Organic Gardening Tools and Necessories
An organic gardening necessory, as coined by me, is a really necessary accessory. The following are my favorite necessories: Compost Bins, Ladybugs, Lacewings, Earthworms and Potato Forks.

"Compost Bins, All Shapes and Sizes"
Organic gardening requires compost, compost and more compost. There are numerous compost bins and accessories you can buy to be a successful composter. The Garden Gourmet compost bin is neat and tidy and doesn't take up much space. Also, you will need a compost aerator and a compost activator. Because I love to do things on a grand scale, one of my best purchases has been The Mantis ComposT-Twin - for a continuous supply of compost! One-year money-back guarantee. Two-chamber rotating composter holds up to 25 bushels. It’s completely enclosed so there’s no mess, no odors! Plus it’s so easy to empty. While you are at the Mantis site check out their OXO garden tools, especially the Gel-e handles. Great for arthritic hands!

If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, you can always build your own compost bin. For starters a good pamphlet to read is Easy Composters You Can Build by Nick Noyes. Don't know how to compost, I recommend getting Let It Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-to-Earth Guides) by Stu Campbell or Basic Composting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (Basic How-to Guides) (Spiral-bound) by Erich Ebeling (Editor).

For composting kitchen scraps, I have found it is best to keep a kitchen compost crock handy. Saves a lot of time traipsing out to the big compost bin. Keep in mind, no meat or dairy products should be composted. Norpro makes a variety of kitchen compost keepers, which I'm fond of, ranging from stainless steel to ceramic.

"Ladybugs, Lacewings, and Earthworms"

You just cannot do organic gardening justice without ladybugs, lacewings, and earthworms. Ladybugs and Lacewings thrive on aphids. Earthworms, naturally till and enrich your soil. They will be attracted to your gardens once you stop using chemicals and pesticides. To give you a headstart, you can order all of these and many other beneficial insects for organic pest control from Arbico-Organics. Click here now and save 10%. In early spring, order Praying Mantids. They eat most pest insects, caterpillars, leafhoppers and mosquitoes; however, if there are not enough pests available the Mantids will eat the beneficial insects too.

"Gardening Tools, Especially Potato Forks" Just like a fine athlete wouldn't enter a competition without the best of equipment, you should approach gardening the same way with respect to tools. My favorite garden tool is a potato fork, or a spading fork, as some people refer to it. Not only can you dig potatoes, but a potato fork makes it easy to turn all types of soil. Make sure it is forged steel so it will be durable and last a long time. I've had my original fork for about thirty years. The tines are a little bent but it has turned some pretty hard clay soil in its lifetime and lifted some pretty big rocks (don't really recommend this usage but sometimes I get carried away when in the midst of battle). It is a good idea to have on hand a cultivator, hoe and a good  shovel. I also use a wheelbarrow and an Ez-Haul Poly Garden Cart. My Ez-Haul can carry bigger, heavier loads a lot easier than a wheelbarrow because it has bicycle tires that make for great maneuverability.

Whatever your favorite gardening tools and necessories are be sure to take good care of them. If you take the time to clean them and put them away, in order that you will know exactly where to find them the next time you are ready to use them, your gardening experience will be much better.