For every job that needs to be done in our lawns or gardens, there is some type of gardening equipment. Some garden tools are hand tools, requiring more effort on the part of the user. Some tools are powered by electricity, either from the home or by battery. Yet other types of garden equipment are powered by gasoline or solar power.

The basic garden tools used today are not much different from the first tools humans used for growing crops. Shovels, hoes and various pronged forks have all been in use for thousands of years. Early tools were made of wood. In some Asian countries, teak wood tools are still used for gardens and cultivation of rice. Now tools for the garden are made from space age materials that are sharper, lighter yet stronger than ever before.

Garden Tools guide

Today there are hand tools for almost every conceivable job. At the same time, each hand tool has a comparable powered tool capable of making work in the lawn or garden easier than ever before. The first popular garden tool had to be the gasoline powered lawn mower.

There are tools for serious gardening of food, trimming, irrigating and even aerating, which is returning oxygen to the soil to assist in decomposition of dead plant material. There is gardening equipment for blowing or sweeping leaves in the fall. There are even hydraulically powered garden tools to split wood for cooking or camping.

More and more garden tools are now powered by electricity. For those concerned about the environment, it is exciting to see improved battery technology. Modern lightweight batteries are allowing greater varieties of garden equipment to be solar powered.

Even though powered gardening equipment makes work in the garden easier, many people still prefer hand tools. They feel gardening is more exercise with hand tools. Tools that have no carbon footprint allow the everyday gardener to feel they are contributing something tangible to reduce their own carbon footprint.

An interesting phenomenon is the collection of antique garden tools. Any tool in use before World War 2 is now considered an antique. This is in line with the 75 year deciding line for antique furniture. Some museums, such as the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. have complete sections on the history of homes in America. Portions of those exhibitions include every type of hand tool imaginable.

Some homeowners bemoan the quality of modern gardening equipment. What they may not realize is that except for power tools, top quality hand type gardening equipment does not sell well. There is a simple reason for this fact. Hand tools are too easy to become lost, borrowed or stolen. Most homeowners do not expect a hand tool to last more than one or two growing seasons. They are, therefore, reluctant to spend top dollar for a hand tool.

At the same time, there is a growing movement in some cities called the neigh-borrow network. Neigh-borrow are a group of like minded citizens sharing quality gardening equipment with other people in the group.