Ramblings of Garden Tool Co.
Garden Tools
Fall Garden Clean-Up…Don’t Forget the Tools.
06 months ago
OK, OK…I’ll do it! The weather people are telling us (if we can ever believe them) that our first taste of winter is coming in a couple of days. What this means is that I really can’t procrastinate any longer about cleaning up the garden tools and putting them up for the winter.
I have patted myself on the back for getting all of my fall gardening chores done except for this one…well probably not all of them as I seem to find something else every time I go out. None the less, let’s clean some garden tools.
This is just the way I do it, so if you have a better way…by all means, do it.
- Start by gathering up all your tools and using a putty knife or a wire brush, knock off as much dirt as you can.
- Clean any rust that may be on your tools. You can do this with a wire brush, sandpaper or a rotary wire bush in your electric drill.
- Thoroughly clean all surfaces with warm soapy water or a good blast with the hose and scrub off all remaining dirt with a stiff scrub brush.
- Disinfect your tools – This is optional, but if you have the time, you can kill any fungus and plant diseases on you tools by wiping them with a 20% bleach solution (3 cups beach to 1 gallon water). Rinse thoroughly after.
- Dry your tools – Use an old towel to dry your tools as well as possible and then let them sit overnight. This is especially important on any tools that have wood handles and have soaked up some water.
- Sharpen tools – By this time, you’ve had a good look at all of you tools and probably notice a few nicks or general dullness in some of your tools. If you take the time now to sharpen any tools that need it, your tools will be as ready as you are next spring.
- Oil your tools – Many gardeners have different ideas on what oil to use, but at Garden Tool Co., we recommend and use linseed oil on all our tools. Coat both the wood and metal liberally with the linseed oil and let it set for about 15-20 minutes, then wipe off excess with a dry rag.
Now it’s time to pat yourself on the back for a job well done…your tools are ready for action when spring rolls around. Well, not really…don’t forget your pruning tools.
- Pruners, Loppers, and Axes – Sap can build-up on your pruning tools after a long season of use, so it’s a good idea to give them a good cleaning as well. Start by removing the sap by scrubbing the blades with a Scotch Brite pad and some turpentine/mineral spirits. Then clean thoroughly with the bleach solution and a rinse, just as you did your larger tools. After they have dried, put a drop of oil on the bolt that holds your blades together and spray the blades with a spray lubricant such as WD-40.
Now with that done I can stock the fireplace with wood and wait on this impending winter blast (because the weather people are always right).
Garden Trowels – They’re All The Same…Right?
06 months ago
It wasn’t too long ago that if you went looking for a garden trowel, you could go to 10 different places and buy a trowel at each place and you’d end up 10 almost identical looking trowels. And that was fine; I mean, all we used them for was digging small holes, planting, potting and maybe some occasional weeding.
Well, times have changed and some of the better garden tool makers are making specialty garden trowels. Don’t get me wrong, the traditional garden trowel is and always will be around and there will always be a use for them, but some tool makers have taken a look that the different jobs that a gardener does and adapted the trowel’s shape to fit a particular garden chore.
Good trowel – bad trowel. A good quality trowel should last you a lifetime, but all too often these days the garden tools available today are cheap knockoffs. A good garden trowel should have some weight to it and made of a good quality steel. Another good measure of the tools worth is its warranty. Is the tool maker proud enough of their tools to guarantee it for life?
So let’s take a look at some of the specialty (and traditional) trowels that are available to gardeners today. When looking at the different trowels, imagine how the trowel might help you and your gardening needs.
Tradition Garden Trowels – This is the trowel that most of us are familiar with. It usually has a slightly dished blade with a pointed or rounded end. The traditional trowel is a good all-around digging and planting tool.
Transplanting Garden Trowels – This trowel typically has longer, narrower blade making it easier to dig deep enough to remove a small plant and all its roots. This trowel could easily be called a potting trowel because its narrow blade makes it ideal for planting in tight quarters such as pots.
Weeding/Rockery Trowels – These trowels have a long slender blade that makes it great for digging deep to extract these long tap root weeds. This trowel is also great for gardeners that plant in very tight spaces such as rock gardens.
Potting Trowels – This trowel typically has a wide deep dished blade making it good for transferring soil from one place to another such as from bag to pot. Some makers have combined the deep dish with a little narrower blade for planting as well.
Other Trowels – While some trowels have a unique shape that is specific to a particular gardening job, there are others that combine some of the different features of the above trowels…even some that allow you to use both hands.
Like buying any garden tool, it’s up to you to decide which tool will work best for the way you garden. What works for the way I garden may not be the tool that works best for you. All of these trowels can be seen in greater detail on our website at Garden Tool Company or if you have a question, please give us a call at 1-800-830-4019.
Best Garden Tools…How Do You Know?
07 months ago
The phrase “best garden tools” is a bit subjective. If you’re a “gardener” once a year when spring rolls around, then a less expensive tool from one of the big box stores might be “best” enough. On the other hand, if you’re an avid gardener that depends on your tools to work as hard as you, every time you pull them out of the shed, then you’re looking for a tool that is a bit more substantial…a garden tool built by gardeners for gardeners.
