The best ways to haul stuff in your garden
One thing you are almost guaranteed to do when working in your garden: Haul stuff. Be it plants, soil, tools, debris, fertilizer, pots or any number of supplies, you will want something to transport things. Gardening is a lot easier if you don’t have to physically schlep all those bags of soil and piles of debris across the yard in your arms.
Find what works best for you
If you have room to store one, you just can’t beat a wheelbarrow or garden cart for moving things around. Not sure which one is right for you? We’ll break down the features that can help you decide. Then keep scrolling to see our favorite carrying tools for specific tasks and smaller spaces.
Wheelbarrow
This workhorse’s two lever handles and pivoting wheel and axle allow you to lift, move and dump heavier loads than you could carry alone. However, you may need extra arm strength to keep a load steady and balanced. With the single wheel, you can only push, not pull a wheelbarrow, but it allows dumping in several directions. It’s easy to pour contents in a directed spot, such as scattering mulch between two plants. It also makes the wheelbarrow very maneuverable, especially in tight spaces and over sloped ground. A detachable tray like the Burro Buddy, above, makes carrying tools along with the wheelbarrow even easier.
What wheelbarrows do best
Moving loose materials, such as mulch, soil, debris and rock, is the kind of job at which the wheelbarrow excels. Sloped sides make bags easy to load and unload.
Useful variations
- Collapsible canvas wheelbarrows work well for lighter jobs and store conveniently folded up.
- Heavy-duty metal models can move rock and concrete.
Garden cart
Built like a wagon with straight sides, flat bottom and four big tires, a garden cart makes it easy to negotiate a rough backyard smoothly. It is easy to pull, and most have a pivoting front axle to make tight turns without tipping. A garden cart will need more space to move, and watch out — with four tires, it can escape and roll away if it’s on a slope.
What garden carts do best
A garden cart's flat bottom is ideal for pots and flats of plants — those things you want to stay upright. It makes a great mobile potting bench or work station, keeping soil and debris contained for easy cleanup.
Useful features
- Some garden carts have a detachable box that flips up to dump.
- Metal mesh carts keep soil, water and debris from collecting inside the box.
- Look for sides that drop down or are removable so it is easy to load and unload, and you can turn it into a flatbed cart, making it even more versatile.
- Don't have a lot of storage space? Get a collapsible cart with a fabric box that folds up when not in use.
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Two-wheeled dump cart
Modeled after the classic wheelbarrow, a second wheel adds stability to the two-wheeled dump cart so you won’t have to fight to balance a load. With two wheels in the front, you can only dump the load facing forward, not to either side. It is also less maneuverable than a wheelbarrow, and requires space for both wheels to travel along a path or between plants.
What a two-wheeled dump cart does best
Throw weeds, leaves, branches and other debris in a two-wheeled dump cart to haul away to the compost pile, where a quick tip forward will empty it. You easily can grab it one-handed and pull along while working in the garden.
Useful features
- Models with collapsible or removable sides, arms or platforms can convert the cart into a dolly to move boxes or containers.
- Some come with hitches so you can hook up to a garden tractor and pull the cart behind.
Wheelbarrow and Garden Carts You Might Like:
WORX Aerocart 8-in-1 All-Purpose Wheelbarrow/Yard Cart/Dolly
Collapsible Outdoor Utility Cart
Two-wheeled Garden Cart
Which type of wheel is best: Air filled or rubber?
The kind of wheel your wheelbarrow, wagon, dump cart, dolly or garden cart has can make a difference in how easy it is to use.
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Air-filled wheels are easier to push and pull, and navigate rough terrain, but they can go flat, rendering them useless until you pump them back up.
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Solid rubber tires won’t deflate, but they travel bumpier over rough or soft ground.
More helpful tools to help move stuff in the garden
Whether you just don’t have room to store a big cart or you need something more specific, there's a tool for that!
Tarp
You can pile a huge load on a woven poly or canvas tarp and simply drag debris to the compost pile. Poly tarps, in particular, slide right over grass or pavement — just be careful not to make the pile so big it’s too heavy to move. Dragging over concrete will wear a hole in a tarp over time, but you’ll still get years of use before you have to replace it.
Try tarp handles for easy moving
Purchase tarp handles to attach in the metal-reinforced grommets to make dragging easier on your hands. Or slip a length of nylon rope through the grommet and tie it into a loop to make your own handle.
Convertible dolly
A convertible dolly can be just the thing to move supplies and plants around. Use it upright and the flat platform can transport a bag of potting mix, fertilizer or a potted tree. Lay it down and flip the handle up for a flatbed cart to carry boxes of transplants to their new home.
Two-wheeled cart
A small-barreled two-wheeled cart is lightweight, easy to pick up or maneuver in tight spaces, and can do almost anything its larger cousin can, only on a smaller scale. Lug a bag of potting mix or mulch to the garden from the car, set in a potted shrub and move it to the planting hole without it tipping over, coil your garden hose up inside and cart it from the front yard to the back easily and store it there as well.
Garden trugs
For little jobs like deadheading and trimming, any 5-gallon bucket will do. It’s easy to carry and small enough to set between plants as you work. Rubber or plastic trugs come in many sizes for big or small jobs, and their wide opening makes it easy to toss clippings in, even from a distance.
Collapsible garden bin
Lacking storage space? Try a collapsible nylon bag. It’s washable, lightweight, and pops into shape to use. Collapse it flat and store it in the car so after a trip to the garden center you can open it up to set plants in and keep your car clean. It also works great for collecting weeds and garden debris around the yard.
Harvest aprons & forage bags
Forage bags have spacious openings perfect for collecting fruits, veggies or flowers. They are wearable so you have both hands free for picking.
Harvest aprons have pockets with spacious openings. They are wearable so you have both hands free for picking. Some feature bottoms that open for easy transfer of fruits and vegetables to the sink to wash.
Garden hod
A garden hod is a long, shallow, handled basket perfect for carrying tools, fruits and vegetables, even cut flowers with long stems. Mesh versions make it simple to rinse fruits and vegetables off with water before bringing them inside. Available in traditional designs or modern variations like the Mod Hods from Gardener's Supply above.
Plant caddy
Containers can be awkward and heavy. A simple plant caddy (four castors on a platform that fits under the pot) is designed for rolling containers out of the way on the patio or to the garage to store for winter.
Pot Mover
Need to move a pot from one side of the yard to the other frequently? You’ll need a two-wheeled dolly. Even better, try PotWheelz®, a modified dolly with a larger platform especially made for moving containers with sloped sides. Its large wheels ensure a smooth ride for your pots (and an easier trip for you). If you move a lot of pots, especially large ones, it is well worth the price. It has been a huge help at our test garden! It's also handy for boxes, bags of soil or any number of heavy things.
Repurpose a baby pool or snow sled!
Are the kids too big for the baby pool? Don’t toss it out — use it to move loose mulch, soil and garden debris. It will slide easily across the yard and is wide enough to hold a big load. Do the same with an old saucer sled — it probably even has a rope handle on it perfect for pulling! And don’t forget about the little red wagon. You can haul all kinds of tools, plants, pots, bagged mulch and soil with one of those.
