A good garden requires work and many tools.
Depending on the size garden you want to work and where you are I recommend a
Massey Ferguson 35 or
135 tractor,
preferably an older tractor that's easy to maintain and get parts for, and one with a right foot pedal that will lock the rear axle into positive traction when you need it. Also one with a working PTO and a three point hitch.
The MF 35 and 135 tractors are shorter than the
MF 50 or 165 tractors, and can work in tighter spots.
Next for the tractor you'll need a
sub soiler, a
3-Point Disc Harrow, and a
cultivator to lay out the rows.
Use the sub-soiler first to break up the ground 18 to 24 inches deep, about every 3 foot and crisscross at three different angles.
Then disk up the soil three or four times over several weeks to kill the grass and weeds and aerate the soil.
When you think you've got the ground ready to plant, use the cultivator to lay put your planting rows, normally 36 inches apart.
Planting, I like the "
EarthWay ® Precision Garden Seeder, Model 1001B" and get all the attachments, the
seed wheels in the box of six and the
fertilizer attachment.
Next, I recommend a good
post-hole diggers, which is great for planting tomato and pepper plants.
Buy the good pair, and not the cheap pair, and check your hand fit, because depending on the size of your hands, the size of the handles matters.
Now you need two different hoes, and always buy wooden handles.
Get a
Hula Hoe because there are many different ways to use it.
Then get a
regular hoe.
Now you need a tiller and I like the
Husqvarna DRT900H because it's strong and fairly easy to use. (you can rent this, but it's better and cheaper to buy one).
Next you need a bean pole hole puncher *normally a heavy tool steel bar about 6 foot long and about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter, with a sharp point on one end).
This is to make holes to ut bean sticks in if you plant climbing vine beans,
Some people use fence posts and 5 ft hog wire to let the vines crawl on, and there are many different sways to support climbing vines.
Finally, you need a machete to cut the bean poles with, and any 18" machete will do.
Then get some good quality garden hoses to water the garden with, or maybe a
25' 3-tube Sprinkler Hose.
And for watering corn get a
Tripod Sprinkler.
From time to time I also use a
round tipped shovel for laying the corn by when I put more dirt at the roots of the stalks to strengthen the plants.
I guess maybe a
duster for dry bug poison and a
2 gallon sprayer for wet bug poison would be nice.
You also need two hard rakes, and a large plastic bucket.
Get a
regular width rake and a
narrow 4-Tine Long-Handle Cultivator rake.
The best bucket I found is a cat little
Tidy Cat 35 lb bucket.
The rakes are for removing weeds and grass out of the garden, and pick them up and put them in the bucket.
Then carry them well away from the garden and throw them away or bag them and throw them away, or burn them.
Those square buckets are great for hauling water to your plants in the garden if you mix liquid fertilizer into the water.
I like the power rotary tillers for quick work, but my area isn't that large, and I don't believe in ongoing tilling with them, only an initial tilling. Doing so repeatedly over time builds up "hardpan" and that restricts drainage and root penetration. I prefer to hand dig (great exercise) and double dig the bed. Afterward, with additions of lots of compost and mulch, it becomes a lot easier.
I'm looking at a tractor down the road, but haven't had the need so far.
Have a post hole digger and some spades/hoes, but need more durable ones. I really don't see the need in the specialty equipment you listed, at least not at the level of gardening I do. I just have a "kitchen" garden, not a farm.