Author: Bill Murrell

A wheelbarrow rated for heavy loads is not simply a bigger version of the one in your shed. It is a cart that combines a high-capacity bed, typically 4 to 12 cubic feet, with a rated load between 200 and 1,600 pounds, and it is engineered so the weight stays low and forward over the…

The best cordless tillers for raised beds are the ones that fit the bed, not the ones with the biggest spec sheet. After working through ten battery-powered cultivators across a mix of 2-foot, 3-foot, and 4-foot frames, three things decided every ranking: tilling width that matches the space between your walls, a weight you can…

Electric pruning shears are battery-powered secateurs that drive a hardened bypass blade with a motor, so a vineyard crew can make thousands of cuts in a day without the hand and wrist fatigue that comes from squeezing manual pruners open all winter. After running ten of the most popular models through cane, spur and cordon…

Choosing the best cultivators for vegetable gardens comes down to one thing nobody tells you at the garden centre: bed width, not horsepower. A machine that churns a wide strip in an open field will not fit between two rows of carrots, and a tool with no motor will not save you an afternoon in…

The best loppers for thick branches are the Fiskars 32 inch PowerGear2 bypass loppers, whose geared pivot multiplies hand force enough to shear branches rated up to 2 inches thick. We spent six weeks comparing ten of the highest-rated long-handle loppers against live green limbs, dried storm debris and hardwood offcuts, and the Fiskars is…

Shopping for the best leaf rakes for large lawns comes down to two numbers: head width and handle length. A rake with a 24 inch or wider head and a handle of 54 inches or more covers ground roughly twice as fast as a narrow fan rake with a short handle, and it lets you…

Dandelions are stubborn plants with one unfair advantage: a taproot that runs deep and regrows from almost any fragment you leave behind. That is why the best long handled weeders for dandelions matter more than they look like they should. I spent a full season working through lawn, garden bed and neglected-lawn weeds with ten…

An oscillating lawn sprinkler is a hose-fed unit with a horizontal spray bar of nozzles that sweeps back and forth in a straight line, laying down a fan of water across a long, narrow strip. That strip is exactly the shape of a rectangular lawn, which is why the best oscillating sprinklers for rectangular lawns…

For a large lawn, the right answer is a heavy-duty impact or rotary sprinkler head on a stable tripod, spike or wheeled base, covering 5,000 square feet or more per head. Above-ground systems like these are the fastest way to water a big yard; permanent in-ground kits only make sense once you want unattended, scheduled…

The best propane patio heaters for large patios are not the ones with the biggest number on the box. A single 48,000 BTU tower warms a circle roughly 10 to 12 feet across, which is one seating zone, not a 400 sq ft deck. Buy one for a dining table and a second for a…