A garden tool is any one of many tools made for

gardening Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. In gardens, ornamental plants are often grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants, such as root vegetables, leaf vegetables, fruits ...

and landscaping, which overlap with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture. Garden tools can be divided into

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and kni ...

s and power tools.

Hand tools

Today's garden tools originated with the earliest agricultural implements used by humans. Examples include the hatchet, axe, sickle, scythe, pitchfork, spade, shovel, trowel,

hoe Hoe or HOE may refer to: * Hoe (food), a Korean dish of raw fish * Hoe (letter), a Georgian letter * Hoe (tool), a hand tool used in gardening and farming ** Hoe-farming, a term for primitive forms of agriculture * Backhoe, a piece of excavati ...

, fork, and

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

. In some places, the machete is common. The earliest tools were made variously of wood, flint, metal, tin, and bone. The development of metalworking, first in copper and later in

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

, iron, and

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, produced today's durable tools, including such efficient cutting tools as pruning shears (secateurs – for example anvil pruners), grass shears, and loppers. Increasing use of modern alloys allows many tools to be made both stronger and lighter, making them more durable and easier to use.

Ergonomics

Some modern tool designs reflect ergonomic considerations, being designed to induce less stress on the human body in use. The most efficient tools keep the body in a neutral position to help reduce the stress on joints and muscles, which also require less energy to use.

Power tools

The first power tool to become popular with gardeners was the lawn mower. It was followed by various cultivators (such as the rototiller), string trimmers, hedge trimmers, lawn aerators, lawn sweepers, trenchers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, mini-tractors, and others. Power tools have resulted in the transition from manual labor to large-scale

mechanised agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...

Environmental impact

The exhaust fumes from primarily

2-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

gas-powered equipment is a source of air pollution.Lawn Equipment Improving Air Quality in Your Community
/ref> US emission standards specifically limit emissions from these small engines, which are being forced to become more efficient and less polluting.

References

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