Plant care tools and equipment we use and recommend

Plant care is about organic and food-safe products, methods, and techniques.

But plant care goes beyond dealing with pests and diseases. You want to create a growing environment where plants thrive without introducing harmful chemicals and materials.

And here, nothing is more effective than early detection. Do spend time looking at your plants. Early detection is vital in fighting off pests and diseases successfully.

Another often overlooked factor is proper watering. Always water at the base of the plant and avoid getting the leaves wet. Then, there is mulching or using weed barrier landscape fabric to create a protective layer between the soil and plant.

Plant care tools & equipment we cover

1. Manual pressure pump sprayer
2. Far-reaching garden pressure pump sprayer
3. Neem oil
4. Weed barrier landscape fabric
5. Bubble wrap
6. Long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer
7. Soaker hoses
8. Hose carts
9. Gardening sleeves

But, as hard as I try, I have to face aphids, white flies, leaf miners, slugs, snails, and so on every year. Here on this page, I have gathered some of the tools I use for looking after and treating plants but also to help perennial herbs overwinter successfully.

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1. Manual pressure pump sprayer

Necessary? Not until you wake up to a full-on attack of aphids across several tomato or pepper plants. One of my better investments.

It is truly indispensable when you have more than a couple of plants to spray daily. Regular one-pump-per-spray bottles are great, but my hands get tired, and having that manual pump to build up pressure and then just be ready to go for several minutes is a blessing.

This model is great for close-up spray action. Look below if you need a model with further reach.

Far-reaching garden pressure pump sprayer

Great when you need to spray plants that are growing tall or when you need to reach deep.

I use mine specifically for indeterminate tomato varieties. Great if you need to spray those mature beefsteak tomato plants.

Neem oil

Effective pesticide for use on plants against aphids, powdery mildew, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leaf miners, and nematodes.

Easy to use and inexpensive compared to many other products, with no reported adverse effect on pets, earthworms, insects, or pollinators when used correctly. Please note, Neem oil is banned in the UK and Canada due to slight toxicity to marine wildlife.

Weed barrier landscape fabric

We can do several simple things to help our plants grow and thrive. Keeping weeds from growing and creating a protective layer between soil and plant belong to this group.

Weeds consume resources from your plants, and we all want to keep soil-born diseases far away from our herbs and vegetables. Using weed barrier landscape fabric can help you achieve both of these goals.

It can also be used to make your own DIY Grow Bags following our guide.

Bubble wrap

Bubble wrap is great for creating an insulating layer for perennial herbs and plants spending winter outdoors.

Place a piece of wood below the pot to lift it off the ground, and then cover it in bubble wrap. Be gentle, and you can reuse the bubble wrap for many more seasons to come.

Long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer

If you are a regular reader, you already know I make and use grow bags for many plants and vegetables. And if you have read my articles, you know that we never want to wet the leaves when watering plants.

And as it does get tiresome to bend down to water plants at soil level, a long-reach garden hose nozzle sprayer is truly a lifesaver for my back. I could honestly not do without it.

And with rows and rows of thirsty plants to water, it is a real timesaver!

Soaker hoses

Nice but not necessary, but oh so nice on a hot summer day when life gets in the way of gardening.

I place mine around my tomato plants and connect it to a timer for those hot days when I know my tomato plants will need water, and I am away. And no, while I have lovely neighbors, I would not trust them with my tomato plants.

Hose carts

The true workhorse of the garden. I have 2 of these, and they live on opposite sides of our house.

Reliable, easy-to-use, durable – I feel like I could go on, but my Gardena hose carts are great. The optional hose guide is a nice feature, and it makes a big difference, especially when rolling back the hose.

Protective gardening sleeves

Wearing gardening sleeves is second nature for me ever since I had nasty moles removed from my forearms in the ’90s.

And I think you should invest in a pair if you spend time outdoors in the sun wearing short-sleeved shirts.

Gardening sleeves protect against sunburn and harmful UV radiation but also keep you safe from cuts, scratches, insect bites, and itchy rashes.