What's In Your Garden Bag?

Inspired by our new jute garden tote, we started wondering which items some of the most avid gardeners among us couldn’t leave home without. Who better to ask than Karen C., a longtime urban gardener and the newest expert on our plant buying team? When she’s not planting containers at home, she travels to the community garden in her Philadelphia neighborhood, so her tote sees a lot of use. Karen obligingly dusted the dirt from her essential tools, and also shared a few new pieces she’d like to add to her bag this year.

A. Heirloom Squash Seeds: My friend collects heirloom seeds and shared this squash variety with me. He also did the sketch on the envelope!

B. Twine: I always keep twine in my bag for tying tomatoes or climbing plants. This handy spool prevents it from getting tangled up with my tools.

C. Hori-hori & Weeder: This Japanese hori-hori knife is my favorite tool of all time—it’s perfect for digging, weeding, planting, and lots of other garden tasks. It has a ruler on the blade that comes in handy when you need to plant something at a specific depth. I also can’t leave home without my weeder. This one is small enough to be precise and not damage the roots of your plants.

D. Wheat Grass Seeds: Wheat grass makes a beautiful pop of green for planters. It’s also easy to grow, and perfect for juices and smoothies. What’s not to love?

E. Seed Packets: I always have seed packets floating around in my bag—some brand new and some open ones from past seasons. Cilantro is my favorite herb, so I’m constantly sowing a few seeds here and there.

F. Tulip Trowel: This is at the top of my wish list! I'm on the lookout for a new trowel this year, and this inventive design from DeWit fits the bill because it can work as a both a trowel and fork, keeping my bag lighter.

G. Lavender Gardener’s Salve: Spending time in the garden can be tough on your skin thanks to sunburn, bug bites, and prickly plants. My bag always has sunscreen and bug spray. This year I'm going to pick up a soothing cream like this lavender salve, to give my hands some TLC after a day in the dirt. 

H. Burlap: When I’m planting a container, I like to add a sheet of burlap between the stony drainage layer and the soil. The burlap helps the soil stay in place so the container can drain properly.