Although those colorful, spongy gardening clogs may come and go, it seems that some gardening tools and accessories will always remain essential. I can’t live without my rakes, shovels, and stretchy green nursery tape, but an owl box up in the oaks or a toad house in a garden bed make me smile on the days when the weeds and the aphids are winning. Here are some more things that I may need.
WORM BOX: You get a rectangular, wooden, or plastic box. In goes some worms, shredded newspaper, coffee grounds, and other green kitchen waste. Out comes worm castings, or rather worm poop — the richest, organic compost ever to grace your garden beds. Island Seed & Feed ( islandseed.com ) will build you one or give you the plans to build your own.
DIGGING FORK: Yeah, it’s old-school, but every gardener needs one hanging in their potting shed. It’s used for dividing and digging up plants and breaking up clods of soil. Matt Buckmaster, owner of Island Seed & Feed in Goleta, was heard to say, “How to wax poetic about a digging fork? Island Seed & Feed likes to promote quality tools — and this one, made right down the road in Los Angeles, meets those kinds of specs.”
