Spring Garden Must-Haves Under $40
Spring has arrived and with it comes that familiar urge to get back outside and start fiddling with things. Pots need repotting, seedlings need planting and somehow there is always at least one garden bed that looks as though nobody has loved it since June.
Having a few useful garden essentials on hand makes those Spring jobs much easier. Better still, good gardening gear does not have to cost a fortune.
Here are five Spring garden must-haves from the shop, all under $40 and all genuinely useful rather than destined to languish forgotten at the back of the shed.
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Get Your Tools Sorted
Garden Hand Tool Combo Pack, $38.00
A good trowel and hand fork are two of those simple tools you reach for constantly once the garden gets moving again in Spring.
This two piece set includes a Womby Hand Trowel and Casso Hand Fork, both made in Australia from 100% recycled HDPE plastic bottle lids. According to the current shop listing, each set diverts around 75 plastic lids from landfill and waterways, giving discarded plastic a far more useful second life.
At around 30 centimetres long, both tools are lightweight and easy to handle with a comfortable ergonomic grip. They are also UV and water resistant, so they are tough enough to handle year round garden use.
Use them for digging, loosening soil, planting seedlings, tackling weeds and generally poking around in the garden looking busy. We all do it.
Stock is limited at the time of writing, so this one may not hang around for long.
Feed Your Plants For The Growing Season
Ferti Grind Indoor Plant Fertiliser, $22.95
Spring is a good time to give indoor plants a little attention as growth begins to pick up again after Winter.
Ferti Grind Puck Pellets are a slow release fertiliser made primarily from spent coffee grounds collected from Australian hospitality businesses. Instead of those coffee grounds heading to landfill, they are turned into plant food. Frankly, coffee improving both humans and plants seems entirely reasonable.
The pellets are formulated with more than 240 beneficial microbes designed to support soil health, nutrient uptake and healthy root development.
They break down gradually over around two to two and a half months before they are ready to be reapplied. One 700g container can feed approximately 10 to 20 plants for six months or more depending on the size of the pots.
They are also low odour and pet friendly under normal use, which is especially handy when your plants share the living room with everyone else.
Make Repotting Mess-Free
Repotting Mats, Pack Of 2, $14.95
Spring and repotting tend to go hand in hand. Unfortunately, repotting and potting mix scattered across the table, floor and somehow three rooms away also tend to go hand in hand.
These compostable repotting mats make the whole process considerably tidier.
Made from compostable corn based material, simply lay a mat over your table, bench or workspace before you start. Once the plant has been repotted, shake off any reusable potting mix and the mat can eventually go into the compost when it has finished its useful life.
They are lightweight and fold flat for storage, making them particularly useful for apartment gardeners, balcony growers and anyone who does their repotting indoors.
Each pack contains two mats, so you can keep one handy for the next inevitable plant that suddenly looks suspiciously large for its pot.
Keep Outdoor Time More Comfortable
Shoo! Organic Insect Protection Spray For Face And Body, 500ml, $23.00
Longer Spring days mean more time spent outdoors. They also mean the return of some of Australia's less charming garden visitors.
Shoo! is an Australian made, DEET free outdoor spray made with organic witch hazel and a blend of essential oils including Rose Geranium, Citronella, Lemongrass, Rosemary and Lemon Eucalyptus.
Rather than smelling like the sort of thing you would normally expect from an outdoor bug spray, it has light woody, citrus and floral notes.
The maker describes the formula as gentle enough for children and babies and says it can also be applied to the face. Anyone with sensitive skin should patch test the product first and always follow the directions on the packaging.
It is an easy bottle to keep near the back door ready for gardening, barbecues, picnics and all those other occasions when you head outside intending to stay for ten minutes and somehow return two hours later.
Look After Your Hands Too
Lemon Myrtle & Mountain Pepper Leaf Natural Handmade Soap, $14.95
Gardening is wonderful for the soul. It is somewhat less glamorous for the hands.
After an afternoon of digging, weeding and discovering exactly how much soil can fit underneath one fingernail, a beautiful handmade soap feels like a small luxury.
This Australian made soap combines fresh Lemon Myrtle with Mountain Pepper Leaf, which provides gentle exfoliation. The maker recommends the soap particularly for oily or acne prone skin and describes Lemon Myrtle as helping to manage excess oil.
Each bar is handmade in small batches in Mt Beauty using locally sourced Victorian olive oil and Alpine rainwater. The fresh Lemon Myrtle scent has lemon and eucalyptus notes, so it is crisp, botanical and very Australian.
Stock is limited at the time of writing, so if this one appeals, it may be worth grabbing while it is still around.
Shop The Edit
Want the short version? Here is the whole Spring garden edit in one place:
- Garden Hand Tool Combo Pack — $38.00
- Ferti Grind Indoor Plant Fertiliser, 700g — $22.95
- Repotting Mats, Pack Of 2 — $14.95
- Shoo! Organic Insect Protection Spray For Face And Body, 500ml — $23.00
- Lemon Myrtle & Mountain Pepper Leaf Natural Handmade Soap — $14.95
Every product comes in under $40, so you can add one or two genuinely useful things to your Spring gardening kit without the purchase developing into a full blown garden centre incident.
We have all been there.
Getting The Most From These
None of these Spring garden must-haves need to be used together although they do make a rather good little gardening team.
Feed your indoor plants with Ferti Grind as their growth picks up, use the compostable mats when it is time to repot them then head outside with the hand trowel and fork to tackle your Spring planting.
Keep Shoo! handy for longer sessions outdoors and once the digging, planting and inevitable rearranging of pots is finished, give those garden weary hands a proper clean with the Lemon Myrtle & Mountain Pepper Leaf soap.
All five products come in under $40, which means there is no need to buy everything at once. Pick the things that will actually make your Spring gardening easier and add to your garden kit gradually.
Your garden will still find plenty of other ways to spend your money. It is very talented like that.