts at intervals of whatever is best for them. Some choose every 3 inches, some 6 inches, others just mark them out at 1 ft intervals. It all depends on what you will be planting, the same applies to the length - completely optional.

Dibber

For jobs like planting cabbages or wall flower transplanting a dibber is very useful. There are some fancy stainless steel model on the market but most people make there own out of a piece of round timber with a bar across the top. If you ever happen to break a wooden spade or fork handle it makes an excellent dibber - just whittle the end to a blunt point.

Kneelers

These come in a basic mat or as a combined seat and kneeler. Useful if you have knee problems (or want to prevent them) and they do keep your knees cleaner.