Mother’s Day saw me gardening in the bright Southern California sunshine, my expectations raised for a delicious summer of strolling out to the back yard to pick vegetables for that night’s dinner.
That’s the goal, but it’s also getting ahead of the game. First I had to fill my weed bucket with gnarly overgrown nonsense, get my nails gritty, my knees caked in dirt and my forearms scratched from plants I should have removed last fall but didn’t. Ah, the joys of the soil!
Luckily, my friends at OXO sent a box full of gardening implements to encourage me to get out there and muck around, and to urge you to do so as well.
First things first: My mom had pointed to a vacant pot on her balcony and asked me to fill it with succulents for her. Aye aye, captain!
Luckily, I had been keeping a starter area of little succulents. They were ready.
This was easy! This plants should grow in nicely, and won’t take much water (a big plus in dry So Cal). I love how the big purple one dominates, and the smaller ones below offer color and texture contrast. Come back and see this pot in 6 months.
Next up was clearing some weeds from around my kumquat tree. This area used to be planted with strawberries.
My favorite tool for this is the cultivator, which has three prongs. You dig it in, and it loosens the dirt enough to allow you to hand pull the weed AND its roots. If you simply pull the green part of the weed off, the roots are still in the soil and the plant will regrow, stronger than ever. No bueno, as we say here.
Once the area was clear, the new strawberry plants went in. I used the trowel to dig the perfect sized hole. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like walking out to the yard and picking a few choice ripe strawberries to pop into your mouth. I have to get them before the squirrels do, though. 😉
The trowel also made quick work of planting my three new colored bell pepper plants — get ready for purple, red and yellow in some recipes this summer!
Next up was a little raking, with the cutest and most practical hand rake I ever used. Flip a switch on the handle, which extends the shaft, and the tines spread out. You can adjust it to service the width of the area you are working in. This, above, my friends, is a tangle of kale leaves. I let that kale plant get really out of control this year! Where has this rake been all my life?
Finally I did a little pruning, using a bypass pruner. Every gardener needs one of these, whether it is for snipping errant branches…
…or cutting a flower stalk to bring inside to a vase. The pruner needs to be sharp, fit your hand well, be comfortable and most of all, when you squeeze it, it needs to have lots of power to cut through a branch. This one does.
If you’d like to spruce up your garden and need some handy, practical, comfortable tools to help you along, I recommend these:
Outdoor Gardening with OXO
|
Plow
|
Hand Rake
|
Outdoor Pour and Store Watering Can
|
Cultivator
|
Bypass Pruners
|
Disclosure: OXO sent the garden tools for review.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
This is so useful! And aaw, look at that cute little rake. 🙂
So jealous that a) you can have a beautiful garden like that – I’m in NYC and space is somewhat limited 😉 and b) that you can have strawberries whenever you like!!
Alyssa,
Thank you! Strawberries are pretty darn special. I am jealous that you live in the most vibrant city in the world!
I loved seeing how you used your new tools! I have never gardened before but have always wanted, too. I think it’s so cool that you have a kumquat tree by the way!
Ashlyn,
In So Calif., we take many things for granted (like the ability to have a kumquat tree in the back yard). I encourage you to garden in whatever way you can…in a pot on the balcony, borrowing your neighbor’s unused side yard…whatever works. It is so gratifying.
I just got my garden in right before the tropical storm hit us. I’ll be doing a bit of clean up work this week for sure!
I love this time of year because of I love to plant new things. Now I need some new tools!
Jaren,
A new trowel is like a new pan…it inspires!
Oooh! I’ve been wanting to start gardening to grow my own herbs! Those tools look so helpful too!
Michelle,
This is the year. Do it! Herbs are a high-impact thing to grow…they make such a difference in your cooking.
This post is great and perfect for me. I don’t have much of a green thumb but my husband does and he has been doing all the planting of vegetables, herbs and flowers. I’ve told him that this is the year for me to help him out so I’m happy to have this post with all the information handy to refer to. Thank you.
Joanie,
Maybe once you muck around a bit, your thumb will green right up!
I can’t wait to get my garden in! Those look like some super handy tools!
Ashley,
They are great tools, and one of the hallmarks of OXO tools, whether for the kitchen or garden or bathroom, is that they fit in your hand and are comfortable to use. I like that.
I really wanted to get my vegetable garden going this year, but with all the other renovations, I may have to postpone it a year. I am excited to see the produce you have by the end of the summer!
Kacey,
I hear you. One big job at a time!
what great tools! we are just about ready to begin our planting for the year, we have had some great warm days…
Kristina,
I have gone through a lot of pruners in all my gardening years, and this is one of the best! Also, that little rake turned out to be so handy. It fits in small and narrow spaces.
I do a lot of herb gardening in containers. My knees don’t like me going to ground to dig out all that stuff. My husband takes care of that part. LOL But still, nice tools!
Sue,
Yep, containers can cure a lot of ills, eh?
aww such sweet little succulents! what a glorious garden! i am jealous. we are only starting to be able to grow some of the real sun-loving crops up here in oregon!
Anna,
Well, you might be jealous of my sunshine, and I shall be jealous of YOUR RAIN!
I got my garden going this week too. Sadly, because of the drought, I’m only going to do herbs this year. GREG
Greg,
I am only planting things that can be eaten. No ornamentals of any kind. That succulent pot for my mom was it!
I’m cutting back a bit on my garden this Spring and Summer due to the drought – but I refuse to give it up entirely. Your post makes me eager to play in the dirt!
Liz,
The drought is cramping my style. That sounds glib, and I don’t mean to imply I don’t understand just how serious it is. But I need to grow some vegetables! I am only only only planting things I can eat. And I will go without a shower so I can water my tomatoes. Deal?