Top 15 Best Garden Trowel (2021 Review)

Sooner or later, people think about how to get closer to nature and start their own garden. This type of activity brings many benefits, such as improving physical condition and health, providing good exercise, relieving stress, and obtaining quality products. Starting gardening is quite simple; you just need good soil, seeds, water and the sun. However, having a good implement can significantly improve your hobby, as the best garden trowel is able to help you cope with different tasks.

In this article, we will consider the advantages and disadvantages of this tool, and the best way to use it. It is a small spade that can have different widths, depending on your preferences or needs. After a comparative rating, you can choose the garden hand trowel that will meet all your demands.

Key features to choose the right garden trowel

A garden trowel is one of the most popular tools for working on a homestead plot. It can greatly facilitate gardening, thanks to its advantages. But for quality use, it is necessary to consider important features when choosing a trowel.

What makes a garden trowel the best among others? What material should it be made of? To pick the best quality garden trowel, we should look at multiple characteristics.

   What material is best?

Firstly, steel, aluminum or plastic can be used in the manufacture of garden trowels.

• Stainless steel trowels are specially designed for heavy-duty digging and are perfect for hard or rocky ground. They are excellent for complicated tasks and have high durability.
• Aluminum trowels are lightweight and they’re very easy to work with. They’re great for soil cultivation with small effort. Most aluminum trowels have a one-piece structure that increases their blade strength and makes them more durable.
• Plastic trowels are a good choice for those who do not want to spend a lot of cash. They’re ultra-light but can be very durable. They are an ideal pick for backpackers who don’t want to carry heavy tools around.

The shape and size is essential

Secondly, consider blade shape and width. There are multiple options. If the blade is narrow and slim, it’s easier to remove stubborn harmful weeds and dig the ground deeper. However, if you need to dig a lot of soil at the same time and transplant flowers and plants, a wide blade is more preferable to use or we recommend that you look yard rake.

Now, let’s look at the handle. A trowel handle should be comfortable and have an ergonomic design so your wrist won’t hurt after a long shift in the garden. The one with a rubber palm rest can also reduce pressure on your wrist. If you are going to use the trowel for heavy-duty gardening, turn attention to a curved or padded handle that would be sturdy and comfortable to use.

The length of the handle matters, too: a short one makes it easy to scoop out a flower or a plant, but a longer one can give you extra pressure to work with hard or rocky gound. We would also recommend choosing a handle with a hole on the end so it’s easy to hang up in your gardening shed.

You may also consider going with a very colourful handle. It can be very tricky to find a black or a green trowel somewhere in the garden, especially if you leave it in the grass or dirt. A bright and contrasting trowel handle will make this task less of a challenge.

How to Use a Garden Trowel

A short video about how to use a garden trowel

What about the cost?

In the end, let’s deal with the price. A good garden trowel does not require high costs, since most of them cost less than $20. But despite the fact that they can have a very low price, pay attention to quality. A good garden tool should fill your own gardening needs and be comfortable.

Garden Trowel – Buying Guide

Choosing the best garden trowels might be very challenging. To pick the best trowel, you need to know what kind of tasks you will be doing in your garden. What soil will you work with? Will you have to remove stubborn weeds, and do you need a lot of leverage?

Home or garden option?

For example, you might have flowers or plants at home. In that case, the plants are held in flower pots, and the soil is usually soft. You don’t need a very sturdy trowel and hoe for weeding  to turn that kind of soil. You can get a plastic one, and it will do the work just fine. A plastic or aluminum trowel is also ultra-light, and it might be perfect for plants indoors. Even without the pointed blade, it should be easy enough to dig. Weeds are usually not present when the plants are all in flower pots. You might consider going for a more sturdy trowel design if your plants have a deep root system that needs to be handled carefully.

For the outside garden, we should take more points into consideration. Think about the kind of soil you have in your garden. Is it soft, or is it dense and rocky? You might consider going with a sturdy steel or aluminum blade so the trowel doesn’t bend or break under pressure. If the soil is really dense, it would be a good idea to go for a trowel with a long handle. That will give you extra leverage and make gardening less challenging.

It’s also a big plus if your trowel has a pointed blade. It’s easier to dig through any kind of soil. The blade could also be different shapes, so think what would be your main focus. You might go with a wide and curved blade if transplanting flowers and plants is what you do most. Blades that are narrow are better for digging and removing weeds. You might go with something not too wide but also not too narrow for universal use.

What is the price range?

We also should take price into consideration. Trowels usually don’t cost more than $20. You can get one for $5 or even cheaper, but you shouldn’t compromise on quality. Cheaper trowels are usually not bend-proof and their durability is very low. We suggest spending a bit more just to make sure you get the best product. In the end, if a cheap trowel breaks, you’d have to get a new one, and this way you pay twice. It’s better to get a quality gardening trowel right away.

Important Nuances When Buying

There are some extra points that can help you make the right choice. First one is a hole or a cord in the grip. That makes it easier to store in your gardening shed. Yes, most of the trowels and stirrup hoe are made of rust-proof steel and aluminum or plastic but you shouldn’t leave them out in the open anyway.

The second one is a colourful grip and polished blade. It can be challenging to find your trowel in the garden, especially when it’s in the grass; a bright handle might help you there. A polished blade also shines in the sunlight and can help you find your trowel a lot quicker.

The Best Garden Trowels

If you want to take care of your garden, choose the right tool. Check out our product table below to find out which product we like best.

Conclusion

We have mentioned a lot of different garden trowels designed for different gardening tasks. Many people have used these before and they are proven to be very effective and convenient. Nonetheless, keep in mind this guide when choosing the best trowel. Consider the material, handle, blade design and the price. Don’t forget about the ergonomic handle design. It’s very important to keep your wrist stress-free to prevent strains! This becomes vital if you plan on spending many hours in your garden.

Don’t forget to look at the quality of the trowel. Remember that if you try to economize there, you might get a product with lower quality. If it breaks, you’ll have to spend your money again!

We hope our guide helps you to pick the best trowel for yourself. We wish you luck and success in this challenging matter!

See also:

• Best Rake for Pine Needles
• Best Rake for Acorns
• Best Bow Rake