#garden tools

Hand shovels. I actually have three currently. My original one that is a bit chipped now but still digs through clay like it's sand, and these two. These are some of the best hand shovels I've even had. All metal construction and one solid piece so there is less parts to break (our soil is very clay heavy and full of rocks, so I've broken fancy expensive shovels with wooden or separately attached handles quite often). As you can see on it black one, the coating is peeling off but it's still perfectly usable and unless I lose it will keep going probably long after me.

Scythe style cutter. Behold. My original from ten years ago that spent two years lost behind a pile of debris. It's wooden handle is stained, rough, and crusted with mineral growth in places but is still strong enough to use. The blade could do with a rust treatment, but it's still sharp enough to cut down weeds and grass with little effort (and bruise my ankle through my boots when I miss a swing). I did buy a replacement for it last year that I haven't used yet that's serrated (I'm a bit scared to try it honestly). It's also good for pulling long stems closer so I can is clippers on them.

Bladed digger. Good for cutting roots and weeding at ground level. Very sharp.

Tiny rake. I just bought this one recently to use when adding fertilizer to the vegetable beds. With granulated fertilizers, it's best to mix them into the dirt. I usually use my hands, but this is going to be easier and faster. This particular one came in two colors (pink and blue); I bought the pink one because the store I was at had mostly pink and I figured it would be easier to find in my very crowded gardening box. It's metal with a plastic handle held in place with a screw, so I'm pretty sure if I ever needed to I could replace the handle.

Flexible thin poles and shade netting. There are six poles in a package and they're thin enough that you can bend them by hand. While they can't hold a ton of weight, they're good for training stems or making a structure to hold up netting. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the other package of netting that I bought, but this one is going into the yard soon to cover one last vegetable tower planter. It's easy to water through the netting too, which is a plus.

Pot hole covers. They also sell flat versions, but these are great for providing drainage without soil loss, especially for succulents and cacti. These can also be used for hydroponic style gardening, but I haven't tried that yet.

Round plant support pole. Haven't gotten to use these yet, but I've seen much more expensive ones being used for years and since I have a lot of bulbs that get unruly in the spring, I decided to try this. I'm also going to try using one to provide a support for the netting going in next week.

Keep in mind that all Daisos are random in what they actually carry. Some of the ones closest to us are not that great but some are very similar to how they are in Japan. And with a few exceptions, everything I've bought there has held up for years which is nice for cheap options. Their garden supplies tend to be better earlier in the year and will vary greatly by store (none of the stores I've been to recently have had the same items).

In another post I'll talk about Daiso pots and tools from garden centers. Let me know if there is anything in particular of interest or if you want to be tagged in the post.