Posted: 6/20/2026 11:59:50 AM EDT
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Wanted to start a thread with tools and equipment that everyone has found that makes their life easier. Some things aren't in the big box stores and can be hard to find. Add to it with items that make life easier working in the garden or on the homestead. Stand n Plant Stirrup Hoe Corn Sheller T Post Sprinkler Hose end mixer sprayer |
"To Marines, love of liberty is not an empty phrase... Rather, it's displayed by blood, sweat, and tears for the fallen."
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rogue hoe/rake https://gemplers.com/products/hoe-rake?currency=USD&country=US&variant=21171345457241&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=cef260d508aa&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Shopping+-+pMax+-+Free+Shipping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&hsa_acc=5221886030&hsa_cam=22622379106&hsa_grp=&hsa_ad=&hsa_src=x&hsa_tgt=&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22618801901&gbraid=0AAAAAD_wTLgR4K11Nwjc8p2m8rNvoA7X2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2suylseWlQMVcozCCB1bojkoEAQYASABEgKBA_D_BwE |
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: GREAT idea for a thread!  Almost everything I've found that has been a major game changer for me I have found by someone posting it. |
"To Marines, love of liberty is not an empty phrase... Rather, it's displayed by blood, sweat, and tears for the fallen."
James Mattis
James Mattis
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My favorite hoe: Collinear Hoe. We also have a narrower version. No link but I have a homemade wheel hoe with a stirrup blade that I use quite a bit. I bought the plans and the blade years back and I don't remember where I got them. |
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Large & small broadforks. Great for smaller garden plots and/or raised beds and or weird places. Not the exact products I have but you get the idea. Broadfork Mini Broadfork |
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Originally Posted By Eagle_19er: Large & small broadforks. Great for smaller garden plots and/or raised beds and or weird places. Not the exact products I have but you get the idea. Broadfork Mini Broadfork What brands do you have? I'm worried about two things. 1- Somebody on some youtube channel said the cheaper broadforks will break if you have packed soil. 2-You cannot help with this one unless you disagree with my asessment. My assessment is...I think I don't have the necessary weight to get it into the ground deeply enough to do what I want it to do. (I weigh 118 lbs). But a broadfork is the solution to the compaction I got from having a tree removed last year. It's awful. |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: What brands do you have? I'm worried about two things. 1- Somebody on some youtube channel said the cheaper broadforks will break if you have packed soil. 2-You cannot help with this one unless you disagree with my asessment. My assessment is...I think I don't have the necessary weight to get it into the ground deeply enough to do what I want it to do. (I weigh 118 lbs). But a broadfork is the solution to the compaction I got from having a tree removed last year. It's awful. I honestly couldn’t tell you the brands I got it’s been so long, but they’re beefy. The large one is fully welded out of thick tube stock and looks to have been laser cut 5/16” plate. Welds are really well done and then it was powder coated. The small one is lighter duty but still fully welded. I wouldn’t dig in rocky soil with this one but in raised beds it makes short work of breaking up compaction and adding compost. ETA: Unless you’re trying to break up hard pack clay that’s been baking in the sun and hard as a rock, 118LB should be enough to get to a useful depth. You could always make a 2nd pass if needed. |
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I haven’t ordered from them for probably 20 years or more, but they had by far the best prices on Felco pruners and loppers then (Swiss made, buy once, cry once; spare parts are still available). They also carry Bahco (Sweden): Frostproof Growers Supply Their service was excellent. Search the website by brand name. The Felco pruners and loppers are still rocking. I gave them to my mom as gifts, and she gave them back to me when she moved into a retirement home and downsized a few years ago. The prices have certainly gone up since then, but that’s how it goes. |
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You never go wrong with Felco pruners. I have not afforded myself the loppers yet. 
