Garden Hand Tools
Forget the power tools which make a doddle out of gardening work, the bigger jobs which atke half the time - we get down to the proper hard work; weeding, digging andtidying up. Not everyones cup of tea, but an essential one which has to be done.
Garden Tool manufacturers seem to have taken the lead from Kitchen Tool companies who have a gadget for everything and most of these are quite un-necessary.
The most important tools you'll need are Spade, Fork, Hand Trowel, Hand Fork, Rake, Shears, Secateurs. Once you have those, the optionals are then things like Loppers, Lawn Edgers etc. We must not forget the Wheelbarrow of course, a must!
This is where value for money comes in. Do we buy cheap and replace perhaps more often or do we spend extra and get longer distance out of it. Or does it really matter!
The latter would be so for some things. If you're just a tinkering/tidy up gardener, a hand trowel and hand fork from the local 'Pound Shop' would probably be quite sufficient. But fot those of us who spend a lot of time gardening, it is worth going that extra mile and buying some decent stainless steel, good crafted wooden handle types. These would be about five to ten times the price of the plastic cheapies, but are better to feel and will last proportionately longer.
I have a hand trowel which belonged to my Grandfather who would have brought it back in the 40's. A bit tatty maybe, but as efficient as the dayhe brought it.
This leads onto the possibilty of picking up many things from a Boot Fair or second hand shop. It doesn't matter what they look like. It's if they'll do the job OK.
The same applies to spades and forks although these can sometimes have a hidden weakness when buying second hand. Of all the tools, spades and forks are the most used and need to be good value for money.
Secateurs and loppers are items which should be cheapskate free. There are various styles to choose from. There is nothing worse than making a day free to tidy up your plants to find the secateurs have rusted, or the spring won't take them back to cutting position.
Stainless steel for secateurs is best and for loppers, good PTFE coated blades are recommended.
There are two types of Loppers; rachet (more strength in cutting but need to be opened up more or By-Pass with blades similar to a giant secateur).
There are many 'gadget' type devices such as tools for scraping out the crannies between paving slabs - a good alternative is an old kitchen knife! Then there's prettily designed kneeling pads, when an old sitting room cushion will suffice!
Wheelbarrows are a must, especially to men who remember being wheeled around the garden by their Dad or taking your younger brother or sister for a 'Bus Ride'!
Best value and longer lasting are the tyred type. They will cushion the bumps more, are usually a lot bigger and also stronger for the other gardening jobs they may be needed to do. Cheap is not always good (see picture on right!!).
Once you have all this - you just need a shed to put them all in!
LESSON ONE
Do not overload your wheelbarrow.
Buy the right one!
But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else. In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit. Weeds are people's idea, not nature's.
Cost effectiveness, saving money, reducing expenditure in the home and at play
