Garden Hoes
Better garden hoes have socket construction in which a one-piece blade, shank and socket are driven onto the handle, providing greater strength. Promotional hoes have the shank welded to the head and driven onto a ferruled handle.
Depending upon their use, handles will be straight or shaped to provide a combination of strength, light weight, resiliency and comfortable grip.
Width, depth and shape of blade indicate the tool's main use. For example, a garden hoe usually has a 6" blade for soil preparation, while a weeding hoe will have a 1 3/4" pointed blade to lift out weeds.
Draw hoes are tools that are pulled toward the user to accomplish a variety of tasks including weeding, soil cultivation, digging and making furrows.
Push hoes or scuffle hoes are pushed, rather than pulled and allow the blade to slide just below the surface to cut weeds. The handle is attached to the rear of the blade at a shallow angle. This kind of hoe works best on young weeds.
Oscillating hoes cut with both edges of their sharp, steel blades, so they work with either push or pull motions. The blade shifts back and forth to keep the angle right in either direction.
Other, more unusual hoes are available, including the multi-hoe, which combines a flat, pointed triangular blade with a curved, scooped blade. Beyond all-purpose garden hoes, your customers' needs will dictate additional specialized hoes to stock.
Hand Trowels
For loosening dirt in a garden, get a general purpose garden trowel, blade width usually 3 1/4" to 3 1/2"; for transplanting, get a slimmer 2" bladed trowel.
Better quality trowels have high carbon steel blades and comfortably shaped handle, either hardened ash or rubber or vinyl gripped.
Aerators
Garden aerators cut through hard soil, to loosen and break up the dirt several inches below the surface.
With their spiked discs and long handle, aerators are no substitute for a spade when heavy work is necessary. They do, however, offer a relatively easy way to loosen soil around plants.
Garden Cultivators
Long (4')- or short (12")-handled garden cultivators break up clods left by spading or aerating, with three or four sharp, curved tines. For heavier work, a rotary cultivator with sharp spurs cuts through most soils.
Quality construction features include hot-rolling instead of welding, tines formed from steel rods rather than stamped from sheet metal, solid attachment of head to handle and well-shaped grip.
Collapsible steel handles are available on some units. These save storage space.
Several models now offer such attachments as a single row garden seeder and a snow plow blade.
Bulb Planters
To plant or transplant flower bulbs, corms or small plants, a bulb planter is twisted back and forth as it is pushed into the ground. When desired depth is reached (shown by inch marking on tool), tool is removed from soil, bringing with it a core of earth.
Garden Seeders
The conventional garden seeder has two wheels and a furrowing shoe connected to a seed-delivering mechanism.
Some are made of structural steel tube and plastic; others of aluminum strapping, steel and plastic. The structural steel unit has a furrowing shoe with side flanges that push the dirt over the open seed furrow and a concave rear wheel that builds a protective mound over the seed. The aluminum strap unit's furrowing shoe has a chain that drags the dirt over the seed.
A pogo stick type seeder has a seed reservoir. The seeds are released into the ground by pushing the unit onto the ground. The unit has two spring loaded flanges which thrust themselves into the ground, opening a hole. The unit then releases a seed or two and springs back out of the ground.
Dandelion Diggers
With a sharp notched blade, diggers lift out dandelions, root and all. Long-handled diggers enable the user to remove dandelions without stooping while short-handled diggers make it easier to pick up dandelions as they are cut. |
National Retail Hardware Association