Ames Planter's Pal - Review

With gardening season just getting underway here in the Northeast, Ames sent us a sample of their Planter's Pal, a sort of an all-in-one gardening tool. When we got it, we immediately handed it over to the head gardener, Mrs. Tool Snob, since it seems like we're only allowed in the garden when heavy things need to be moved. Other than that, it's off limits to us.

Her thoughts are as follows....

Actually, first, a quick description of the tool. The Planter's Pal is a shallow trowel. One side of the trowel has a smooth edge and the other has a serrated edge. At the top of the trowel part, near the handle, there is a notch for cutting twine. At the bottom of the trowel part, there is another notch for weeding. The base of the handle can also serve a tamping purpose, and up the entire length of the tool are little marks at every inch, so depth can easily be gauged. The trowel is made of chrome plated steel and the handle is plastic and has a nice feel to it.

So what did Mrs. Snob think? She liked it quite a bit. According to her, any gardening tool that has more than one purpose is nice because it's one less thing she has to lug out to the garden. She also liked that the trowel is so shallow because it makes transplanting very easy. She says that this tool isn't going to replace her traditional trowel for serious digging, but for most situations, it's going to to do fine. The serrated edge gained high marks for slicing open bags of mulch and soil.

She said it was nice to have all of that functionality in one little tool. When we asked, she said that the Planter's Pal has earned a spot in her small little bucket of gardening tools. And if you had any idea how finicky she can be about certain things, you'd be aware that this is very high praise indeed.

$11 at Amazon.com

Read More in: All Reviews | Hand Tools | Lawn/Garden

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