Find time to care for your garden tools
How many times this year have you wasted time in the garden either looking for tools or once you’ve found them realised they are damaged?
It’s something all gardeners have been through and it’s frustrating and annoying.
A mixture of sand and oil is an excellent way to clean garden tools
We all know how important it is to have the right tool for the job, but many of us don’t realise how important it is to
take proper care of the tool so that it continues to perform at its peak. This holds true for all tools... especially garden tools.
Garden tools are probably the most neglected of tools. We use them, abuse them, and put them away dirty and wet only to see them rust and lose their effectiveness over time. But with proper maintenance and a little time spent, your tools can last and be effective for many years to come.
Some general maintenance is also handy for keeping your garden tools in good shape. First, for wood-handled tools, sand the handle if it becomes rough. This will help prevent splinters. And for all wood-handled tools, apply a light coating of boiled linseed oil to help prevent the wood from drying out and cracking.
Second, you will want to apply some type of lubricant to your pruners, loppers, and similar tools. This will ensure smooth operation of moving parts and will also help prevent rust from forming.
Third, remove rust that has already formed. Because many of us have not practiced proper tool maintenance, we’re probably facing a garage full of rusty tools. If that’s the case for you, do not worry, there is still hope. There are several types of rust removal products available from garden centres or hardware stores.
Keep Your Tools Sharp
Another key to garden tool maintenance is keeping your tools sharp. Sharp tools are not only more effective, but they reduce your frustration. A sharp pruner will cut through a branch with ease, and a sharp shovel will dig into hard clay soils. Sharpening garden tools requires just two simple tools, a mill file and a small handheld sharpener.
Regularly sharpen shovels
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The bigger tools like shovels, spades and hoes only require the use of a mill file.
Storing tools properly is vital and garden centres stock many options for gardeners
How to keep your garden tools fighting fit!
clippings and plant sap from any tools you have used with a damp soft rag.
spray of water from the garden hose.
spade blades and fork tines into a bucket of oily sand and use an oily rag to wipe over all ordinary metal parts of your other tools. Stainless steel tools do not need oiling; simply wipe them with a damp cloth and dry with another.
are easy to sharpen, you can also take them to a garden machinery shop or send them back to the manufacturer for re-sharpening.
become damp, which will cause them to rust. Use a hessian tool bag, trug, basket or builder’s bucket.
hooks; this will keep them up off the ground, freeing up floor space and preventing them from becoming damp.
Before you use the file, secure your tool so you do not have to chase it around while you are trying to sharpen it. Once secured, find the angle where the tool was previously sharpened. Now use your mill file held at that angle and push the tool across the edge. Do not push the file back and forth on the tool! Files were meant to cut on the push stroke, and pulling will only serve to dull the file. Continue this process until the entire edge of your tool is sharpened. You will know it is sharpened when the entire edge looks like bright, shiny metal.
With a little effort and time your garden tools will be in tip-top shape for years to come. Even tools that have been neglected can be nursed back into shape.
Hanging your tools by their handles on a storage shed or garage wall not only keeps them out of the way but also prevents damage to sharpened edges. A nail driven into a handy two-by- four is the easiest way to keep
tools aloft. Drill holes through the handles of axes, shovels, hoes, rakes, and other long-handled tools so you can hang them on the nails. Whichever way the oil is applied, keep the coating thin so it won’t drip off the tool head and onto the floor. Because oil is organically based and breaks down rapidly in soil, you don’t have to worry about this small amount of oil adversely affecting your soils.
Country Gardener
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