11 essential tools for your garden shed

Your gardening tool-kit need not be extensive, but should contain a few basic items for working the soil and moving materials from one location to another. Here's a rundown of the essentials that should be in every well-equipped garden shed.

• Wheelbarrow: Choose a wheelbarrow according to the size of the garden and the strength of the gardener. A solid, roomy wheelbarrow will be the most useful in a large garden. Smaller, lighter barrows are ideal for those who lack the strength to push heavy loads or have limited storage space. A low-loading, pull-cart style barrow may be better for older gardeners or people with bad backs.
• Shovel: Shovels have a cupped base for scooping up soil, manure or compost. There are long- and short-handled varieties; each is suited to a different purpose.  The long-handled shovel is great for lifting large amounts of organic matter into a barrow. The short-handled shovel is better in a confined space and for smaller jobs
• Spade: The sharp, square end of the spade is ideal for cutting into the soil to make trenches or edges. Both long- and short-handled spades are useful; your basic gardening kit should contain one of each.
• Fork: The fork is used for breaking up the soil and harvesting and should be strong and sturdy. As with the shovel and spade, there are long- and short-handled varieties; the short-handled will probably be the most frequently used.
• Hoe: A simple square-edged hoe is a very useful tool for slicing into soil and for weeding.
• Cultivator: The narrow tines of the cultivator cut into the soil, breaking it up and removing weeds.
• Mattock: The mattock is a heavy cutting tool similar to a pick but with a flat blade at one end. It is useful for digging out roots or tough clumps of weeds.
• Rake: Most gardeners need a lawn rake for gathering leaves and grass clippings, and a garden rake for leveling the soil prior to planting.
• Hand tools: A variety of small hand tools, such as a fork, a trowel and a broad-leaf weeder are used often.
• Pruning equipment: A bush saw and secateurs will be useful for maintaining fruit tree. A long-handled pruner may come in handy to reach tall central branches of fruit trees.
• Machinery: Large cultivation tools such as garden shredders, rotary hoes and tillers are expensive and should only be considered for a big country garden. It may be possible to share a rotary hoe or tiller with neighbours.

Whatever gardening tools you decide to get, invest in good quality. They will generally be stronger, better made and well-balanced for easy handling.