Vegetable Gardener Gift Ideas
Tackle garden chores with an ergonomic trowel, a serrated garden knife and a hat with a wide brim and protective neck covering
Do you need gifts for the vegetable gardener in your life? Often when I reach for a particular tool or garden aid, I think about how useful it is or what a good gift it would make for a fellow gardener. Below are some of these favorite items that might spark some ideas for holiday gift giving. (Note: These are Patty’s personal selections, not paid endorsements.)
Gardening Books
There are so many books out there about vegetable gardening. I am partial to those written by authors who actually live and garden in Texas. If it doesn’t have okra in the index, I’m not buying it! The Texas Gardener magazine website offers the following books – authored by noted Texas experts – along with a variety of excellent tools. The Texas A&M University Press is another great source.
- Grow Great Vegetables in Texas by Trisha Shirey
- Easy Gardening for Texas by Joseph G. Masabni
- Texas Fruit and Vegetable Gardening by Greg Grant
Two books that don’t feature vegetables but have great local gardening advice are offered by the Travis County Master Gardeners.
- The Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity features a month-to-month garden guide and our vegetable planting calendar.
- From Drought to Deluge: The Resilient Central Texas Garden contains information on Austin area soil types, weather patterns, composting, and reducing dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Gift Certificates
Most local nurseries and mail order catalogs offer gift cards or e-mail certificates that can be sent directly to the recipient and make excellent gifts for the vegetable gardener. Many of the seed sources we recommend have extensive tool sections.
Favorite Garden Tools
Helpful tools for the hardworking vegetable gardener: a stainless steel widger, compost thermometer, half-gallon pump sprayer, Texas Gardener baseball cap, irrigation timer, sun sleeves and Joyce Chen scissors.
- A CobraHead Weeder is a multi-tasking tool that can be used for weeding, loosening soil, digging a seed furrow, edging a row and more.
- Ergonomic tools are always welcome. Check out the Radius website for a variety of garden tools designed to increase comfort and minimize stress on hands and wrists.
- Small handheld pump sprayers, like the half-gallon size, are useful for small jobs.
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds is an excellent source for vegetable seeds as well as many useful tools. Some favorites are a stainless steel widger for potting up seedlings, a compost thermometer, harvest aprons, long-handled weeders, and biodegradable seedling pots.
- I LOVE this serrated garden knife from Barnel. It is great for harvesting greens, removing diseased leaves from plants and chopping weeds off at the soil line.
- Large dish bins, usually available at restaurant supply stores, are great to have on hand. You can use them for mixing and storing potting soil, for transporting vegetable transplants from the nursery in your car, or for carrying supplies to the garden.
Sun Protection
- My favorite hats are from Tula and Sunday Afternoons. Texas Gardener also offers baseball caps in 5 colors, including burnt orange and maroon.
- Sun sleeves can protect your arms without slathering on tons of sunscreen.
Garden Bling
Garden bling like a birdbath, a decorative sign, metal artwork, plant labels, sun catchers or other decor that match the gardener’s personality make great gifts for the vegetable gardener.
Gift Memberships
Consider a membership to a local garden or gardening organization. Two examples are the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center or the American Horticultural Society. Both offer reciprocal admissions to beautiful public gardens across the country.
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A sturdy plastic bin, gardening books, and other tools help make gardening more fun and successful. |
Additional Resources
Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County
Sustainable Food Center Farmers Markets
