How to Choose the Right Garden Cultivator

How to Choose the Right Garden Cultivator

You’ll need the right garden cultivator to keep your plants growing, and choosing a good one is half the battle.  The first thing you should do is figure out what kind of garden cultivator works the best for the type of work you need to do.

For especially hard soil, the kind of garden cultivator you’ll need is an aerator.  These are gas or electric powered, and they turn the soil to loosen it and get some air underneath the top layer.  Aerators work well to loosen the soil before planting or stir the soil around plants to let some air underneath.

A standard garden cultivator is a pronged tool that usually has either a four-inch or 12-inch handle.  You can use this tool to break up larger clods of dirt left behind after you aerated the soil.  A handheld garden cultivator is also helpful for getting in between plants if you don’t have room to use a larger tool to turn the soil.

You also may need a rotary cultivator if you live in an area where the soil is especially hard.  Rotary cultivators are larger and often come with collapsible handles to save space in your storage shed.  Some rotary cultivators come with attachments like a single row garden seeder.  Look at what kinds of attachments come with the model you’re considering purchasing and decide which attachments will fit your needs and part of the world best.  For example, if you live in a place where it never snows or you never work in the snow, then you won’t need the snow plow blade that comes with some rotary cultivators.

A hoe is the perfect utility tool, and all gardeners should have one or two.  Look for a hoe with a one-piece blade that’s attached to the handle by a socket.  Hoes with sockets will last longer than those that are welded together.  Use a hoe with a six-inch blade to prepare the soil in your garden for planting.  You’ll only need a 1 and ¾ inch blade if you need to weed a garden that’s already been planted.

You’ll need a hand trowel to perform finer tasks in your garden.  This type of garden cultivator is useful for loosening dirt or transplanting.  Look for a hand trowel with a high carbon steel blade and select the one that fits your hand the best.  If you need to transplant some of your plants, you’ll find a two-inch hand trowel to be helpful, but you’ll need a 3 and a half inch blade for loosening dirt.

Some other garden cultivators include seeders and planters.  These tools can help you plant your bulbs and seeds faster and more efficiently.  Most garden seeders look like a container with two wheels.  You fill up the container and roll it along the garden.  The seeder then spreads the seeds out as you go along.  Bulb planters can be used to plant and transplant bulbs.  Just wiggle it into the ground and pull out a clump of dirt to make space for your bulb.

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