Smart Tips for Organizing All of Your Gardening Supplies
If your gardening supplies have taken on a life of their own, you’re not alone. Many home gardeners find themselves discovering wayward packs of seeds tucked in kitchen drawers, plant clips once in pockets turning up in the washing machine, and tomato cages thrown haphazardly under the deck. Plus, it seems like tools and other gardening essentials multiply with every season, and without a dedicated system, you are left with chaos.
Fortunately, getting your garden gear organized doesn’t require a major renovation or a massive budget. “By using creative storage solutions, you can spend less time searching for your garden supplies and more time keeping your garden looking its best,” says Susanna Pagan, landscape designer with SP Gardens in San Diego, California. We collected tips on how to store gardening supplies and stay organized so you can spend more time in the garden enjoying what you love instead of scrambling to find supplies.
Take Advantage of Vertical Space
The experts we spoke to agree that utilizing wall space is a smart way to organize gardening tools. “Wall-mounted systems keep tools separated, visible, and easy to access,” notes Pagan. This can include shelves, hooks, magnetic strips, and/or pegboards.
For large tools like rakes, shovels, and hoes, use hooks. “Spaced wall hooks with tool heads up and handles aligned stop tangles and make it obvious when something is missing,” says Patrick Martin, horticulture specialist at Frantoio Grove in San Martin, California. Pegboards are a wonderful option for smaller accessories and hand tools, such as trowels, weeders, and gloves. “Traditional pegboards with round holes have been used for years to organize garden tools. You can level up the look by choosing something like slat wall panels in black for a more modern feel,” suggests Pagan. Consider adding labels or tracing simple outlines behind trowels, pruners, and weeding knives so you can put items away without thinking, even in a hurry, says Martin. Finally, Martin suggests using a short magnetic strip for attaching small metal items you otherwise may often lose, such as spare blades and springs.
Store in Style
Storage doesn’t have to be an eyesore, says Pagan. “When storage is visually appealing, you’re far more likely to maintain it,” she says. “In working with my clients and through my own gardening supply storage experiences, I’ve found that purchasing a storage shed or adding garage shelves with labeled baskets and bins is essential,” she says. Grab some stylish wicker baskets and caddies for holding garden supplies.
Another helpful option, says Pagan, is to find functional larger pieces, such as a cabinet or armoire, that can double as backyard décor and house a variety of items, such as self-watering planters. She recommends this Noble House Blanche Grey Tall Metal Storage Shed sold at Home Depot that looks more like furniture than utilitarian tool storage, which is perfect for blending into your outdoor space. Also, Terrain sells a teak storage cabinet with a potting shelf and storage cabinets that would be a beautiful accent piece.
File Away Seeds
Seeds packets tend to be the most cumbersome gardening materials to keep organized. If you can’t see what you already have, seeds will keep piling up. Try using old filing cabinets for seed storage, says Mike Malone, an avid gardener and sales representative at Sunrise Structures in Rochester, Indiana. “Take old filing cabinets, add some heavy-duty filing cabinet folders with labels, and then place your seeds in the correct file,” explains Malone. “You can organize each drawer to be a different category of seeds: one drawer can be for flower seeds and another drawer can be for garden vegetable seeds.” You can also add tags to each one of the files in the drawers so you can quickly find the specific seeds you want. “Filing cabinets are also not 100 percent airtight, which is good, so the seeds can air out,” he adds. Another option is to store seed packets like baseball cards in sheet protectors with compartments. You can then place them all into a carefully labeled three-ring binder to store easily on a shelf or inside a drawer.
Safely Stash Amendments and Chemicals
When dealing with amendments and chemicals, safety and shelf life are the priority. Martin advises storing products in original containers, secured in a lockable cabinet, away from heat and moisture, and out of reach of children and pets, which aligns with common pesticide safety guidance. “Place liquids on a tray to catch drips and keep powders sealed so humidity does not turn them into bricks,” says Martin. “Also, fertilizers and other pest-attracting supplies last longer in sealed containers.”
Reel in Your Hose
Garden hoses can quickly become unwieldy if not stored properly. When it comes to this essential tool, the goal is to prevent kinks, leaks, and trips, says Martin. “Wall-mounted hose reels keep hoses dry and reduce cracking, and spare hoses should be coiled off the ground, so they do not become a mouse nest.” Small fittings cause the most frustration, so keep emitters, washers, couplers, and end caps together in a labeled compartment box so repairs are quicker if something fails mid-season.
If you’re tired of making multiple trips back and forth, a mobile storage caddy can be a great solution for holding garden tool supplies, says Pagan. “It can be rolled out into the garden, so everything you need is within arm’s reach,” she explains. You can purchase garden totes in a variety of sizes and colors, and many include pockets to organize tools. You can also make your own garden tote using a basket, plastic bucket, bins, or heavy-duty waterproof bag.
Label and Light Up Everything
It’s not sufficient to just throw your gardening tools and other supplies onto shelves and into bins; labeling everything clearly is key to finding them all later. Martin suggests choosing containers and labels that match the tasks. “Keep clear, lidded bins so you don’t end up with mystery boxes, and label them by job to reduce the urge to dump everything in together,” says Martin. To stay super organized, he recommends taping a simple inventory checklist on a nearby wall or on the shelf housing the supplies. “This stops duplicate purchases and makes the first spring shop more accurate.”
Finally, don’t forget to light up the area where you store garden equipment. “Lighting is a surprisingly big part of organization, too, because even a tidy shed becomes chaotic when you cannot see what you are reaching for,” notes Martin. “Therefore, a bright, reliable light near the entrance pays for itself in time saved and fewer accidents.”
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