What New Homeowners Need
So you’ve bought your first house, and you’re moving in. You glance over at the lawn, and you notice that it needs mowing. You look over it that flower bed that was so pretty when you made your offer, and you see some pretty impressive weeds growing. Suddenly it hits you. After years of letting the landlord worry about the landscape, you’re now the landlord.
Hopefully you haven’t spent all your cash on the down payment, or at the very least, you still have some room left on your credit cards. Unless you’re only buying a snow shovel because there’s a foot of snow out there, you’re going to need some equipment.
The Lawn Mower
The most expensive purchase on that “must-have” list is going to be a lawn mower. Don’t skimp here. A good lawn mower is an investment. A cheap lawn mower will cost you more in the long run. If you’re really short on cash, get a manual “reel” mower.
I would recommend that you get a brand name, high horsepower, wide cutting, powered walk-behind mower. (I’m assuming that since this is your first house you didn’t get a lawn big enough for a riding mower.) A 21 or 22-inch deck, and a minimum 6hp engine are features you’re looking for. There are hundreds of choices, too. Some have front wheels that turn; others have extra-large rear wheels to make turning easier. Consider these features instead of the power walk-behind if you have lots of small areas with many corners. Look at the weigh of the mower if you have any slops.
Some people may recommend an electric mower because it pollutes less. Well, the electricity to run that mower came from a power plant someplace, and it probably wasn’t a solar or wind powered plant. Don’t feel guilty about running a gas mower once a week. It’s no big deal. Pulling out that 100’ extension cord, and making sure you don’t mow over it will be a big deal. Also, most electric mowers have plastic decks that don’t hold up as well. They generally have less horsepower, and thus a narrower deck is needed if you’re going to mulch, and mulching is good whether you’re an environmentalist, or just plain cheap. (We’ll discuss that in another article.) So focus on the gas mowers and their features.
The Edger
While we’re talking about power tools and the lawn, lets talk edging. It’ll be tempting to skip getting an edger at first, but you’ll be setting yourself up for a lot of work down the road if you let that edge get out of control. Trust me on this one. I have personal experience trying to re-establish a wild edge where the lawn sent out runners up to a foot and a half into a bed of roses.
For the edger, I recommend an electric edger. Yes, you do have that 100’ extension cord to drag out, but when edging, you move much too slowly, and in a single straight line, as opposed to quick, back and forth mowing. You won’t have to spend half your time readjusting the extension cord. While your 6hp mower likely will have a 4-stage engine, and not require a gas-oil mixture, you’re not likely to want to spend enough on an edger to get into the 4-stage gas models. If you get a 2-stage model, you’ll find that the gas-oil mixture is more trouble than the 100’ extension cord!
The edger I recommend is the Black and Decker LE750 Edge Hog. This is a heavy-duty electric edger, and replacement blades will be easy to find. I use mine on about 1/3 of my edges each time I mow, so it takes me three mowings to get everything with the edger. It’s really not necessary to do everything each time you mow, so doing only 1/3 will keep your motivation from slipping.
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The String Trimmer
Something I do need to do each time I mow is trim some patches of grass along a stone wall, and in a couple of corners that I can’t get the mower into. For that I use a cordless electric string trimmer, the Black & Decker CST2000 Grass Hog.
Again you’ll want to avoid gas powered string trimmers because of the 2-stroke engines, and their gas-oil mix. The 4-stroke engines are going to be far heavier than you’ll want to carry around the yard.
You’ll also find your string trimmer comes in handy if you have an out of the way weedy area. As long as you’re not talking about woody stems, the string trimmer will cut those weeds down quickly.
A string trimmer can also be used to touch-up edges between edging, but it's not a good substitute for an edger. The problem is that many grasses grow via runners, and while the string trimmer will get the top growth, it doesn't sever the runners, and new top growth will quickly resprout, and reach further and further past the edge.
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Moving Stuff
There’s one more must-have that while isn’t real expensive, is sort of in a mid-range. It’s also something you shouldn’t skimp on. It’s your transportation around the yard. For many people, this means a wheelbarrow. Get a solid model, with a pneumatic tire on a wheel that can be replaced. You’ll want a bucket that’s big enough to haul more than one big bag, and sturdy enough to haul a load of bricks.
Or you could do what I did. Break the moving chores up between two items. I have a plastic garden cart that could be described as a 4-wheeled wheelbarrow. It’s solid enough to carry a load of loose material, and doesn’t tip when I’m tired. It has a tray to carry my tools around, so I use it when I’m going around doing pruning and touch-ups, and use it to carry away the debris. But it’s not a good choice to move bags or bricks. For that I have a metal garden wagon.
The garden wagon can be thought of as a heavy-duty little red wagon – except that they’re usually green. Mine has 4 pneumatic tires, a heavy duty metal grated bed with fold-down sides, and a heavy-duty handle that’s long enough that I don’t have to stoop when I pull it. It also has a thick, padded grip. Distributed evenly, it’ll move up to 500lbs of materials, and roll over even the bumpiest of lawns or paths.
While we're talking about things on wheels, I have a neat little rolling seat that comes in handy when I have to do a lot of things in one place. The Step 2 Garden Hopper will take a load off your knees and back. There's room under the seat to carry some tools, and it even has a little cup holder for that all important refreshment.
