Ah, my first product review! Please know that the opinions expressed are entirely my own. Read on, gardening friends....
Susan and I have been gardening since 1981 (not counting the little garden my dad and brother and I had in our back yard when I was 7); this year's effort is our 35th garden. Because we started when I was a graduate student, our initial approaches involved simplicity and frugality.
Some things really don't change all that much over time, and those two words still describe our basic gardening approach. After all, what is a garden but a magical, well cared for combination of good plants or seeds, fertile soil or planting mix, sufficient water, and appropriate temperatures. Of course, there are infinite complexities and permutations, but each of us has priorities as to where our hard earned cash gets spent.
When we moved to Raleigh back in 1992, a family member gave us a gift that we finally needed to replace this spring. We've been delighted with our large garden cart from Gardener's Supply Company, and when that 25 year old version finally gave up the ghost, there was no other option that provided as perfect a fit for our use. (truth be told, I am really hard on equipment, and if I were more disciplined with its use and storage over the years, it may have lasted another 25!)
I've been doing some writing for Gardeners Supply Company this year for their blog, and I am so thrilled to count them among my sponsors. In exchange for an honest review of this cart, they provided me with one to support my gardening and writing activities, for which I am so grateful.
The cart arrives in pieces, and the easy to follow directions, high quality materials and excellent workmanship make assembly a snap. Two things really hit you right away once it is ready to go; it is big - with an incredible holding capacity, both in terms of weight and volume - and it is ergonomically ideal, rolling with ease even with a large and/or heavy load. It is attractive, robust, and one of the very few gardening "tools" that I cannot do without.
My main use of a garden cart is to hold the bags of planting medium that I use to fill my many containers. My garden takes over the driveway each growing season, as it is the only place in our yard with sufficient sun. Filling the well over 100 containers is a big job, and being able to combine more than 5 cu ft of the planting mix that I prefer in the garden cart saves lots of time and effort. Later, when the season is over, I can load up the cart with 8 or more containers to easily haul them to my spent planting medium pile.
Whether you are filling the cart with leaves or other yard debris (easily emptied by lifting the end sliding "door"), or hauling tools and planting materials and flats of flowers and vegetables to transport to your garden, this cart will be the perfect fit for all of your needs.
We've been happy customers of the Gardener's Supply Company for many years, and I am so pleased to have their support in my effort to bring the joy of gardening to my various audiences and readers.