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How to Recognize Gardening Tools and their Uses. Take care of your garden by learning
to recognize and use the right tools to spruce up your yard. You will need Shovel Spade Hoe
Pitchfork or spading fork Pick or cutter mattock Hand trowel Hand cultivator Pruners Shears
Loppers Rakes and tiller. Step 1. Use a shovel to move dirt and scoop dirt and debris. The
handle of your shovel should be shoulder-height, with a straight blade and edge for borders
and tight spaces. Remember to wear a hat and gloves and protect your skin with sunscreen
during long hours in the sun. Step 2. Use a garden spade to dig soil and to cut through
stubborn roots and clay. Unlike a shovel, a spade has a pointed head ideal for cleaving.
Step 3. Break up soil around plants and loosen weeds with a draw hoe, which is angled to
pull toward yourself when preparing soil for planting. A straight hoe is designed to slide
beneath weeds and to chop up turf or difficult clumps. Step 4. Smash dirt clods with a pitchfork
or spading fork. Use forks to scrape garden debris into piles without having to bend over.
Step 5. Pick and dig through hard ground, cut through weeds with deep taproots, and
make planting trenches with a pick or cutter mattock. Step 6. Dig holes for planting seeds
or bulbs with a hand trowel, and use a hand cultivator to break up soil and weeds around
plants. Use bright-handled hand tools so that they can be spotted easily in the garden.
Step 7. Clip shrub and tree growth with bypass or anvil pruners. Use hand shears or electric
shears for topiary, and loppers to cut through thicker branches. Use pruners and loppers
with blades that can be locked when not in use. Step 8. Use a draw rake for debris like
sticks and stones and to level dirt. Remove thatch or moss with a spring-tined rake, and
remove loose matter with a leaf rake, which will also distribute topdressing and work
it into the sward. Step 9. Use a gas or electric tiller to turn soil and to mix fertilizer
into it before planting. At the end of the season, till organic plant remains back in.
Exercise your green thumb by using the right tool for the job. Did you know Scientists
estimate there are around 400,000 species of land plants.