Harvest Moon taught me about some of the farming tools actually. I had completely forgotten about that 'Home Economics' class back in high school or I just didn't take it seriously. And nobody was really into gardening when I was a child. I don't have the top-notch gardening tools due to my limited budget, but what's important for now is for me to be able to remove the weeds and scoop the soil. It is really easy to go overboard with purchasing gardening tools especially with the latest modern equipment that promises convenience and ease of use. It's really fine to break a sweat, get down to the soil, and get dark under the sun unless of course, you're a sweet, fragile thing.

I actually got some of my basic equipment from home depot and $1 store. These things won't take up a lot of space and don't really cost a lot of money. So if you're planning to grow your own food, you can start with some of these basic gardening tools.

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Shovel

I didn't manage to get an expensive heavy duty shovel but this is good enough for now. If you're a big man, you probably need a bigger and durable shovel that you won't be able to break. But I think I'd still be able to slowly dig a grave with this.

A shovel is a tool for digging, moving bulk materials (soil, gravel, snow, sand etc.) and for lifting. I need this tool to be able to get a huge amount of soil. I'll discuss soil quality and ph level in my next post.

Rake and Hoe

I found a dual hand tool - rake and hoe. I don't need a big tool for my little gardening. A hoe is an ancient agricultural hand tool used to remove weeds, harvest crops and clear the soil. You really need to work a bit to clear those weeds as they keep on coming back. It's time to burn some fat!

The hand rake is a very useful gardening tool for collecting leaves, loosening the soil and removing dead grass. It is mainly used for general purposes in agriculture but it might also be good for self-defense. In case you need to rake someone's face to save your life.

Hand Trowel

A garden trowel is like a scoop with a plastic, metal or wooden handle. It is used for digging small holes, breaking up the earth, mixing fertilizers and for transplanting plants to pots. I think this is a very important tool for gardening indoors.

Organic Compost

Compost is the key ingredient to organic farming and for building fertile soil. You can use this to mix with your soil. I'm going to discuss this later as another topic. I don't really want to buy a plastic bag of organic compost all the time. Since I have a huge front yard here, I'm just going to make my own compost pit. It's kind of hard to dig but I can do it with time and patience.

I think compost would be an interesting project that I really want to feature here. Call it my compost adventure! If only everyone composted their garden and kitchen waste, the world would be a cleaner place. And people would all enjoy more organic gardens.

Garden Pot

When I was a kid, I used to see a lot of primitive clay pots. I actually learned to make a clay pot when I was traveling in Uruguay. But this seems more expensive now. I got a little plastic pot for starters. Actually, I don't really need to buy. I have seen locals using discarded plastic containers, water barrels, 2-liter soft drink bottles and other reusable materials for their plants. Just make sure to make enough drainage. Those plastic bottles can also be used to water your plants.

Now all I need is to go out and scavenge to get some free gardening materials. It seems odd but I don't really care what people think. Now if only everyone scavenges and reuses, the world will be a better place.