Also even during good times, the cost of salad greens and how quickly they went bad made it seem like a good choice.

When Matt and I were first starting out on the mountain, clearing property, we had very few tools. Some were given to us while we bought others. I can tell you that we went through a set of post hole diggers every year or two while getting this place the way it is today. That ended when we finally bought a power auger.

There are a lot of cheap tools out there that can lead to frustration and cost you more in the long run because you have to rebuy them more often and they can make it far less enjoyable to do what you need to do. Cheap tools can even lead to injury if they fail at key times.

That being said, there is the occasional cheap tool that will surprise you. We still have a $5 garden hoe we bought at a discount store 10 years ago or more. It seems like those types of treasures are harder to come by.

I am going to list some of the garden tools that you might want to consider. If you have just a few raised beds, then shorter hand tools may be all that you really need, I have been sure to include some of those as well.