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Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: You never go wrong with Felco pruners. I have not afforded myself the loppers yet. The prices of the bigger/longer loppers are now astronomical. They weren’t too expensive back then. I have also seen Felco pruner clones/knockoffs at lower prices, IIRC, they were Japanese, and appeared to be good quality. ETA: Here we go: Hardwick & Sons - Pruners-Shears They used to be located in my AO, but moved to a free state a few years ago. I used to spend hours in their store; I miss them.  ETA 2: Hardwick’s prices for Felco look pretty good as well. |
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Originally Posted By TigerForce: The prices of the bigger/longer loppers are now astronomical. They weren’t too expensive back then. I have also seen Felco pruner clones/knockoffs at lower prices, IIRC, they were Japanese, and appeared to be good quality. I actually don't know anything about those knockoffs. I would be inclined to NOT choose those only because if I'm going to spend, a little more will get me the real thing and "slightly cheaper" usually means "not worth it." But I truly don't know. I will say that when I reached out to Felco for parts for my #2 pruners, they were amazing. Taught me how to refurb my old pruners (They were a gift from my graduate advisor and that was 30 years ago and I've beat the hell out of them ever since. ) I used them in my (small) landscaping business for years and they never complained. I've lost countless pairs of reading glasses in landscapes all over town, but I've been VERY careful to hold onto those pruners. Felco plans for their pruners to last a lifetime. And they back that up. To me, that's worth a few extra dollars. I'm so sick of garbage tools that I can't even tell you how much I appreciate a company that actually stands behind its product. $100 for pruners that will last a lifetime and have a company behind them? Yeah I would do that. Looks like over $300 for the loppers. That's a hard pill to swallow but it makes sense to me. I've bought EVERY BRAND OF LOPPER THAT EXISTS IN BOX STORES. they are all garbage. Yes I use them. But they are... GARBAGE. If I buy four of those I have paid for the felco loppers. Everybody has to do what they can do. If you're not abusing the loppers then you don't need Felcos. I abuse pruners and loppers. I always will. Felco figures I will and they build for it. I will pay for that. And yet...I have not bought those loppers. That's mostly because nobody near me has them on the shelf. I would have to order. And I tend to be "need it now" for stuff like this. So I buy, break, buy, break.... Now I have to think hard about the damn loppers.   |
Nobody ever wakes me at 2 in the morning telling me that my grass is out on the highway.~~Radiopat
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
Wine is sunlight held together by water~~Galileo Galilei
Well-behaved women rarely make history~~Marilyn Monroe
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Originally Posted By Kitties-with-Sigs: I actually don't know anything about those knockoffs. I would be inclined to NOT choose those only because if I'm going to spend, a little more will get me the real thing and "slightly cheaper" usually means "not worth it." But I truly don't know. I will say that when I reached out to Felco for parts for my #2 pruners, they were amazing. Taught me how to refurb my old pruners (They were a gift from my graduate advisor and that was 30 years ago and I've beat the hell out of them ever since. ) I used them in my (small) landscaping business for years and they never complained. I've lost countless pairs of reading glasses in landscapes all over town, but I've been VERY careful to hold onto those pruners. Felco plans for their pruners to last a lifetime. And they back that up. To me, that's worth a few extra dollars. I'm so sick of garbage tools that I can't even tell you how much I appreciate a company that actually stands behind its product. $100 for pruners that will last a lifetime and have a company behind them? Yeah I would do that. Looks like over $300 for the loppers. That's a hard pill to swallow but it makes sense to me. I've bought EVERY BRAND OF LOPPER THAT EXISTS IN BOX STORES. they are all garbage. Yes I use them. But they are... GARBAGE. If I buy four of those I have paid for the felco loppers. Everybody has to do what they can do. If you're not abusing the loppers then you don't need Felcos. I abuse pruners and loppers. I always will. Felco figures I will and they build for it. I will pay for that. And yet...I have not bought those loppers. That's mostly because nobody near me has them on the shelf. I would have to order. And I tend to be "need it now" for stuff like this. So I buy, break, buy, break.... Now I have to think hard about the damn loppers. I’ll check to see what we use at the vineyard, pretty sure they are an Italian brand of pruners. TBH, I never paid attention to what brand they were. |
| I've recently purchased a Milwaukee battery powered pruner, I've been pleasantly surprised with it too. Nothing can compare when you have a tight space to get into where the handles of a conventional pruner become a hindrance. I also have a Fiskars pole pruner that works in tight places too but it is very limited to small branches only, the Milwaukee unit will cut branches well over 1" with ease. |
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