Amazon has plenty of gardening tools — here are the ones worth buying
Tools like multifunctional shovels, thickly padded kneelers and ergonomic water wands can help to reduce physical strain.
Flexzilla Garden Hose
$69.00
$109.99
Roche’s family has operated The Farm since 1974, and through the years she has seen traditional gadgets evolve to be more adjustable, multifunctional, lighter in weight and more durable and ergonomic — all of which aim to help you and your garden stay healthy and strong. We asked Roche what to look for when shopping for essential gardening tools and rounded up a list of highly rated options on Amazon based on the following factors:
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All of our picks are highly rated for durability, strength and comfort. Some come recommended by NBC Select editors with gardening experience, and others were chosen based on Roche’s expert guidance.
The most important gardening tool is your gloves, according to Roche. “Gloves make for a more pleasant experience and protect your hands from blisters, rashes, cuts and bites.” She recommends a washable glove that has a long sleeve to keep your forearm safe when cutting things like roses and evergreens. These elbow-length pruning gloves are breathable and made of 100% natural pigskin, with extra padding on the palm and fingertips to avoid punctures, according to the brand. Plus, they are also machine washable.
A bypass pruner has two blades that glide past each other to cut soft branches and leaves cleanly. Roche recommends looking for rust-resistant shears that have a coated, comfortable grip. The Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears are made of steel, so they won’t rust easily, and can cut through stems and small branches up to 5/8 inch thick, according to the brand. The blades are also coated so sap won’t stick to them, according to Fiskars.
Garden tools with a multipurpose design are always a plus, says Roche. This hand trowel turns over soil and has a dual-sided serrated edge to cut through hard patches, rocky clay and tough roots. It has a 12-inch blade made of carbon steel, so it won’t break or bend while digging, according to the brand. Its nonslip rubber handle is also oversized for comfort, and it comes with a carrying sheath that you can clip onto your belt, as detailed on the brand’s website.
This digging shovel is a multipurpose tool like the hand trowel above. Its inverted V-shaped blade makes digging through hard-packed rocky soil easy, while the serrated edges tear through tough roots. Its ergonomic circular handle is designed to reduce stress on your hands and wrist too, according to the brand. The carbon-steel, shock-, scratch- and impact-resistant blade is powder coated to protect it from corrosion, according to Radius Garden. Plus, it also comes with a lifetime warranty in the continental U.S.
Spades have a flat edge and are ideal for creating border edges or transporting soil, says Roche, who recommends one with a long shaft so you can dig deep without straining your back. At less than 5 pounds, the Fiskars Garden Spade is quite lightweight. It has a weather- and corrosion-resistant steel blade and shaft that can accommodate even tall gardeners. An extra-large handle offers two-handed control when digging, and it has a foot platform so you can step on it to help force the blade into hard-packed soil, according to the brand.
This bamboo weeder has a 45-inch shaft so gardeners can pull weeds without bending, kneeling and pulling with their hands. It works by thrusting the metal claw into the center of a weed and pulling. You can use it on most softer soil types, especially after a rainfall, according to the brand.
A hand rake is ideal for tight spaces and for removing debris and leaves from delicate plants, says Roche. You can also use it to cultivate, turn and loosen soil when preparing to plant flowers and vegetables. This Garden Guru rake weighs less than a pound and has stainless-steel prongs that gently remove sticks, leaves and other debris from around plants without damaging them. Its ergonomic handle is designed to alleviate pressure on the palm and fingers and reduce hand and wrist fatigue, according to the brand. It also has a hole on the handle so you can hang it up when not in use.
“Nothing is more frustrating than carrying around a heavy hose that always kinks when you’re trying to water,” says Roche, adding that the ideal weight for any standard hose is under 15 pounds. This 100-foot hose — the longest in the Flexzilla lineup — is 14.4 pounds and featured in our guide to the best garden hoses. It won’t kink under pressure, coils easily and lays flat, according to the brand. Its outer cover is abrasion-resistant while its aluminum fittings are crush-resistant, according to Flexzilla.
If you don’t have a sprinkler system, or just want to place your watering needs on autopilot, a timer can be your best friend. This single-dial, battery-powered timer has an easy-to-read oversized display and attaches directly onto your hose. Screw one end of your hose to your faucet and the other end to a sprinkler and set your desired runtime. It can run up to four hours at a time and you can program it to go off starting every six hours to once every seven days. It also has a manual turnoff button so you can use your hose without removing the timer.
Like a garden nozzle, a watering wand also has adjustable pressure settings which you can use to water your lawn, shrubs and flowers. This wand, available in both 16 and 24 inches, is made of lightweight aluminum, and can reach high overhead hanging baskets and window boxes. It has generous holes and curves to mimic a shower head and has a clip that keeps the nozzle open so you can spray continuously without tiring your hand.