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Hand Tools
Now we’re down to the hand tools. Let’s start with the big ones: Shovels and rakes.
For shovels, the first one you’ll need is the typical garden spade. This is probably the only tool I skimp on. Sooner or later you’ll beat the heck out of even the most expensive model, and you’ll have to replace it anyway. I recommend buying more than one of these shovels to begin with. That way you’ll have an extra for any helpers you can draft.
My most used long-handled tool is my garden rake. You’ll use it to set grades in freshly dug beds, to evenly spread mulch, and anytime you need to spread-out loose materials. It can also be used to dethatch small sections of lawn. But you may be able to hold off on buying one for a month or two. Get one with a long, solid handle, and solid construction of the head. It should also feel well-balanced in your hand. You can’t set a flat grade if you’re fighting your rake.
You’ll also eventually need a leaf rake. Leaves, unless they’re soaking wet, are pretty light. If you get a large head, you’ll finish raking sooner. Plastic is a good choice because you’ll be stretching out pretty far, and you don’t need to have a big, metal weight on the end. You will probably break a rake each year, so consider the cost versus the construction of the rake. You don’t want to break two rakes each year!
If you’re in an area that gets snow, you’ll need snow shovels. Even if you decide you need a snow blower, there will still be times that there isn’t enough snow to bring out the blower, and there will always be small areas you’ll need to do by hand – like steps.
If light snow is the norm in your area, then the “pusher” is what you want. This is a wide, curved blade with little height. You essentially push the snow to the side like a snow plow. If a typical single snowfall gets over two inches, you’ll also want a traditional snow shovel. Contrary to what you might think, snow shovels aren’t on sale in the summer. You’ll get your best deal when the stores get their big shipments in the fall, or in the spring, when they’re reducing the stock they’ll keep on hand over the summer. But don’t wait until the snow starts falling. You’ll be sorry!
Pruning
Next come your pruning tools. You’ll be deadheading, as well as pruning for shape and growth. What kinds of plants and shrubs you have in your landscape will determine how often you use each of these tools, but you’ll likely use them all.
Let’s start with my favorite: The bypass Pruning Shear. My favorite is the Gardena 3601-10. It feels good in the hand, has a sharp enough blade, and enough leverage for woody growth as big as a finger. This is the one you’ll carry around in your pocket whenever you tour your landscape. I have one next to the front door, and one next to the back door.
You’ll also likely need a hedge shear. Solid is what you’re looking for here. Chomping down on multiple outgrowths is not a job for a flimsy tool. Get one that has a blade you can sharpen, as these go dull rather fast.
If you have lots of hedges that need frequent trimming, you may want to think about an electric hedge trimmer, like the Black & Decker HS2400 Hedge Hog. I recommend a very long blade, like the 24” that the HS2400 has. The longer the blade, the more even your cut will be. You can probably put off the purchase of the electric model. That’s why I’m discussing it now instead of earlier. I’d suggest putting it off until you find hand pruning has gotten to be too much of a chore.
I’m also going to recommend the Gardena 30676-10 Deluxe Grass Shear. If you didn’t have enough use for the string trimmer, you’ll still probably have a use for this hand tool, but grass is not what I use it for. I have some non-woody stemmed perennials that I give a “haircut” to after they’ve finished their spring blooming. Pinching or using a small pruner on the spent flowers would take forever, and the two hands it takes to operate a hedge shear puts me off-balance. This one-handed tool with medium long blades is just the ticket.
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Planting
There’s just one more tool on my must-have list, and one nifty almost must-have to go. The must-have is a hand mattock. This tool is a little bigger than a typical hammer, and you swing it like a hammer, too. The main side of the head is a flat, wide horizontal blade, and the backside is a pick. You swing the blade into the soil, and then pull back. Repeat as needed for the size of hole you need. To back fill, use the top of the tool like a plow. The pick end is mostly for balance, but you can use it to loosen rocks you may find, too.
For me, the mattock replaces the planting trowel. It’s much easier and quicker to dig small holes with the swing and pull motion than it is to dig, scoop and dump motion needed for the trowel. Plus you can work with firmer soil, chopping it before pulling it.
The nifty almost must-have that I’ve left for the end is the Garden Weasel Garden Claw Cultivator. This tool has four curved prongs, and one straight prong in the middle. You set it on top of the soil, and turn the two handles as if you were turning off a huge valve on a water main. The curved prongs self-tap into the soil, and pull the straight prong down. The straight prong then helps steady the tool as you complete the turn, and turn over the soil.
The Garden Claw is useful in those areas that you can’t fit a roto-tiller, and can save you hours of shovel work, assuming you don’t need to go down much further than six or eight inches. I also use it in my compost bin to turn over and aerate the mix. It’s a gimmicky tool, and not one you’ll see on a landscape services truck, but it is handy for those do-it-yourself jobs around your own garden.
So there you have it. The tools you’ll need sooner than later to care for your new home’s landscape. Most of these tools will be investments, and some may last as long as that 30-year mortgage.
On the other hand, you’re tired from moving. Maybe a landscape service might be a good idea – until you check your wallet.
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