Ever wonder if Santa has a greenhouse at the North Pole? You know, a person can’t live on cookies alone! And, he needs something to do in the downtime of winter.

Since gardening supplies might not have made it into Santa’s sack this year, I wanted to share what you can get for yourself this time of year — the gardener’s necessities. The necessities in my tote (and Santa’s) are pruners, a soil knife and a cape cod weeder.

The two basic types of pruners are bypass and anvil. Bypass pruners have two blades that pass each other like scissors when you make the cut. Anvil pruners have a sharpened blade that simply stops on a hard flat surface, causing a crush type of cut.

My favorite type of pruners are bypass blades that give a clean cut. An uneven cut hinders the plant’s ability to heal, potentially allowing insects and diseases to invade. Loppers are best for the bigger jobs our pruners aren’t meant for (even though we’ve all tried). Price does matter on pruners, but the cheapest ones are good starters to know what works best for your favorite gardener.

My soil knife, also known as a Hori Hori knife, acts as a three-in-one tool. It excels at weeding, planting, dividing crowns and cutting roots. My cape cod weeder multitasks as it slices through the soil, cutting weeds below the surface while it aerates and loosens the soil.

A couple of types of good-quality gloves will keep your manicure looking good, although this is something I really don’t have to worry about. Look at leather for jobs where you want to protect your hands and ones that have some waterproofing built in for planting and weeding.

A wide-brimmed hat to protect you from the sun, which I hear is an all-day item in the North Pole during a few weeks at the height of summer. I’ll always remember my granny in her big garden hat working in her garden and riding her lawn mower.

She is who I got my love of gardening from, and I hope I’ve passed this along to my son and now working on my grandsons. This is a wonderful way to keep the tradition going full circle. I also wear baseball hats even though they don’t offer good sun protection, but there are just so many “expressive” ones.

There are many types of water bottles with some keeping our beverage cold for hours. Keeping hydrated while working in the heat is important. This is also the best time to include a book to enjoy while taking a much-needed break under the shade tree. If you have a “fur” assistant, a stash of dog treats will be appreciated. It’s hard work always laying in the exact spot where I need to work next.

A pair of garden sloggers to keep your feet dry while doing garden tasks. I have a killer pair of chicken sloggers as we need to be stylish. A pair of boots is another idea to include in your gift tote. A roll of garden tape to tie up those errant vines will be appreciated. I’ve used both the green plastic and the Velcro type. The Velcro allows you to have more control when gathering more than one stem.

Next year, go ahead and ask for a gift certificate to your favorite garden center. That will always work if it’s too much pressure on the big guy to choose the right thing.

To learn more about the best tools for your garden chores for 2025, visit https://go.osu.edu/favoritetools

Baytos is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer in Mahoning County.