{Our Favourite Gardening Tools}

What are our favourite tools here on the farm? The ones we wouldn’t want to garden without? We are often asked this question and are happy to share our answers here with you. Even better, though, we went one step further and asked a number of our local farmer friends for their answers to give you even more feedback and recommended items below!

Gardening can be rewarding and relentless, especially when done on a larger scale and organically, as we do here. Thankfully, some creative people have invented handy implements to help with tiresome tasks.

Our favourite tools:

#1 – Wheel Hoe

This is hands down our number one favourite! This handy push contraption does an outstanding job tilling aisles between rows, keeping those garden beds weeded and cultivated. The one-wheel hoe is a century-old, classic garden tool that has stood the test of time and comes right out on top for us. The newer two-wheel hoe is equally fantastic (we use both in our garden) and comes with a variety of attachment options—one of which made the list below! (We got ours HERE and HERE.)

#2 – Wire Hoe

This simple wire weeder (pictured below) makes it easy to uproot weeds when small with minimal disturbance to the soil. We love how easy, efficient, and low fatigue it is to go for a nice walk through rows trailing the thin wire through the dirt. Great for tackling weeds pre-emptively, before they have a chance to grow and become established, making them easier to keep on top of. (We got ours HERE)

Judah with the Wire hoe(left); Two-Wheel Hoe with Finger Weeder attachment (right).

#3 – Finger Weeders

This miracle attachment affixes to the Terrateck two-wheel hoe for precise in-row weeding. The finger-shaped wheels interlock as you move along, removing the weeds right in the row as you walk forward. This one is worth the investment in our books, especially considering all the time and labour costs you save! (We got ours HERE)

#4 – Hand Loop Weeder

When it comes to hand weeding, this is our favourite sidekick. It’s one of those tools we own a bulk supply of now so that everybody has one when we get down on our hands and knees and go along rows. It’s incredible how much easier it makes weeding, especially in congested garden beds. We honestly don’t know how we ever did without it! (We get ours HERE)

Denis and the kids using the Hand Loop Weeders.

Okay, we’ve shared our top four! Here is what some other local market garden farmers had to say about their faves…

What Other Local Farmers are loving:

Fifth Gen Gardens: Stirrup Hoe + Gorilla Garden Cart

“I was looking for a picture of my stirrup hoe and can’t find one! It’s definitely my favourite weeding tool in the garden. I also highly recommend my gorilla garden cart. It’s heavy duty, turns on a dime and also has a dump option so it’s great for compost piles! I got mine at Costco a couple years ago.” (Wetaskiwin, AB)

Lil Ryley Farms: Earthway Seeder

“My absolute must have tool is our Earthway Seeders. I could not imagine seeding all the veggies we do without it. We have modified our seeders so that instead of walking behind it like we used to, we have put 4 together on a belly mount bar under our tractor. We really like how consistent the seeding is without having to drop extensive amount of money for a vacuum seeder. You can pick up Earthways at Peavey Mart and often can find them on buy and sell pages.”  (Bawlf, AB)

Bretona Farm Co.: Earthway Wheel Hoe with the Stirrup Attachment

“The first one that popped into my head is my Earthway wheel hoe (technically called a high wheel cultivator) with the stirrup hoe attachment. Its great for slicing weeds right below the surface of the soil as you walk along. I ordered it through Vessey’s Seeds 5 or 6 years ago. I also love those Garden Bandit hand weeding tools, with the little loop that slices weeds and you can get right in close to your veggie seedlings. They’re fun for the kids to use too! They are available at most garden centres / hardware stores!”  (Sherwood Park, AB)

Sundog Organic Farm: Wheel Hoe

“Our tool of choice is probably the wheel hoe. We use it so much. It will be interesting to see how it plays itself out this year as we move to raised beds and no-till!” (Gibbons, AB)

Stonepost Farm: Broadfork

“Anyone done the broadfork yet? We got ours from Johnny Seeds – the hardpan tine shape and had it shipped.” (Wildwood, AB)

Steel Pony Farm: Terrateck Two Wheel Hoe

“Last year I got a Terrateck two-wheel hoe from Dubois, you can put a bunch of different attachments on it. You can weed carrots that have just been germinated, or switch to a different attachment for bigger ones. It’s so sweet because it does both sides of the row at the same time, and it really really saved us labour. I have a couple other wheel hoes but they are just single-wheel hoes, and this one made such a big difference.”  (Red Deer, AB)

Here’s hoping this list helps you find greater success in your own gardening or farming endeavours! We sure do value our awesome community of farmers here in Alberta and how happy they were to share their best tools for growing good food. (Click their images above to check out each of their Instagram profiles.)