Gardening is a life skill that every child should learn, whether you live on a farm or not. And just like any other important life skill you teach your kids, there are specific tools that are necessary for gardening. Learning what these gardening tools are used for and how to use them is an essential part of summer homeschooling in the garden.

Using tools that are size-appropriate for kids is a great way to let your kids know that their participation in the garden is valued and appreciated, which also helps create a successful gardening experience

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Gardening Tools We Use

We borrowed a small tractor with a big tiller (or as my son calls it, a ground rougher-upper) to till up the garden bed to get it ready for planting in the early spring. Then just before planting, we used our smaller tiller to turn and loosen the soil. After that, we use necessary hand-held tools in the garden.

Square Garden Spade – for digging holes.

Garden Fork – for turning and loosening the soil and for turning the compost pile.

Garden Hoe – for weeding the garden.

Wheelbarrow – for hauling dirt and other bulky items. This little red wheelbarrow is the cutest!

Watering Can – gotta keep those newly planted seeds and plants hydrated!

I love these Garden Tool Sets, especially for working in the containers that we have herbs planted in. This Kids Garden Tool Set is perfect for beginner gardeners with little hands. And this Garden Scooter is perfect for carrying around most of my smaller tools and plants.

My favorite “tool” that we use for the garden is the rain collection barrels on a tower next to the garden. In our rainy season, early spring, we collect quite a bit of water to help get our garden started. We also use the rain barrels to “water” the chickens and turkeys. In the dead of summer, we do have to fill the barrels with natural spring water when we go on our water runs to fill our cistern because we do not get very much rain.

So we have all our gardening tools, now what? How do we use these things?

Here’s a great video about basic gardening tools that you would need for your garden.

How to Use a Garden Hoe

How to Use a Garden Fork