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The best shovels you can buy for gardening by Michelle Ullman on Aug 31, 2018, 10:30 AM The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase. 
The Insider Pick: -
Every gardener needs a shovel to dig holes, break up soil, remove tough weeds, and edge lawns and trenches. -
While a shovel is undeniably not a sexy or exciting purchase, this utilitarian workhorse belongs in the tool shed of every gardener, whether that garden is a few potted plants, or an extensive vegetable garden. The only question is which type of shovel or spade you need? Serious gardeners will likely have more than one. Of course, there are a lot of different types of digging tools out there, which can make it confusing. Before going much further, we want to define a few terms that are often used interchangeably, but each has its own specific meaning. - As a general rule, garden shovels have rounded, concave blades that come to a point. Shovels are mostly used to dig holes in dirt, but are also handy for moving soil, snow, or other loose materials.
- Typically, garden spades have slightly concave blades with a flat edge, and while not so good for digging holes, they are useful for cutting through sod, edging your lawn, or marking a trench.
- Garden scoops have wide, flat blades that rise up into small “walls” along the sides. This is the tool of choice for moving mulch, compost, dead leaves, hay, or other lightweight loose materials.
- Trowels are small garden tools designed for one-handed use. They have a long, shovel-shaped blade and a short handle. Use your trowel for transplanting or digging in containers, making small holes in the garden for new plants, or removing individual weeds.
If your shovel-buying strategy has consisted of choosing the cheapest tool on the shelf, we’re here to tell you that while there is certainly no reason to break the budget on a shovel, it’s also true that you generally get what you pay for, and a quality garden tool should last you for many years if taken care of. That’s why we decided to do the research for you, and gather up this list of the best shovels and spades out there for a variety of uses. While we think the Fiskars Long-Handle Round-Point Steel Digging Shovel is the best garden shovel overall, we also recommend several others that serve different purposes. Here are the best garden shovels and spades you can buy: Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.The best garden shovel overall  Why you'll love it: No need to throw your back out digging in tough soil — The Fiskars Long-Handle Round-Point Steel Digging Shovel cuts through even compacted dirt and clods without breaking a sweat. Before you can plant that beautiful rosebush, shade tree, or blooming perennial, you need to dig a hole big enough to contain the roots. With the Fiskars Long-Handle Round-Point Steel Digging Shovel, you’ll get the job done with less effort and sweat than with many lesser garden shovels. If you only choose one shovel for your garden, we recommend that this be the one. This beauty of a tool has a 14-gauge steel blade and an 18-gauge steel handle welded together so the shovel won’t snap even under rugged use. It has a large foot platform so you can really throw your weight into your digging, and a rubbery orange grip to keep your gloved hands in place without slipping or sliding. (You are wearing gardening gloves while doing heavy yard work, right?) Gardening site Humid Garden chose the Fiskars shovel as a best-choice-for-digging, writing, “Fiskars offers industrial-quality strength at a bargain price with this sturdy, steel-handled offering.” They do comment, however, that at 6.3 pounds, this is a fairly heavy garden tool. The Fiskars Long-Handle Round-Point Steel Digging Shovel is 57.5 inches long, making it suitable for most average-height gardeners. Pros: Extremely durable steel construction, welded blade and handle, lifetime guarantee Cons: A bit heavy
The best short garden shovel  Why you'll love it: If you prefer short-handled shovels, or are working in tight quarters in a flowerbed, you’ll appreciate the sturdy construction, D-shaped handle for easy gripping, and compact size of the Bond Mini D-Handle Shovel. While a long-handled shovel provides more leverage and allows you to remain more upright while digging — your back will thank you later — in some situations, a short-handled shovel is easier to work with. If you are digging in a tightly defined area, are digging a trench, or are very short, you might prefer a shovel with a short handle. And if so, you’ll find the Bond Mini D-Handle Shovel to be the best choice. Gardening site Puffy Carrot has this to say about the Bond shovel: “The shovel has a sturdy steel handle, a steel head, and rust-resistant powder-coated finish, all of which guarantee that you will have it among your tools for years to come.” However, they mention that the short handle — the entire shovel is only 27.6 inches long — means that this tool can be hard on your back during extended sessions of digging. Instead, this might be most useful for small digging jobs in flowerbeds, or for lifting and moving dirt and other garden debris. Pros: Strong steel construction, D-shaped handle is easy to grip, reasonable price, easy to fit in your car’s trunk Cons: Short-handled shovels can be hard on your back
The best garden spade  Why you'll love it: When it’s time to edge, move mulch or compost, or break through extra-tough soil, the Fiskars D-Handle Garden Spade is up to the job. We chose this Fiskars Spade as our top pick for a garden spade in our more general guide to the best gardening tools available, and we still believe this is the best choice for your garden. Like the Fiskars Long-Handle Shovel, it has a 14-gauge steel blade welded to an 18-gauge steel handle that won’t break or bend even during the heaviest garden jobs. The edge of the blade is sharp, so you’ll slice right through sod, hard soil, compacted roots, and tough weeds without much of a struggle. And the rubberized D-shaped grip gives you a little bit of extra leverage when needed. This is a useful tool for moving garden debris of all types. The Fiskars D-Handle Garden Spade has more than 225 Amazon reviews and an average of 4.6 stars. Buyers praise the spade’s sturdy construction. Many comment that they use this spade to edge their lawn or cut through tough roots, and that it does so quite easily. A very few buyers complained that their spade bent, however. The Fiskars garden spade is 47 inches long and weighs just under five pounds. Pros: Very sturdy construction, sharp edge cuts cleanly through sod, compacted soil, and roots Cons: None to speak of, but a very small number of buyers complained that the spade bent during use
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