Gift Guide: Yard & Garden Gear
Here are a few awesome ideas for the gardeners and lawn enthusiasts on your gift-giving list.
By Capper’s Farmer Editors
BGT Garden Tool
The BGT-KT Garden Tool, available in lime green or pink, is a great tool for home gardeners. It makes weeding, hoeing, digging, and working around the yard and garden beds easier and faster. It features a steel-tempered, triangle-shaped head and open interior that allows for digging through rocks while minimizing dirt movement. The saw-tooth front and back edges cut through plant material like nothing else.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- This tool slices through weeds easily and effortlessly.
- Great for weeding in and around raised beds.
- A great addition to any gardener’s tool shed.
- Makes quick work of weeding and digging, and is easy to use.
Cultivator & Weeder
For folks who have trouble bending and/or kneeling, but who love to garden, the Royal Weeder — a lightweight, battery-powered cultivator/weeder that features an ergonomic design to minimize strain on the user’s back and shoulders — would make a great gift.
The weeder features a telescoping aluminum rod that adjusts from 38 inches to 44 inches to suit the height and reach needed for the user, has a 10-amp electric motor with a rechargeable 2-amp 10-volt battery (and comes with a charger), and weighs just over 3 pounds. The battery provides 25 to 35 minutes of weeding power on a full charge, and it takes about an hour to recharge the battery. The 6-inch-diameter, star-shaped blade has points bent left and right to effectively cultivate the soil surface and dig up small weeds by the roots.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- Lightweight and easy to use, and doesn’t strain your back.
- Does a great job of digging up weeds and their roots.
- Battery holds a good charge, and charges pretty quickly.
- Lots of power for such a lightweight weeder.
ECO-Disks
Gardeners on your gift-giving list will love receiving ECO-Disks — disks that help block weeds from growing at the base of a plant or seedling, so the plants or seedlings (not the weeds) absorb the water and nutrients.
ECO-Disks are available in either biodegradable solid colors, biodegradable disks infused with fruit or vegetable pulp, or reusable disks. The biodegradable disks are made from a non-GMO, BPA-free, biodegradable biopolymer material, and the reusable disks are made from recycled high-grade polypropylene polymer carpet.
The biodegradable disks can be left in the garden at the end of the growing season, where they’ll decompose and add nutrients back into the soil. The pulp-infused disks will release even more nutrients as they decompose. The reusable disks should be removed, rinsed off, and stored until the next season.
The solid design eliminates nutrient competition, while the surface directs the slightest amount of moisture collected to the base of the plant, where it’s needed most. The disks also reduce water consumption, because watering is required only at the base of the plant rather than the whole garden.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- Plants grow bigger and better using ECO-Disks.
- Vegetables were much larger and had better flavor.
- Less time spent watering and weeding.
- Significant reduction in the amount of weeds around the plants.
- These work amazing. Far fewer weeds, less need for water, and better production.
Flower Caddy
The Galvanized Flower Caddy would make a nice gift for the flower gardener who enjoys picking and displaying fresh flowers. The caddy is made up of four conjoined French flower market buckets, which give it stability and style. It’s rustproof and watertight, and has a galvanized and wood handle for carrying.
Each bucket is 5 inches in diameter and 12 inches high, making the caddy itself 10 inches square, and the handle is 11¼ inches wide by 8 inches high.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- Made well and looks very stylish and rustic.
- Makes carrying flowers from the garden to the house a breeze.
- Absolutely beautiful filled with fresh flowers and displayed on a table.
Garden Augers
For those who enjoy planting bulbs, Garden Augers are a useful and time-saving gift. The augers attach to a power drill, making quick and easy work of drilling holes in the soil for planting.
The augers are available in a variety of sizes to handle planting everything from grass plugs and bulbs to trees, shrubs, and more. They can also be used to drill holes for fencing and even to mix seeds, fertilizers, paint, and mortar.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- Easy to attach to a drill, and simple to use.
- Saves a lot of time.
- Makes planting bulbs and bare-root bushes a breeze.
- The augers are very impressive.
- Makes planting day a whole lot more enjoyable.
Hand-Held 3-Tine Cultivator
The Homestead Iron 3-Tine Cultivator is another great option for gardeners. It’s perfect for either light and loose soil or clay and rock. Made in the USA, and hand-forged to finish, this tool is ideal for tidying up beds and amending soil for spring planting.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- Lightweight and easy to use.
- Built solid to take on the toughest soils, including rocky soil.
- Makes amending soil quick and easy.
Rustic Planter
Galvanized Ribbed Barrel Planters are sure to be a hit with anyone who enjoys decorating inside or out. The planters are available in 3 sizes — 10-inch (8¼ inches tall and holds pots up to 9 inches in diameter), 12-inch (10 inches tall and holds pots up to 11 inches in diameter), and 14-inch (12 inches tall and capable of holding pots up to 14½ inches in diameter).
The planters are rust-resistant and can be used for a variety of things. They feature a solid bottom (no drainage holes) and D-ring metal handles. They’re best used indoors or in a protected outdoor area.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- These planters add rustic charm to a screened-in porch.
- The 14-inch planter is perfect for storing potatoes in a farmhouse-style kitchen.
- Flowers and plants look great planted in these pots.
- It’s a great way to hide ugly pots.
- They’re made well, and are extremely attractive.
- All three sizes grouped together makes a gorgeous focal point next to the front door.
Seed-Starting Tray
A great gift idea for seed-starting gardeners is the Galvanized Seed-Starting Tray. Designed for multiple seasons of successful seed starting, the leak-proof tray holds 24 individual cells, so gardeners can take ready-to-transplant seedlings to the garden without disturbing the other plants that aren’t ready yet. The cells are even tapered, so seedlings are simple to remove.
The tray measures just shy of 13 inches long by 8½ inches wide by nearly 3 inches high, overall. Each individual cell is 2 inches square at the top, not quite 2 inches square at the bottom (because of the taper), and 2¼ inches high. The tray holds approximately 19 cups of soil.
Where to buy:
Comments from the Capper’s Farmer editors:
- The tray is strong and sturdy.
- Seedlings are easily removed from individual cells.
- Cleans up nicely for storing until the next season.
- Love that it doesn’t leak all over.
- Nice large size for starting seeds indoors.
- It’s nice to be able to take individual cells out as needed.
Looking for gifts in other categories? We have you covered! Head on over to Capper’s Farmer 2018 Holiday Gift Guide to view the full list.