What’s the Point?
I believe every active and prospective gardener should use ergonomic tools whenever possible. Why stress and strain to entice a bloom, kill a weed, prep a garden bed, or grow salad fixin’s? But wanting an ergonomic gardening tool and finding a quality one are two different things. There’s plenty of ‘ergo-washing’ out there.
I created Smooth Gardening as a hub for you to find those tools and gain some useful information along the way.
Smooth Gardening is NOT for you if:
- You enjoy merely glancing at products with the most star ratings, ‘Best Seller’ rankings, or ‘Most Wished For’ tables, to find something looking relatively comfortable and hope for the best
- You enjoy spending hours searching the web and reading ‘Best Ergonomic ______’ listicles
- You enjoy asking recommendations from a chat bot, then double checking the accuracy, and then asking for endless refinements
- You enjoy watching hours of recommendation videos, making written lists (or following links), and then do all the work returning you to first bullet point
We’re burnin’ daylight! Let’s get to it…
Why ‘The 5s’?
We are all familiar with the “The Top 3” and “The Top 10” headlines and listicles seeking our attention.
Gardeners know grouping a particular plant variety in odd numbers is naturally eye pleasing. Five seems just the right amount to feel a broad enough choice range is presented without becoming overwhelmed (or forgetting, and the reviewing, the first five items on a ten item list).
Check the price, follow your gut, and you’re likely going to be satisfied.
Why Do The Recommendations Differ from Amazon Rankings?
Ergonomic and adaptive gardening tools are growing in popularity, but are usually not the first options presented. Brand recognition, tradition, and price usually effect rankings more. I do not chase commissions and recommend only the best sellers and/or most expensive products.
I do my best to find tools that will get the job done while causing the least strain in the process. Ideally, the product will accomplish multiple tasks. The last thing we need is a tool that gets lost in the pile or to feel like we are lugging an entire tool shed out to the garden.
I do consider customer rankings, the manufacturer’s longevity and reputation, read the reviews, use a review checker to see if they are legit, watch the influencer and customer videos, and make sure the product meets standard erogonomic principles.
If you find a tool that meets your needs, please don’t shy away because it’s not the most popular. Hopefully you can become a product’s ambassador when others ask where you found the snazzy tool.
What Do the Tiers Mean?
The tiers are nothing more than price points. Tier 1 always represents the least expensive of the five items I’m recommending and flows higher. Obviously, there are less and more expensive items on the market. The tiers only apply to the specific products I research and recommend.
In some categories, the tiers will feel like apples-to-apples comparisons, others will be an array of options within the category and their price points.
If a price is not listed on the single product card, it means it’s currently out of stock at Amazon. You can always save it to a list, drop it in your cart, or create a reminder on the product page. The prices are fetched automatically and subject to change – higher or lower – and might alter where a product customarily ranks on the tier table.
Do I Own (Or At Least Test) Each Recommended Item?
No, I don’t. I recommend products I own (and like) or would purchase for myself. My recommendations may not fit your situation at all, but at least they provide you a sorted starting point. I do not seek, nor will not make, recommendations from paid endorsements. In addition to my recommendations, I highly suggest you watch any videos presented on Amazon’s listing page. You will intuitively know which one is right for you.
Why Do I List Countries of Origin?
The listing has nothing to do with any political stance. With ever changing supply chains, geopolitics, and weather interruptions, it’s always good to know how far a product has to travel before it gets in our hands. I assume most of Smooth Gardening’s readers live in the United States, so American manufacturers are listed whenever possible.
Ergonomic/adaptive/accessible gardening products are rarely made in the US. Many garden tool manufacturers are headquarted in the US but all production is elsewhere. As I research, it is interesting to see the “Buy American” versus “Made in America” advertising. Whether this changes with ‘re-shoring’, ‘friend-shoring’, or ‘near-shoring’ remains to be seen.
Regardless of where a tool is made, pick the best one for you and dismiss the rest. It’s your body, your garden, and your peace of mind that ultimately counts.
What’s The Takeaway?
My first hope is that Smooth Gardening becomes your “Go To” site to find an ergonomic gardening tool when a need emerges or you want to quickly re-tool as your gardening practices change. Maybe even inspire some gift giving.
My second hope is for Smooth Gardening to become a community where people share insights and further recommendations so I can improve my 5s.
As it develops, Smooth Gardening will become much more than an ergonomic/adaptive/accessible gardening product recommendation blog. Because ergonomic gardening is gaining in popularity but the information is scattered, I want Smooth Gardening to become an overall resource hub.
At the very least, please remember after a productive gardening session when you’re feeling tired, sweaty, grimy, bug bit, and wondering if it was all worth it, that you’re still ‘Keepin’ It Smooth’ with the tools and methods you discovered and nabbed from these pages.
