Start a Community Garden

Tools for the Community Garden

The following tools are useful in setting up and maintaining your community garden. Depending on how many are working on the garden at a time, you'll need multiples of some of the tools.

• A garden shed for storing tools and keeping them safe
• Tape measure (100' tape measure is preferable, but 50' will work)
• String to outline the garden beds
• 3 dozen 1' to 2' wooden stakes to hold the strings - available at hardware stores
• Scissors to cut the string
• Wheelbarrows: To carry soil, cement blocks and other items. Construction grade or sturdy large wheelbarrows are preferred. Dollies can also be used to move blocks.
• Shovels: used to shovel soil into the wheelbarrows and to level the ground for the beds if it is uneven. Tools that can shave clay off the surface (such as a sod cutter) can be useful as well.
• Sturdy rakes: once the soil is dumped from the wheelbarrows into the beds, rakes will be used to move the soil in the beds until the soil is level and up to the top of the concrete blocks.
• A garden fork (sturdier tines than a pitchfork) is handy to break up compacted soil.
• Hand clippers - they make it easier to harvest tomatoes, peppers, okra and to cut down spent plants, leaving the root system in the ground to add to the soil. Felco is one brand name that makes long-lasting hand clippers. Many people use scissors to cut lettuce.
• Pruning shears, loppers and saws are great for pruning fruit trees. You will need two squeeze/spray bottles to hold diluted bleach and water to sterilize pruning blades. You will also need some light-weight machine oil for shears. Stakes, trellises, and cages are needed to keep some plants off the ground. Plastic or galvanized metal is most durable and sturdy. Aluminum electric fence wire works well to hold up light weight plants that must be frequently retied over the years. You'll also need florist tape or string to tie the plants to the stakes. Sledge or hammer to pound in the plant supports
• A 1.5 to 2 gallon pump sprayer - this will be used to spray liquid fertilizer (fish emulsion, Maxicrop, etc.) on a regular basis to strengthen the health of the garden plants.
• Plastic measuring cups - these are used to measure the amount of fertilizer to apply to the garden. 8 oz tin cans can also be used.
• It is best not to use pesticides or herbicides. If you spray, you will need to use heavy rubber gloves (Bunch & Co.), some sort of goggles and a pump sprayer, and buy a proper respirator and rubber suit for toxics.
• Garden hoses - the hose must be long enough to easily reach all garden beds. If they won't be stolen, 100% latex hoses (such as Sears Craftsman) are best. If you need more than 50 ft, consider putting in additional water taps.
• Hose spray nozzle - use the kind where the nozzle can be turned on and off and that provides a wide spray area. A plastic fan nozzle sells for about $5. Garden gloves, sun hats, sunscreen - individuals can bring their own
• If tilling is needed, a Mantis power tiller might be useful if you have a lot to cultivate or tight soil. The Mantis is lightweight, effective and easy to control. A tiller is not needed if you are buying good soil and using raised beds. Soil tilling will not need to be repeated if you mulch, start with good soil, and do not compact the soil by standing in the beds.

The best tools can be found at stores such as Southwest Fertilizer, Beacon Supply, Sears, Teas, some feed stores and many hardware stores. Beware of cheap tools that lose their edges quickly or break - you may end up spending more in the long run in replacing these.