Tools and Resources

The best tools are sticks, rocks, and your own hands.

However, there are some truly exceptional items and resources we think every gardener ought to know about.

We encourage you to spend your money at locally-owned businesses whenever possible. However, if you would like to order from a larger company using our links below, you may be supporting us through their affiliate programs. So, win – win!

Garden Tools & Materials

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Digging Fork

The #1 most used tool we use when preparing our beds and borders. A good one is really a treasure that will last forever. Look for forks that have a D-handle and tines that won't bend easily. This one is the Radius Ergonomic Stainless-Steel Fork. It's awesome.

Garden Bandit

a.k.a. Loop Weeder
This little hand tool is our favorite tool for weeding and cultivating the soil. It is narrow enough to gently weed around plants and sturdy enough to cut roots of hardier weeds. We also use it to scuff the soil when side-dressing with compost or amendments.

Hori Hori

a.k.a Digging Knife
This is a garden tool we absolutely couldn't live without. Brenda and Alani have ones with wooden handles but the plastic will do just as well. They have sharpened straight and serrated edges and measurements on the concave side for plant spacing and depth. Excellent for transplanting as well as weeding out deep-rooted plants like dandelions.

Kama

a.k.a. Serrated Sickle
We love this tool for harvesting heads of lettuce, cabbages, squashes, and any other thick-stemmed crops. It also gets a lot of use cutting back grasses or other edge weeds when we don't feel like weed-wacking. They are very sharp--wear gloves!

Pruners

Felco makes great pruners for all manner of tasks, whether you're pruning fruit trees, shrubs or cutting flowers. Don't be dissuaded by the higher price tag. They are very comfortable and will last the rest of your life. All parts are replaceable and they are easily sharpened.

Hula Hoe

a.k.a. Stirrup Hoe
Excellent time, back and knee saver when clearing small weeds from larger beds or preparing a planting bed in the spring. It cuts small weeds at their roots. It can be sharpened each year for best use.

Cobra

Hand weeder and cultivator. Awesome for reaching into the center of a bed and gently weeding or cultivating around the roots of your plants. We also use this tool for creating rows for direct sowing seeds or transplanting.

Seed Companies

Brenda and Alani are completely unaffiliated with any of these seed/plant companies. This is our list of all-time favorites.

Local

Fedco Seeds (Maine): Fedco is one of our standby favorite companies. They sell veg, herb and flower seeds, seed potatoes and onion sets, bulbs for fall, live trees and plants, and tools, materials and soil amendments. Lots of organics, heirlooms and cold-hardy varieties.

Pinetree Garden Seeds (Maine): Pinetree sells a huge variety of veg, herb and flower seeds at very affordable prices and in small quantities. They are also a great source of homesteading craft supplies for making medicine, cosmetics, candles, cheese, yarn and more. They also have a nice blog with recipes and ideas.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds (Maine): Johnny’s is a great source of organics and heirlooms as well as all the newest hybrids and cultivars. They sell tools, materials and soil amendments. They are geared toward the commercial as well as home growers. Their site is also a great resource for planting information and education. They’re a little pricier than other seed companies but they’re the only place to get some special varieties.

Fruition Seeds (New York): Oh my goodness, I can’t say enough about this sweet new seed company. They sell all organic veg, herb and flower seeds, trees, seed garlic, and tools and materials. Their catalog is smaller than some of the others (they do the breeding and seed cultivation themselves), but the varieties they offer are really the best of the best. Good prices, great people, and excellent garden education. Do yourself a favor and get on their email list for very high quality garden ideas and advice.

Hudson Valley Seed Co. (New York): I adore this company. They sell awesome high quality heirloom and open-pollinated seeds (in generous portions!) as well as tools and materials. AND–They support a huge range of artists by offering “Art Packs” of most of their seeds as well as other gorgeous garden-related fine art. This company is all about community support and we love them.

Further Afield

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (Missouri): All heirloom seeds with great stories. Some really crazy, fabulous and international varieties. This is my favorite catalog to receive every December, and sometimes I find myself geeking out on their website for hours. Free shipping!

Adaptive Seeds (Oregon): Their motto is “Bringing Biodiversity Back,” which is backed up by their offerings of all open-pollinated organic seeds of a wild variety of every veg/flower/herb plant. They have varieties we’ve never heard of  before and we’re very excited to try them out this year.

Strictly Medicinal Seeds (Oregon): Really the best and only place to get unusual medicinal herb seeds, roots, and plants. This company is run by one of my favorite herbalist authors, Richo Cech, who wrote Making Plant Medicine (see below).

Seeds from Italy (Kansas / Italy): According to their site, “Seeds From Italy is the U.S. distributor for Franchi Seeds, Italy’s oldest family-owned seed company, founded in 1783.” Great, healthy seeds in large quantities, as well as other Italian artisan goods and supplies.

MI Gardener (Michigan): A new company run by young people who began as a YouTube garden educator. They have nice varieties and very low prices. Their YouTube channel is definitely worth checking out for the beginner gardener and for good ideas about soil building and multisowing methods.

Territorial Seed Company (Oregon): They have a huge catalog of organic heirloom, OP and hybrid seeds bred and grown for northern climates. Their website is an excellent resource of garden info and planting guides.

Books We Love

Building Soil by Elizabeth Murphy. Very readable, excellent on basics for beginners, and comprehensive info for those with some experience. 

How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons. One of Brenda’s go-to books for bio-intensive gardening.

Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. 

Making Plant Medicine and other books about growing herbs, by Richo Cech. This is the first book I turn to as practical plant medicine guide. Other books might have fancy recipes, but this book teaches the basics of all the herbalism techniques: tinctures, oils, infusions, salves, syrups, elixers, poultices. He goes through each herb and gives details about best practices, harvesting, and combinations. If you’re serious about getting into herbal medicine-making, this is the one, trust me. Click on the book name for the author’s site or buy on Amazon here.

more coming soon…

Soil Testing

CT Agricultural Experiment Station – basic test, includes PH, macro-nutrients, free

UMASS Soil Testing Service – more detailed, includes PH, % organic matter, macro and micro-nutrients, and specific recommendations

Other Supplies & Materials

We are lucky to live in an area that is rich with excellent eco-friendly and practical garden materials.

Raised Beds

Check out Urban Miners of Hamden, CT for reclaimed lumber raised beds.

Compost

Get rich, living compost from our friends at Peels & Wheels Composting