Today, far too many tool companies have to satisfy their stockholders and as a result, the tools are made less robust. It may be a cheaper grade of wood for a handle, some plastic incorporated or stamping the cheap steel a little thinner, but it all adds up to a poor quality, disposable tool and more dividends to the shareholders.
So, what makes for the “Best Garden Tools”? Well, one might think that as simple as the typical garden tool is, there wouldn’t be too much to it, but there’s more than meets the eye.
First of all, there’s the design. Better garden tool makers have been refining their designs for decades or even hundreds of years. A little more angle here, a little less there can make a big difference as to how the tool feels and performs. They tinker with the thickness of the steel so it’s heavy enough for its purpose, but not so heavy as to tire the gardener out. It may be a design change for the way we garden. Today, raised garden beds are popular and some tool makers are making mid-length tools that are easier to work in those smaller gardens. The list of tweaks that these tool makers have made over the years is long and for the better ones, it’s never ending.
Now let’s look at the metal used in garden tools. A tool of lesser quality has thin steel that comes from a large roll, cut to size, stamped to its final shape and counted as X number of units per minute versus X number of units per day for the better tool makers. The best garden tool makers have tinkered with their steel formulas to get the strongest steel available and start out as a block of steel before being heated and hand forged into its final shape.
One of the most important points of a quality garden tool is how the handle is attached. For spades and forks, this is especially important as they are the real work horses of gardening. Cheaper tools have thin steel that is just wrapped around the handle and riveted or has a tang that is shoved into a hole at the end of the handle…fast, but not very strong.
These best garden tools should have either a socket or a strapped connection. The strapped connection is by far the strongest. The head and straps are one piece of steel and the straps extend far up the handle where it is riveted. Almost as strong is the socket attachment. Here too, the head and socket are forged of a single piece of steel and the handle is fastened into the socket.
And now handles. Garden tool handles are notorious for breaking and most of the time it’s because of a poor attachment to the metal or crappy wood. Several manufacturers have gone to fiberglass handles and I’ll be the first to admit that they are very strong, but they don’t absorb the shock of using the tool as well as wood and because they are hollow, they must be glued into the head which is bad news if you ever have to replace the handle. For centuries, garden tool makers have tried different types of wood for handles and have come to the conclusion that Ash hardwood is the best. Ash is not only very strong, but it also has a bit of give to it as well good at absorbing shock. Better tool makers will only choose the straightest grained timber, rejecting 40-50%. Another thing to look for is tool makers that have an eye on the environment and are using only wood harvested from FSC Certified managed forest.
Last but certainly not least…the warranty. When was the last time you bought anything that had a lifetime warranty? Well, the best garden tools come with the best warranty…lifetime. These tools are made to be passed down for generations and are an investment. I read somewhere and is so true for good quality garden tools…”the quality will be remembered long after the price is forgotten”.
The Cadillac of Crack Weeders
011 months ago
by Anne Schreck
in Garden Tools
It’s been quite some time since I wrote about weeders but with our recent month of rain, they are back on my mind because everything has been growing rampantly after all the moisture – especially the weeds. In addition to the weeds that seem to spring up everywhere, our front flowerbeds are full of Cosmos, a wonderful but prolific self-seeding flower, and they don’t limit themselves to our beds. Now both weeds and Cosmos can be found growing in every crack in the sidewalk, driveway and gutter, so I frequently find myself out front with a crack weeder.
Last year, I wrote about the bio v-groove, which is a great little hand weeder that works wonderfully on cracks, but this year I decided to try out a long handled weeder and boy is it heavenly to get to do the job standing up. What a relief to my aging knees and back to get to do this job without bending down or squatting, and the Cadillac of this type weeder has to be the Sneeboer Paver and Crack Weeder. Designed with both a healthy sized pick and a sharp straight side, I can use it both on large, tough weeds or a Cosmo and to get at that grass growing in the narrowest of cracks in our sidewalk and driveway. This baby grabs a spot high on my list of favorite weeders.
Sneeboer Paver and Crack Weeder
Dutch Hoe – Weeder Extraordinaire!
01 year ago
by Blake Schreck
in Garden Tools
Dutch hoe by Sneeboer
Extraordinaire? Well, maybe not, but there’s a reason the Dutch Hoe is such a popular weeding hoe, it does one thing and it does it well…weeding! OK, you could probably find other uses, such as creating furrows for seeds by turning it onto the corner and pulling, but it wants to weed.
While most garden hoes are pulled, the Dutch hoe with its flat blade that is parallel to the ground is pushed just under the surface of the soil, easily cutting down those pesky weeds. Some, like the Sneeboer Dutch hoe (pictured here) have a sharp edge on both the front and back, giving you weed killing results on the push and pull strokes.
