If you’re  stuck about what to get for your gardening friends or spouse (or yourself ;),  as gifts, look no further! I have created a list of my favorite must-have-use-constantly tools and garden gear, which I and my crew use throughout the year to take care of our 50 + gardens.

Disclosure: the links will take you to Amazon’s site and I earn a lil’ somethin if you buy through my links below.

Happy holidays, and happy shopping!

1. Cape Cod Weeder by AM Leonard. This amazing weeding tool has upstaged all my other weeding tools for its effectiveness and ease of use. I’ve been using mine for 6 years now, and have bought one for each member of my crew. It’s lightweight and easy to hang onto. It gets into tight spaces with ease, and works by cutting roots off just beneath the surface of the soil when they are small, and the hook is also great for catching those pesky runners of quack grass and sheep sorrel, so you can pull up a whole mass by the root. Tip: paint the handle a bright color so you can spot it if you leave it laying around, or accidentally dump it in your compost pile. I added a lanyard too, so I can wear it around my wrist.
2. Wheeler Monroe leather gardener’s tool belt. I coveted my flower farmer friend Tannis’s for a whole year before hinting enough times out loud when my husband was in ear shot, and I received one of these beauties for my birthday this year! It is very well made, comfortable, keeps the most commonly used tools within arm’s reach  and is definitely the sexiest part of my whole get up. There are several models, but this one is my fave, since it holds my Felco pruners, Cape Cod Weeder, pocket knife and cell phone, plus the belt aspect helps hold my pants up! Here’s a pic of mine in action:  
3. For a less expensive, non leather tool belt option, consider the Dickies Work Gear 5 Pocket Single Side Apron
4. Internet’s Best Open Top Electricians Tool bag. This is the tool bag I and each member of my crew have to keep our smaller hand tools organized, as well as those odds and ends like zip ties, plant labels, Sharpies and tool sharpeners in one place.
5.  AM Leonard Waterproof Kneeling Pad with handle-this one is the right size and thickness, bright orange color is easy to see, and when you’re on the move from one spot to the next, its easy to grab by the handle and bring it along with you. Keeps your knees dry on wet ground and protected from sharp rocks or tree roots as you dive down to get those weeds!
6. Atlas Nitrile lightweight work gloves. These are my go-to gloves for any almost every warm season garden task (not pruning thorny shit though!) because the grippy palm means less blisters for my hands and breathable mesh back means my hands aren’t getting all sweaty and gross. Plus, they aren’t bulky so I can tie my boot laces or use my phone’s touch screen without having to take them off. Even Kirsten the glove hater occasionally dons these when working in challenging soil.  Throw them in the washer when they need it. They come in plain old black too, but I find they get too hot on sunny days.
7. Tub Trugs Flexible (large 10 gallon capacity) bucket. These have been an invaluable addition to our tool kits, because the large open mouth and flexible nature of the bucket means you can carry tools like a satchel, pour water like a spout, and haul and dump debris or soil while in the garden.  They make great harvest containers too. I like to have a variety of sizes in my kit, from Medium to Extra Large.
8. Mini Shovel. Forget the little digging spade for planting stuff in our rocky-ass soil. This 20″ long mini shovel allows you to dig holes for transplanting your perennials and veggies while on your knees, much more easily than using a full size shovel.
9. Felco Classic F-6 Pruner for Smaller Hands. Yep, the classic Felcos but made for smaller hands, means your wrists won’t tire as quickly as they would otherwise with the full size hand pruners. Totally worth the money, since when the blades or springs wear out, you can buy replacement parts instead of replacing the whole pair. Just be sure to not leave them sitting out in the garden where they get rusty (or run over by the mower)
10. Good old woven plastic tarp, 8 x 10 size-yes you can get these at any hardware store, but here it is. The gals and I use these to sled weeds, limbs, leaves and other garden debris from  the garden to the dump spot, and of course they’re great for covering that leftover soil or mulch pile you had delivered that would otherwise sprout a forest of weeds if it weren’t covered.