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Many of the garden gifts I’ve seen in other garden gift guides aren’t a great fit for me, so I decided to put together a list who like some functional mixed in with their fun. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy gifts that I use on a daily basis. For me, those are some of my favorites, as each time I use them it remind me of the gift giver.
Garden Gifts for the Practical Gardener
Seed Assortments
I love trying out new seed varieties in the garden each year. My friends and I often swap so we can each try something new. If you’re having a holiday gathering, another fun option would be to by a seed assortment to divide among the guests. When you get together next year, you can compare notes on how each variety did.
Some interesting options on Amazon include:
- Heirloom Fruit, Vegetable and Herb Assortment
- “Dandelion” Assortment (two of these are chicory varieties)
- Summer Squash Assortment
- Sunflower Assortment
- Multi-Color Tomato Assortment
Seed Starting, Tools for in the Garden, Tool Organizers and Plant Supports
The post “The Best Garden Tools Help Make Gardening Easier” features my favorite tools for seed starting and in the garden, along with a list of garden book reviews featured on the website.
Make Harvesting Easier
I’ve used my Roo Gardening Apron for fruit picking, harvesting green beans, broccoli and even tomatoes. (Just don’t fill it too full!) It’s durable, washable, and has adjustable straps that evenly distribute the weight of the harvest. You can read my full review in the post 5 Ways a Roo Gardening Apron Makes Gardening Easier.
A sturdy basket like this Maine garden hod is another good option for gathering fruits and veggies. Made in Maine and built with a combination of wood and vinyl coated metal mesh.
Preserving the Harvest
The first step to preserving is cleaning, and one of the most useful tools in my kitchen for cleaning fruits and veggies is my over the sink strainer. It holds several quarts of produce, and has rubber feet to prevent slipping.
Water bath canning is a good place to start for the beginning canner, and basic canning sets have the tools you need to get started canning, including a 21.5-quart Canner, 5-piece Tool Set, and Jar Rack.
The All-American Canner is the top of the line pressure canner. It is gasket free and comes with 3 different regulator weights for precise canning, and as the name implies, it is made in the USA.
Excalibur dehydrators come in a variety of sizes, from the basic 5 tray unit to the 9 tray size. They are also available in a 9 tray stainless steel version for those who are trying to limit plastic use – complete with stainless steel trays.
For those with a bigger budget, a home freeze dryer may be a worthwhile investment. You can learn more about them in the post, “Home Freeze Drying – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly“.
When making sauerkraut, a sturdy kraut pounder is a must. Pantry Paratus stocks handcrafted maple kraut pounders that will last for generations.
Gardening Books
High Yield Vegetable Gardening by Colin McCrate and Brad Halm includes:
- worksheets
- planning guidelines
- crop selection for maximum production
- succession and relay planting
- soil maintenance tips
- pest management
- and more
Saving Vegetable Seeds by Fern Marshall Bradley is a great introduction to seed saving, covering the 20 most popular garden plants (including beans, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and peas).
The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds by Robert Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough is a more comprehensive seed saving boo, covering 322 Vegetables, Herbs, Flowers, Fruits, Trees, and Shrubs.
Garden Gifts Just for Fun
Flower Power Solar Spinner – Solar panels and LED color changing lights combine in this unique garden spinner. Very groovy.
Another “twist” on the garden spinner is this kinetic sculpture with bronze leaves. We have copper and bronze accents around our home, and I love the warmth of the coloring. Another plus on the spinners is that they may help annoy the deer enough to deter them from nibbling the garden.
Another copper item that caught my eye was this pure copper bamboo style rain chain. I liked the look of some of the leaf style rain chains,too, but the reviewers said that this design works better at channeling the water down and away from the home with less splashing.
This Fairy Garden Accessory kit is super cute, and would be a great way to get kids involved in gardening. Includes a How-to e-book with tips on creating your fairy garden.
Continuing with the fairy theme, this Fairy Garden Mushroom Cottage is the perfect centerpiece to your fairy garden collection.
Finally, some Christmas tree ornaments for your gardening friends.
and a garden fairy for the tree.
For the gardeners out there, what’s something that you would like to receive to make gardening easier or more enjoyable, or preserve the harvest? Leave a comment and let me know.
You may also find useful:
- Recommended Wildcrafting Reference Books – Weekly Weeder #1
- The Planet Whizbang Idea Book for Gardeners
- New to Gardening – Start Here – 10 Tips for Beginning Gardeners
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