Kneeling pads are great for taking pressure off the body when gardening, says Roche. You can kneel on this multifunctional model directly or use it as a garden seat. It comes with a tool pouch that attaches to the chair so you can have your must-have items right by your side when needed. The cushion is made of foam, and because the kneeler seat weighs just 5.7 pounds, it’s not too difficult to carry around the yard.
If you have a vegetable garden, this basket makes it easy to collect your harvest and clean it. One side is a colander for washing your produce (it has drain holes so the water can fall through); the other is for your clean tools or just-cleaned produce to sit or soak.
NBC Select SEO editor Nikki Brown uses these stakes to prop up her tomato vines every summer and reused about half since purchasing them years ago. They give her “more freedom than the circular plastic stakes you see in a lot of home improvement stores,” and because they break easily, she uses them to support shorter plants as well. The stakes are made from natural bamboo and range in diameter from 13 to 17 mm, according to the brand.
When she needs to carry seedling pots from her apartment to her backyard, Brown uses these growing trays from Mr. Pen. She says they make staying organized easier — “I throw seed packets in them too when I’m in a rush and want to at least get everything into one contained pile,” she says. These trays come in a pack of five and can be used for germinating seeds or growing sprouts, according to the brand.
Brown has two of these heavy-duty raised garden beds in her yard, and says they’re lightweight and easy to assemble. They’re made from anti-corrosion metal, which Brown says has held up “beautifully” through multiple growing seasons. She also likes that the thin ridges are ideal for attaching pest-proof netting for protecting her crops.
As Brown’s gardening skills have grown over the years, so has the type of starter pots she uses. This kit comes with 40 pots and 10 plant labels to help you cultivate your seeds indoors before moving them to your garden. Since these pots are on the bigger side, she likes that she can wait longer to transplant her seedlings without feeling too rushed. She also likes that they’re biodegradable, so she doesn’t have to “disturb any roots” when moving them outside.
Brown hasn’t stopped using these gardening gloves since receiving them as a gift from her landlord a few years ago. “They’re snug and not too thick so I can still feel the soil and plants I’m working with,” she says. She likes that the anti-slip dots make gripping things easier. These gloves are also machine washable but she recommends air-drying them to keep the grippy dots intact longer.
This potting scoop has a serrated tip design that allows you to break through hard clumps of soil and tangled roots while clearing your garden bed, according to the brand. It has tall sides to help reduce soil spillage while you scoop, and an ergonomic, coated handle for a comfortable grip. The scoop also includes a lifetime guarantee that covers any potential defects, according to the brand.
This kit has everything a beginner needs to feel confident as they start gardening. It includes nine pieces in total, including five stainless steel tools like pruning shears, a weeder, a cultivator and more, a spray bottle, a pair of garden gloves and a storage bag, according to the brand. The tools are durable and rust resistant because of their stainless steel finish, and are also made with non-slip wooden handles.
Garden ties can be used to help stake plants, support flowers and more, which is why it’s important that they be secure and durable. Luckily, this option from Velcro is both — they’re made from a strong, recycled plastic that has a soft side to keep your plants from being damaged, according to the brand. The soft side also makes the ties easier to readjust without fully cutting them off, and are designed to give full security with only one wrap.
Brown loves this plant stand, which is the perfect place to store and grow seedlings before moving them into an outdoor bed. Its full-spectrum grow lights are designed to mimic sunlight, and each shelf has a mat to prevent water from dripping between each one or onto the lights, according to the brand. You can also set a timer using one of three cycles — either three hours, six hours, or 12 hours.
Gardening is hard work, so a water bottle should be an essential in every gardener’s toolkit. Brown suggests this bottle from Bkr, which has a compact size that makes it easy to carry around. It’s made from non-toxic, BPA-free glass, and comes with a soft, silicone sleeve that’s both stylish and great for keeping a comfortable grip. “I’ve had this bottle for almost a decade and it’s still my favorite one. The glass has some weight to it, so on windy days, I don’t have to worry about it flying away,” she says.
When planning a garden for the first time, Roche says the following five considerations are key:
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
Barbara Booth has written a number of guides on bestselling and highly rated products you can buy on Amazon that simplify your life, including the best organizational products for your home, best car accessories and the best travel accessories. Ashley Morris is an associate SEO reporter at NBC Select, who has written about weeding tools, pet-safe plants and more.
For this piece, Booth interviewed a gardening expert and researched dozens of top-rated essential tools on Amazon that align with expert guidance. Morris also researched top-rated tools and contributed editor recommendations to this list.
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