Like any garden tool that has a long history of working well, the Dutch hoe is very popular and there are a lot of companies making their own version of the Dutch hoe, so if you want it to work season after season, look for quality. The best quality Dutch hoes are make from Carbon or Stainless and have a long, straight grained hardwood handle. Another way to find quality is to look for the guarantee. Is it guaranteed a lifetime or does it have some limited guarantee. A lot of manufactures are betting you won’t take the time replace a broken tool. -Click here to see more of this Dutch hoe by Sneeboer.
New Garden Tools at Garden Tool Co.
01 year ago
by Blake Schreck
in Garden Tools
New garden tools…gotta love them. And if you’re a “tool geek” like me, then every time a box full of new tools comes in, its Christmas all over again.
We just received five new garden tools and I thought I’d share what they are…so here goes.
If you’re looking for some traditional straight edged hedge shears, these hedge shears from Berger in Germany are just the ticket. You’ll feel the quality the first time you hold them in your hands.
These wavy edge hedge shears by Berger of Germany are quality through and through. The wavy blades help keep branches from sliding when cutting and has a notch at the base of the blade for cutting slightly thicker branches. Berger hedge shears have a nice balanced feel.
This flower and grape gatherer is a handy little garden tool. These gathering scissors allow you to cut and hold your flowers with just one hand. That’s right…one handed. A spring located just above the cutting blade holds on to the stem after its been cut.
This gardeners knife from Victorinox combines two useful blades in on knife…an all purpose straight blade and grafting blade. A good choice for a gardener that wants an all purpose pocket garden knife.
This Istor Duplex Sharpener from Felco is the ideal all purpose garden tool sharpener. Great for sharpening pruners, secateurs, scythes, sickles, scissors, knives, and even heavier blades such as hoes, brush knives, axes, lawn mower blades and much more.
If you’d like to learn more about these tools and so many more, please visit us at: www.gardentoolcompany.com
Garden Tool Giveaway – Spring 2011
21 year ago
by Blake Schreck
in Garden Tools
Win these tools from Garden Tool Co.
On May 1st, 2011, Garden Tool Company will be giving away some really cool garden tools to 5 lucky winners. That’s right, enter once and you’ll have 5 chances to win one of the five giveaway sets. When you enter our Spring 2011 Garden Tool Giveaway, you could win :
- Giveaway Set # 1 – Sneeboer Garden Tools worth $465.90
- Giveaway Set # 2 – Clarington Forge (Bulldog) Garden Tools worth $190.85
- Giveaway Set # 3 – DeWit Garden Tools worth $137.90
- Giveaway Set # 4 – Felco Garden Tools worth $73.90
- Giveaway Set #5 – Japanese Garden Tools worth $49.85
Don’t Delay – Enter Today! (sorry, that was cheesy, but I couldn’t resist)
The Right Garden Tools Can Make Starting Your Garden a Piece of Cake
01 year ago
by Anne Schreck
in Garden Tools
Garden kneeler seat
Unlike here in Fort Collins where it really isn’t even time to start seeds indoors, many people live in areas where planting time has arrived or is about to be there. When it comes to gardening tools, there are any number of them that you could call planting tools designed to help you in a variety of jobs required to get your garden off and running on the right foot.
One of the first jobs many experienced gardeners tackle is soil testing. Whether it relates to pH, nitrogen, temperature or moisture, the chemical balance and condition of the soil is one of the first things that should be looked at prior to planting anything. Garden Tool Company offers a wide variety of meters and test kits if you feel like doing it yourself, or most areas have an agricultural extension office nearby that will do the testing for you.
Clarington Forge riddles
If you are planting seeds, you might enjoy having a dibber or a Seedmaster hand seeder, but if you are planting seedlings you probably need a trowel, cultivator or garden knife. For a garden that is in area where you have not planted previously that might have lots of rocks in the soil, a riddle is a wonderful tool to have, but it may be a weeder that you need for such an area. When planting a lot of bulbs, it’s hard to beat the convenience of a bulb planter. If you prefer not to work on your hands and knees, there are a number of longer planting tools, such as the DeWit perennial spade or the Sneeboer planting boy hand spade or you might want to invest in a garden kneeler seat. Someone who prefers to use both hands, might enjoy a p-grip or drop grip style garden tool. And for the bigger planting jobs, there are any number of traditional length garden spades and forks to choose from, some of which are also offered with a long handle for less wear and tear on the back.
If you live in an apartment and don’t have access to much or any yard, your first need might be an allotment bag that you can plant your vegetables in and then move it around to catch the good sun. For any planting job, it is nice to have a good pair of garden gloves to keep your hands clean and avoid those blisters that can come from too much digging. Finally, garden shoes or clogs and garden tool carriers are helpful planting tools as well.
There are so many garden tools that can be called planting tools and while they are not all required to start your gardening, some of them are so handy that you might wonder how you ever managed to do your planting without them. So, if you are getting ready to start this year’s garden, we would love to have you stop by gardentoolcompany.com and take a look at the great gardening tools that we offer to help.
Drop grip trowel by DeWit
