Children's Metal Garden Trowel with Wooden Handle

A real tool, not a plastic toy: metal blade, wooden handle

Children know straight away when they have been given a pretend version. A plastic scoop bends in firm soil, and the child who was so keen to help ends up watching instead. This trowel is built like yours: a metal blade that goes into the ground, and a wooden handle that feels warm and solid in the palm.

That difference changes the whole afternoon. With a tool that works, a three-year-old can dig a hole deep enough for a seedling, and the plant that grows there is truly theirs.

20.5 cm and 70 g: sized for a three-year-old's hand

An adult trowel is too long and too heavy for a young child, who ends up holding it with both fists and stabbing at the bed. At 20.5 cm overall and just 70 g, this one can be held in one hand, leaving the other free to steady a pot or hold a plant upright.

It is recommended for ages 3 and up. Because the blade is metal, gardening is an activity to do together: stay close, and show your child from the first day how to carry the trowel with the blade pointing down and how to lay it flat on the ground when it is not in use.

Digging, potting, sowing: what children do with it

In a garden, the obvious job is digging planting holes, and it is the one children like best. Give your child a small patch of their own, or a single large pot, and let them be in charge of it. A trowel also scoops compost into pots, lifts seedlings with their roots intact for transplanting, and draws a shallow line in the soil for sowing seeds.

No garden is needed. On a balcony, a bag of compost and a few pots of herbs or strawberries give plenty to do. In the sandpit the trowel digs channels and fills buckets, though it is worth rinsing the sand off afterwards.

One piece of advice we give every parent: loosen the soil yourself with a fork before your child starts. Compacted ground defeats small arms within a minute, while crumbly soil lets the blade sink in and keeps a child busy for half an hour.

Four colours, sold one at a time

The trowel comes in blue, green, pink or yellow. You can also choose "Random" and we will pick the colour for you. Each trowel is sold individually, so if you have more than one young gardener, order one each. Different colours settle the question of whose is whose before it is ever asked.

As a first piece of children's gardening equipment, a trowel is the right place to start, since it does most jobs on its own. When your child wants more, the shop also has gardening kits with several tools and a carry bag, a set with a watering can, and a gardening belt. You will find them, along with all our Montessori education toys, on the home page.

Rinse, dry, store: making the trowel last

Metal and wood both dislike being left wet. After each session, rinse the soil off the blade, dry the whole trowel with an old cloth and put it away somewhere dry, not out on the lawn overnight. Make it the last step of gardening and let your child do it: looking after a tool is part of learning to use one.

Your questions about this metal trowel for children

What age is the trowel suitable for?

It is suitable for children aged 3 and over. As it has a metal blade, an adult should supervise while it is in use.

Is the trowel made of real metal?

Yes. The blade is metal and the handle is wood, as on an adult garden trowel.

How long is the trowel?

It measures 20.5 cm overall and weighs 70 g.

Is it sold individually or as a set?

It is sold individually: one order is one trowel. For siblings or a group, order the number you need.

Which colours are available?

Blue, green, pink and yellow, plus a "Random" option where we choose the colour.

Specifications

• Materials: metal blade, wooden handle
• Length: 20.5 cm
• Weight: 70 g
• Age: 3 years and up
• Colours: blue, green, pink, yellow or random
• Sold individually
• Guarantee: 2 years