Calling Gardeners and those who online shop for fun…

[saraha]

My sister is tough to buy for for Christmas. She last summer started a little raised bed Garden and LOVED it. I am looking for some kind of garden thing @$50 that is not a decoration as such. Please let me know if you run across anything. Gift exchange is the 19th which is coming fast, we have prime if that helps.

Thanks!

[MercyA]

Gardener's Journal

Gardening Tote Bag

Harvest Basket

[Arcadia]

1 Gallon Multi-Purpose Lawn and Garden Pump Sprayer 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-1-Gallon-Multi-Purpose-Lawn-and-Garden-Pump-Sprayer-1501HDXA/307766754

gardening stool

[*****]

A tote type bag for sure is helpful. Even a good pair of shears, like from Fiskars. Also, plant tags. Some are plastic and you can write on them, or even something fancier. They add up quickly, so its not something I go out and buy for myself. 

[Lori D.]

- Watering can -- $12 or similar can for $2 -- for small gardens or indoor plants
- Garden set -- $25 -- stainless steel tool set, gloves, and organizer bag
- Seed starting tray -- $15 -- plus a gift card to a seed company with a catalog 
- Square Foot Gardening -- $14 -- great book about small gardening by Mel Bartholomew
- gift card to a local garden shop or Home Depot or Loews (for buying plants, seeds, tools, etc.)

Mail order catalogs for seeds and gardening supplies:
Burpee
Gardens Alive
Gurney's
Johnny's
Park Seed
Seeds of Change

more seed companies in this list


ETA:
For plant tags, I use wood that bio-degrades -- either old popsicle sticks or larger "tongue depressor" size. Here's a set of 100 + 2 gel pens for $8.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Lori D.

[Faith-manor]

1 hour ago, saraha said:

My sister is tough to buy for for Christmas. She last summer started a little raised bed Garden and LOVED it. I am looking for some kind of garden thing @$50 that is not a decoration as such. Please let me know if you run across anything. Gift exchange is the 19th which is coming fast, we have prime if that helps.

Thanks!

One thing that was absolutely wonderful for me was a moisture/PH meter. So helpful. You can pick them up for $20, and then add a pretty gardening journal to it. 

[BeachGal]

I use these tools a lot:

a pair of little pointy scissors, $8, lightning deal

bypass pruners, $14

ratchet bypass pruners which are great for cutting thick stems and branches, $14

OR

depending on how big her bed is, a soaker hose of xx length that she could lay down in her raised bed to make watering easier, $20 for 2

galvanized garden staples to pin down the soaker hose, $10

then these quick connect hose attachments that make it super easy to connect/disconnect hoses and turn water on/off, $14

[TechWife]

If she has young children or grandchildren, the book Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots is a delightful read. 

Everyone has great ideas - I’m going to ask for one of those meters myself, @Faith-manor. 

[kathyl]

I use 5-gallon buckets and a grabber reachy thing for tons of stuff in our flower beds and in the yard.  The bucket is nice because I can lean on it when I'm weeding and it saves my back a little.  The grabber also saves my back - not so much bending over.

You could get a white or yellow bucket and let your kids decorate it, if they're artsy.

I buy regular leather work gloves and use them for everything, including gardening.  It's really saved my hands.

 

And I carry one of these in my bucket for pruning and trimming things:

LIVINGO 10" Multipurpose Heavy Duty Scissors, Premium Titanium Coating Forged Stainless Steel Tool Industrial Shears for Household Pruning, Gardening, Fabric

 

I also got one of these for my dh because he does the watering/sprinklers.  He loves it.

RAINPOINT Sprinkler Timer, Dual Water Timer for Garden Hose Faucet, Fully Programmable with Rain Delay/Manual/Automatic Watering Functions, Outdoor Irrigation Timer Controller for Lawn, Yard, 2 Zones

 

Oh, and a wide-brimmed hat and some Repel.  I spray the top and bottom of the brim with Repel to keep the bugs out of my face.  And the hat protects me from the scorching sun here.  (Can you tell gardening is all about comfort for me?  😉  lol)

Edited December 6, 2023 by kathyl

[ikslo]

I’m really hard on gloves and have to constantly buy new ones. I would love for everyone in my life to gift me gloves. 🤣

[KungFuPanda]

8 hours ago, saraha said:

My sister is tough to buy for for Christmas. She last summer started a little raised bed Garden and LOVED it. I am looking for some kind of garden thing @$50 that is not a decoration as such. Please let me know if you run across anything. Gift exchange is the 19th which is coming fast, we have prime if that helps.

Thanks!

 

[KungFuPanda]

I just bought this 🥰

[Innisfree]

A compost bin (this is a simple, inexpensive one) https://www.amazon.com/BanKhok-Geobin-Compost-Bin/dp/B010V673AC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=1RKJI0DEU01EZ&keywords=geobin+compost+bin&qid=1701950472&sprefix=geobin%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-3

Book on composting https://www.amazon.com/Let-Rot-Composting-Down-Earth/dp/1580170234/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=15ED8ZOEMH3VR&keywords=compost+book&qid=1701950572&sprefix=compost+book%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-4

gift certificate for a good nursery or seed catalog: two favorites here are 

https://seedsavers.org/

https://ediblelandscaping.com/

(Note that at Seedsavers, membership is different from a gift certificate, and not something she’d need initially or perhaps ever.)

 

[PeppermintPattie]

I would buy a kneeling seat. I don't think I would do any yardwork if I couldn't use one! 

[Serenade]

This little tool is the single-most valuable gardening tool in my arsenal.  I bought one last Christmas for myself and also for my sister.  It really makes it easy to transplant small plants without disturbing the soil of others around them. And you can get the root from fairly deep down with little effort -- so much easier than with a garden trowel.  

https://www.botanicalinterests.com/products/widger

 

[Bambam]

I have three of these flexible tubs. I'm not sure they are actually meant for gardening, but I find them very useful. They help transport dirt when I need additional dirt, they hold weeds when I'm weeding, they hold the plants I buy as I relocate to where I want to put them, they are useful when mixing your own dirt/manure/peat moss/whatever mixture.  I'm not sure this is the brand I have because I got the first one from Marshall's Home Good store and liked it so much I picked up two more from Tractor Supply. They have a variety of sizes too. I have three different colors because that makes me happy. 
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Gorilla-Flexible-Gardening-Pistachio/dp/B000UJUS7G?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1

ETA: I'm pretty sure I didn't pay anywhere near that price though! The medium is about the size I have, but I'm pretty sure I paid like $15 at Tractor Supply for the last two. 

ETA 2 - I guess I should have just looked at the Tractor Supply website: Here are the Tuff Stuff bins - I didn't realize they had a colander one too!
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/catalog/buckets-pails-tubs?filter=1q|Tuff Stuff

Edited December 7, 2023 by Bambam

[Cecropia]

I've found this hand weeder to be a useful design.  Agree with the gloves idea and might need to ask for a kneeler/seat for myself now 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S0PGN4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[Rosla]

On 12/7/2023 at 2:42 AM, ikslo said:

I’m really hard on gloves and have to constantly buy new ones. I would love for everyone in my life to gift me gloves. 🤣

You know, sometimes such small things can be really needed, and gloves are one of them. So, I also would be happy to receive an extra pair as a gift 🙂 I often check stoneberry for good deals. I should say, it might be worth checking for gifts for people who loke gardening.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Rosla