This Garden Tool Can Do Everything From Planting Bulbs To Cutting Twine

Keen gardeners invariably have a collection of essential tools for managing their plots, but loading all that gear into a wheelbarrow and carting it out to the vegetable beds or flower borders can be a bit of a chore. It would be nice to have something versatile and easy to carry for those small jobs that always seem to need attending to or for a quick bit of weeding in the morning.

A multi-purpose garden knife, also known as a hori hori, could be just the tool you're looking for. Apparently, they originate in Japan, and the name translates as "dig dig." They don't all have the exact same design, but they are similar. Modern versions are usually around a foot long. Most are shaped like a slender trowel with a sturdy, curved blade that has sharp cutting edges. One of the edges is often serrated.

The blade may also be marked with a depth gauge. It often finishes in a point, although some are forked. A twine cutter might be incorporated, and this could also double as a bottle opener — hey, gardening can be thirsty work! Handles typically have a hanging hole, and it's common for a belt sheath to be provided. Models from the Fiskars Steel Garden Knife and the Perwin Hori Hori Garden Knife are popular and excellent examples of their various features.

Many everyday garden tasks can be accomplished with just this one tool. It's easy to grip and strong enough to use with considerable force if you need to break up hard, compacted soil. The blade is long enough to dig up most types of weed and can split many plants that need to be divided before transplanting. If a particular model doesn't have a built-in twine cutter, an edge will usually do the job. They are also handy for harvesting vegetables or opening bags of compost, fertilizer, etc. The sheath helps prevent the edges from getting nicked, which could happen if it was left to rattle around with other tools. Some have stainless steel blades, so you avoid the dangers associated with using rusty tools when gardening.

It's tough to think of many drawbacks. Obviously, you need to be a bit careful with those sharp blade edges, especially if there are kids around. A garden knife isn't as broad as a standard trowel, so if you've got a lot of planting to do, it may not be the best answer. Also, while it can tackle occasional light pruning, it won't replace a good pruning saw for those who have lots of fruit trees to manage. However, that's not really the point. It may not be better than specific tools head-to-head, but nothing else offers the same level of convenience and versatility for the wide variety of small tasks that every gardener has to deal with.