Garden and lawn care

The best garden hose reel for most yards is a retractable wall-mount with a slow, even rewind. The Giraffe Tools 130 ft leads, the VEVOR 5/8-inch is the value pick, and the Liberty Garden 514 cart rolls the hose to the far bed.

The best tiller for a garden is a 16-inch electric model for most plots. The Sun Joe TJ604E leads, the LawnMaster TE1216M is the value pick, and the Jardineer hand tiller handles raised beds without a cord.

The best lawn fertilizer spreader for most yards is the Scotts EdgeGuard DLX, with a 15,000 sq ft hopper and a lever that keeps fertilizer off the driveway. The VEVOR 60 lb walk-behind is the budget route, and the Scotts Whirl covers a small lawn by hand.

The best lawn aerator for most lawns is the LawnVigor manual core aerator, which pulls plugs instead of poking holes. The Walensee 15-spike tool covers small yards for less, and the SENVERT roller handles a bigger lawn.

The best expandable garden hose for most yards is the Flexi Hose 50 ft, which collapses to about 18 ft and stores in a bucket. The Flexzilla hybrid is the better buy if you want standard flow and a hose that never shrinks under you.

The best grass seed for shade is Scotts Turf Builder Sun & Shade for a lawn that mixes sun and dappled tree cover. Pennington Smart Seed Dense Shade is the pick for a genuinely dark corner, and Jonathan Green Dense Shade covers a big shaded area.

The best lawn sprinkler for a large yard is the Melnor XT oscillating sprinkler, which covers about 4,200 square feet of even spray on household pressure. The Melnor MiniMax spike reaches beds and corners, and the Eden 96213 covers 3,600 square feet for less.

The best organic lawn fertilizer is Purely Organic Lawn Food 10-0-2, a plant-based granular that feeds for up to eight weeks without burning. Jonathan Green covers more ground per bag, and Scotts Natural works in any season.

The best soaker hose for a garden is the Gilmour round 25 ft for raised beds and short runs. The Hourleey flat 100 ft covers long rows, and the Rocky Mountain Goods rubber hose snakes around curves and lasts for seasons.

The best garden cart is the Gorilla Carts 1,000 lb steel utility cart, with removable sides that convert it to a flatbed. The VEVOR 1,200 lb dump cart tips to unload, and the BILT HARD 600 lb wagon is the light-duty pick for mulch and clippings.

The best lawn roller is the VEVOR 13-gallon push roller, whose sealed plug holds water without weeping. The Brinly 270 lb poly roller pushes or tows, and the VEVOR 400 lb tow-behind covers wide passes behind a tractor or ATV.

The best winterizer fertilizer for lawns is Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard, which builds deep roots before winter. The Espoma Turf-Tone organic winterizer is the gentle pick, and the GreenView Fairway Formula feeds a big lawn for up to 12 weeks.

The best fertilizer for Bermuda grass is Scotts Turf Builder Southern Lawn Food, which feeds warm-season turf without clumping. The Andersons PGF Complete is the premium fine-particle feed, and Simple Lawn Solutions is the liquid pick.

The best lime for a lawn is Earth Science Fast Acting Lime, which raises soil pH with clean granules instead of dust. A 5 lb bag suits small lawns, and a 25 lb bag covers a full yard.

The best soil test kit for a lawn is MySoil, a mail-in lab test that reports 13 nutrients and pH with feeding advice. The Rapitest kit is the budget pH screen, and the 140-test kit covers a full season of checks.

The best lawn sprinkler heads are the Rain Bird 1804VAN pop-ups for spray zones and the Hunter PGP-ADJ rotors for larger lawns. Here is how to match a head to your zone and pressure.

The best lawn core aerator for most home lawns is the Xuperace Core Aerator, because its side-eject ramp pushes soil plugs out instead of letting them jam in the tines. The Zalawn 3-tine tool is the value pick near $40, and the LawnVigor is the light one for small yards.

The best above ground sprinkler system for a large yard is the Eden 98063 Flex Design kit, which spreads four adjustable heads and a 50-foot hose across a shaped lawn. The Acostop 4-piece set covers the most ground per dollar, and the Melnor kit is the tidy value option.