Organizing Gardening Tools and Supplies

January 25, 2025

Organizing Gardening Tools and Supplies

I always like things clean, organized, and in good working condition - it's a standard I try to impress upon everyone who works for me, especially when it comes to valuable tools.

Here at my farm, when it is bitter cold outside, I encourage my gardeners and grounds crew to take care of indoor chores, such as checking the equipment, sharpening the tools, and cleaning and organizing all necessary implements, so they are close at hand and ready to use at any given time. Yesterday, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, tackled an old, industrial baker's cooling rack I repurposed years ago to store gardening items in the head house. Everything was removed, washed, and then neatly returned - categorized and organized on designated pull out wire shelves.

Here are some photos, enjoy.

: From time to time, it’s important to take stock of one’s gardening tools to see what needs cleaning, fixing, purging, or replacing. I have an enormous supply of gardening spades, trowels, scoops, bulb planters, watering wands, pruners, etc. Ryan took all them out to inspect, clean and organize.

: Every table surface of my head house was covered with tools and supplies. These are all watering wands, hose nozzles, and various shears.

: Here are miscellaneous metal drainage saucers, seed starting cups, and pot straps on another table. Ryan separated items that needed cleaning from those that just needed re-organizing.

: Ryan also disposed of what was no longer usable and set aside anything needing repair.

: Hand tools such as dibbers, scoops, and small rakes were placed in a trug bucket and soaked for several minutes in warm, soapy water to loosen any dirt. Regular dish soap can work.

: Next, Ryan uses an old rag to wipe away stuck on soil or other debris.

: He uses a bristle brush for those tools needing more scrubbing.

: And then everything is rinsed thoroughly.

: Here, Ryan places clean tools in a colander trug for drainage.

: Newly cleaned items are placed on a towel to dry completely in my warm greenhouse.

: By midday, everything is clean – sprinklers, and giant wire storage trays from the rack are also newly washed and left to dry.

: Ryan wipes down the industrial baker’s rack I purchased years ago to use for storing tools in my head house. It is located just inside the back door for easy access.

: Ryan wipes down every crevice – dirt and grime can accumulate quickly during the growing season. Winter is a good time to clean and sort everything.

: Here is the rack all ready to be filled.

: My greenhouse cat Blackie is watching all the activity, and patiently waiting for a snack.

: First, Ryan organizes all the watering wands. We use these all year round. They’re perfect for watering all the hanging pots as well as harder to reach pots in my greenhouse and hoop houses.

: Ryan decides which shelves should house which tools depending on amount of use.

: This basket shelf is designated for shears. Everyone on my crew uses these Japanese Okatsune shears specially made for trimming hedges. The shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.

: My gardeners use T-handled dibbers for planting many of the spring-blooming bulbs. They are manually pressed into the soil to make appropriate holes for planting.

: Here’s a space specifically for garden forks – used mainly for cultivating smaller planting areas.

: And nearby, a section of hand trowels. One of my mantras is “use the right tool for the right job.” My gardeners have everything they need here at the farm.

: Durable metal scoops are used for soil mixes, fertilizers, and gravel pot dressings.

: Gardener’s twine and other miscellaneous tools are also grouped with like items and stored.

: By day’s end there’s “a place for everything, and everything is its place.” It’s amazing how much this unit can hold. It’s the weekend – what organizing projects are on your “to-do” list?