The 10 Small Gardening Tools I Use All the Time   

One of the challenges I’ve found with getting started with small gardening tools for houseplants in growing food is that many decisions need to get made. I like tools, and I want to spend my tool money smartly, and so I’ve put a lot of time into selecting tools that I think have a good cost/benefit balance. And now that I’ve had a few years to try them, I thought might like to know which tools I use *all the time* and why.

small gardening tools for houseplants



1.    Home Depot Nitrile-Dipped Gloves ($1)

Let’s face it: the soil will suck all of the moisture out of your hands if you give it a chance. I long ago got over the “tough guy” thing of not wearing gloves. Why put up with dry, cracked skin? I wear these gloves religiously, and they are cheap enough that I can have pairs lying small gardening tools for houseplants around all over the place. Lowe’s has the same gloves in blue if you prefer them over orange.

2.    Dramm One Touch Fan Nozzle

This is Dramm’s latest fan nozzle, and it’s a sturdy one. It can be readily cleaned out and has a metal base. The key point is that it delivers a gentle, steady stream of rain-like water to minimize soil compaction. I love it.

3.    Daiso Pruning Sheers ($2)

The good old $1.50 store has cheap garden pruning shears that work great. They are affordable enough that I can have a pair in several different places. They are great for simple pruning, and for cutting slugs. I have the Very Fancy pruners too, which are much stronger but are also much heavier. 95% of the time my Daiso pruners are good enough.

4.    Harbor Freight Headlamp ($5)

The oppressive heat of mid-day is no time to be outside! But sometimes I’m not able to get to the garden in that sweet 4pm to sundown window, and so I end up out there at night. And it’s beautiful! It’s cool, I see different insects, and the slugs and snails come out of hiding where I can find them. A good LED headlamp is all I need to be productive at night. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I swear it takes me a third of the energy to work at night than it does in the heat of mid-day.

5.    Spear and Jackson Hand fork ($15)

A great tool for loosening soil just before transplanting, and for easing seedlings out of flats. It’s shaped just right and feels sturdy.

6.    Bountiful GardensWidger ($6)

A great tool for plucking seedlings out of flats, for placing seeds, and for precision plucking of weeds.  Yes, you could just use an old metal butter knife, but I love the feel and curves on this.

7.    Bountiful Gardens Transplanting Trowel ($9)

I’ve tried a variety of tools for transplanting, and this is the one that I keep coming back to. At a glance it isn’t an obvious winner: it looks on the short and chubby side. However, I’ve found that it moves just the right amount of soil and that its stoutness gives it the strength to hold up where other tools bend.

8.    Hori-hori ($10-$25)

This is a Japanese garden knife with a serrated edge. It is generally useful for a range of garden tasks, from digging holes to cutting twine, to chopping slugs! I bought mine in Japan, but they can be had from a variety of US suppliers. I even saw something just like this at Home Depot once labeled as a “duct knife.”

9. Sharpie Industrial Permanent Markers

The sun really does seem to wear away most inks, some shockingly quickly. Pair that with forgetting what you put where, and your garden can become a jungle. After having more small gardening tools for houseplants' expensive “garden pen” go dry after a season, I’m trying out this product from Sharpie. Although it doesn’t write on very wet surfaces, the ink does seem to stay. Also, the product seems to lack some of the scary ingredients that some permanent inks have.

10. Headcase Multi-Purpose Headwear ($10)

When I’m out working during the day, the sun can really be a factor. I find this multi-use loop bandana is great for keeping the sun off of my neck. Also, I can dunk it in water to cool me down. I found one on eBay at a discount.