Garden Bucket Caddy

There are many garden gadgets for sale, and many are not very useful or are so specialized that they are not worth getting. However, there is one gadget I find particularly handy and use all the time in the garden. It is called a tool or garden bucket caddy and is used, among other things, to carry your tools around, but it has also various other uses.

Caddy over a bucket with knee pad inside

This caddy is supposed to be slipped over a plastic bucket. In fact, it works better with two buckets. You need a second, smaller bucket to fit inside the first one on which you have fitted the caddy. That way, you can use the first one to carry tools but also to weed. You put the weeds in the smaller bucket that you have fitted inside the larger one. When you are finished weeding, you tip over the contents on the compost heap, without having all the tools fall off. My model has 16 pockets outside, more than I can use.  It has inside pockets as well, but I never put anything in these as it would interfere with the smaller bucket.

With such a bucket, you have all your small tools with you all the time. If you are weeding and  realize you require your pruners, or a length of string to tie up a plant, you have both with you. You don't need to go all the way back to your tool shed all the time. One thing I always carry, but which is too big for the various pockets of the caddy, is a knee pad. I simply put it inside the bucket. Many of the tools I store in this bucket are the ones you would expect, such as secateurs, string, dibber, knife etc.

However, I have a few tools that you might not be familiar with. One of the these, which I use most often, is a old table knife. This is a very useful tool to weed between stones or in very narrow places. It is easily mislaid, so the bucket is perfect for it. I carry two trowels, a regular one and a narrow one (pictured above) which is much more useful and, because it is narrow, much sturdier.

Another unusual tool is a chop stick. I do have a dibber I can use to plant bulbs or onions. But when you are planting or transplanting very small plants that have recently sprouted, a chop stick is particularly helpful. I used to have a small metal tool that was meant just for that. However, I long ago lost it. If I lose a chop stick, it is cheaply and easily replaced.