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GARDENERS SHARE THEIR BEST GARDEN-TOOL TIPS
When I asked Minnesota gardeners for ideas on low-maintenance gardening, the online discussion segued into an exchange on favorite gardening tools. You will be able to read about low-maintenance gardening in a couple of weeks but, in the meantime, here are some gardening tool tips that may work for you.
Deb from St. Paul says she does a lot of container gardening and finds the "Scoop" is indispensable. "It's a trowel, but with a rounded, scoop-shape and serrated teeth working towards a sharp tip. It's great for filling containers with potting soil and putting soil around plants once they're planted."
Terry from Goodhue County says her favorite tool is the Weed Wrench. "I have a lot of buckthorn and Siberian elms that seed everywhere and the tool takes the saplings out very handily." She also likes a new tool from a local company, Hound Dog Products, called the Edge Hound. "It really makes installing edging a lot easier then just using a spade."
A Stearns County gardener says the Winged Weeder hoe is the best weeding tool she ever used. "It's shaped like an arrowhead and allows you to use it like a mop 'back and forth;' it's light weight, never needs sharping, allows you to vary the depth, and works great under mulch."
Diane from Mankato is fond of ergonomic hand tools, such as Earth Bud-Eze. "It's much easier on the hands. I also love my ergonomic snow shovel, which put me back in the snow-shoveling business, sans backaches."
MJ from Hennepin County says she finally found a pair of garden gloves that "I can use and still feel what I'm doing. I have never liked gloves in the garden; they're either too bulky or hot or uncomfortable. But a couple of years ago I bought a pair of close-fitting gloves that are yellow knit and have fingers and palms that look like they've been dipped in green rubber. They don't feel like gloves, they protect your hands, and they wash well."
Jan from Sherburne County says two items that cost almost nothing are a dull, wood-handled butcher knife for cutting through root-bound plants, and a used serving spoon, just right for dipping into a pot of young plants or sets and lifting out "one plant at a time."
Mary from Stearns County says her favorite tool is a Cape Cod weeder. "It looks like a single hook and I use it to remove weeds that come up in wood mulch. It is also helpful for trenching to cut the edge straight when we are putting in edging, stirring up mulch around plants, lifting edges of rocks or bricks so I can get my hand under them to pick them up, making a row for tiny seeds, and it's a great backscratcher."
Carol from Chippewa County says, "My scuffle hoe is my friend, my weapon against garden evil, my reason for getting out there while the weeds are still small. I have a friend who grows flowers commercially in summer and she loves her smaller version scuffle for getting around the young flowers."
She adds that what she has learned about musical instruments also applies to garden tools. "If it's a joy to play (use), you're a lot more likely to pick it up and play (use) it. So, well-cared-for tools that have a nice sharp edge are always worth the effort to oil, clean and sharpen.
"For taller folks like me, it's also nice to find a tool that's got a long enough handle so you don't have to put your back in a compromising position. Tools with long handles are worth the extra bucks in avoided trips to the chiropractor."
Jackie from Sibley County says a swan-neck hoe is a huge back saver compared with the usual right-angle head on most hoes. Her favorite is a swan-neck hoe with a small head that is sharpened only along the bottom (no points on the sides). "The real advantage to this hoe is two oval holes cut into the working head. These holes cut down on soil resistance during marathon hoeing sessions. I actually like this hoe so much that I own two of them."
A trick to make any hoe or rake a more versatile tool, according to Jackie, is to wrap electricians' tape around the handle at one-foot increments. "This is very helpful as a guide when setting out plants, moving row markers, etc."
Cynthia says she wears a pair of nylon volleyball kneepads when she gardens, which she picks up for free at her kids' school. "The knee pads absorb sweat from the backs of my knees. I even wear them to wash the kitchen floor."
Candy from Beltrami says that tools that travel outside your yard should be marked. "My husband uses his wood-burning tool to burn my name into the handles of all my wood-handled tools. Since I garden in a variety of locations it has helped my tools return to me if I inadvertently leave one behind."
For Marge, an absolute necessity is Watkins waterless hand cleaner. "When I absent mindedly take my gloves off and get dirty hands, the Watkins cleaner takes it all off on the spot like a miracle and I don't have to hide my hands when I go out."
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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS:
A Delightful Blend of
Gardening Wisdom, Wit
and Whimsy
$10 + $2 for shipping
by Cliff Johnson |
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