Garden trugs are incredibly useful. They carry tools, garden waste, soil, plants, bulbs, everything goes in the trug.

There are a lot of different materials, shapes and sizes, some of which, if we’re being honest, are more ornamental than practical. For example - I’ve never been on a planting job (or any job… in my life for that matter) where a wicker trug has been appropriate. Maybe it’s a situation I still could encounter.

There are a lot of trugs that are specifically designed to veg and cut flowers but I won’t be talking about them in this blog.

For this blog I’m going to stick to the types that we use all the time, which is the plastic heavy duty garden trugs or tubtrugs.

Here are some things to look out for when you’re choosing a trug.

Size

Trug sizes are normally measured in litres and there are quite a few different sizes. We recommend the 38l ones. They are suitable for most garden jobs without getting too heavy. However I would think about what you’re able to lift and pick a size that is appropriate.

Durable

The material that the tubtrugs are made of is quite important. In the cheaper brands the rubber/plastic can degrade and become brittle. Once rubber becomes brittle it snaps, usually spilling whatever you're carrying all over the place. You should always look for a frost proof and a UV proof trug.

Best Garden Trugs

I’m actually in the strange position where I can only honestly recommend one brand of garden tubtrug. We don’t use any other types.

That’s not to say we haven’t and there isn’t a scattered graveyard of trug with one handle or the bottom has split. I wouldn’t however recommend any of them. So here it is Gardenwilds one recommendation.

No. 1 (and only) |

We use these trugs for everything and I’ve never seen one break. They are UV proof and Frost Proof. I’ve used them to carry soil, gravel, rubble and every other kind of garden waste you can think of. There has never been a problem with the trug. We’ve gone through so many trugs before finding Red Gorilla.

I’m sorry that I haven’t done a top 5 for this one but we didn’t think it was worth wasting money when these work perfectly.

One thing to look out for is other brands with the word ‘Gorilla’ in the title. Only go for the Red Gorilla tug.