course materials

Here at The Eyrye, we encourage gardeners to exercise their brains as well as their green thumbs. Much of a gardener's success in their outdoor space relies on the wealth of knowledge they hold, and this course is designed to supply as much information as possible in a simple-to-understand fashion. Many gardeners who take the course find it helpful to be supplied with certain writing instruments and gardening tools before they begin, so that everything is in place for them to hit the ground running. The following list is an outline of these helpful tools, and also includes a list of commonly used tools that are useful to gardeners of all abilities.

Study Materials

These items will help you complete the course in an organized fashion; they are also just suggestions. Any form or combination of notebooks, binders, or  pens will work for the purposes of this course. If you're more of a digital person, this entire course can be completed on your computer or tablet, as well.
  1. Lined Note Paper: Either in loose-leaf or notebook form, these are invaluable assistants for note-taking, making calculations, jotting down garden walkthrough notes, and creating maps and drawings. 
  2. Binders: These tools can help you to organize your notes, and usually have areas for storing additional materials like plant tags, brochures, and receipts. The idea behind having a binder is that all of the important garden information that you need is in one easily searchable spot.
  3. Graph Paper: Useful for creating sketches and maps of garden spaces, these pages can also double as sketch paper and note-taking paper.
  4. Pens and Pencils: Having a variety of writing instruments of differing colors and permanency is helpful in many situations, such as jotting down garden notes, writing plant labels, noting important pieces of information, and recording temperature and rainfall totals.

Safety First

Safety is paramount in the garden. When working outdoors, exposure to the elements can dehydrate, burn, and exhaust us. The materials and products listed here are those that all gardeners should have on hand to care for themselves.
  1. Water: Drinking water is critical to have on-hand when out in the garden. Although it may seem unnecessary being so close to the home, many of us can lose track of time while gardening, and accidentally go many hours without going indoors and having a sip of water. In the warmer months when many of us are out working in our gardens, it is recommended that individuals drink 8 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes. Having an easily-accessible canteen of water outside with us is an easy way to ensure that we're drinking enough.
  2. Sun Protection: Just like our plants, we are also sensitive to the searing hot rays of the sun. There are many options for outdoor sun protection, including the use of shade (from trees or strategically placed umbrellas), sunscreen (either spray or rub-in lotions), and personal coverings like hats and long sleeves. We should always be thinking about sun protection while outdoors, but this is especially important while working in the garden, as horticulturalists commonly stay in one position for extended periods of time.
  3. Skin Protection: In addition to wearing sunscreen, we can also take steps to protect our skin from pricks and scratches that are common when working in the garden. Wearing a great pair of protective gardening gloves is essential. Arms can be protected with longer gloves, long sleeves, or gardening sleeves.
  4. Lung Protection: While outdoors, gardeners are commonly exposed to airborne substances like pollen and dust, which can sometimes irritate lungs. Wearing a mask over the nose and mouth, or having some sort of covering that can be pulled up and down as needed, is very helpful in these situations. These masking suggestions are mandatory if working with any chemicals in the garden. 

Gardening Tools

Although this list is filled with many very useful garden tools, there is no need to purchase them all at once. or really any of them at all if you don't want to. Some outdoor projects can be completed armed only with a trusty fork from your kitchen drawer, for example. I've put together the list below because it represents the many different tools that may be helpful in planning and carrying out various gardening projects:
  1. Gloves: Gloves are necessary for many reasons, the most important of which is to protect our hands while out in the garden. Keeping hands and fingers covered lessens injuries and splinters, keeps us clean, and prevents hands from drying out and getting sunburned. Having multiple pairs of gloves is useful if gardening is a task done multiple times a week, so that clean gloves can be used every time.
  2. Knee Support: For garden projects that require a lot of kneeling, it is much more comfortable to have a mat or kneeling pad handy. These products are typically made of foam and have a covering strong enough to be placed on uneven, rocky ground. These products really are a game-changer, and can make the gardening experience more enjoyable.
  3. Portable Stool or Chair: For those of us who like a break from standing from time to time, gardening stools and chairs are available. These are particularly helpful in situations like harvesting vegetable gardens or pinching large shrubs, where gardeners are stationary for extended periods of time and need to access a spot that would require squatting to reach.
  4. Shovels: A variety of dirt relocating tools are available for use in the garden, including trowels, spades, and shovels. Trowels are hand-held, smaller digging tools that sometimes also have depth markers on them for added usability. Spades are larger, long-handled, and have flattened tips. They are handy for jobs like digging straight-edged trenches, removing grass from unwanted areas, chopping through roots, and edging flower beds or lawn areas. Shovels, on the other hand, have a pointed tip, and are better suited for digging shallow holes, moving materials, and mixing.
  5. Pruning Tools: Pruning tools are cutting tools used on plants to remove unhealthy growth. They come in many different sizes and shapes. Handheld pruners are about the size of scissors and have blades that cut through plant stems. Larger pruning tools are used for larger branches, and gardening saws are also used to remove larger plant parts. A good starter pruning purchase would be a nice pair of bypass pruners, which can be used for a variety of tasks. For more information on pruning tools, check out the Pruning module.
  6. Rakes and Brooms: These tools are handy for many tasks, including cleaning up tree debris from lawns, gathering yard waste materials, spreading soils and mulches, and keeping patios and driveways clean. These tools commonly have long handles, with brushes or tines at the base.
  7. Containers and Bins: These are helpful to have around the garden, and include baskets for harvesting fruits and vegetables, yard waste containers, 5-gallon buckets for moving dirt, gravel, and other materials, and bins for composting. Any type of container can be useful in a garden space.