Ramblings of Garden Tool Co.
Posts tagged vegetable garden
Planning Your Garden…Tools
01 month ago
Planning this spring’s garden can be fun activity and it can be a bit overwhelming. Those garden supply and seed catalogs have been filling your mailbox and every year the gorgeous pictures in these catalogs give us an idea of what gardens and vegetables look like in the perfect world…you know, that world that has set designers, lighting consultants, make-up artists and I’m guessing someone whose job it is to shine the vegetables or airbrush a little more color on the flowers.
Well, that’s not my gardening world and I’m guessing it’s not yours. What’s in our gardening planning are all those tough jobs that go into making our gardens more beautiful or veggie gardens better producing.
You know what I’m talking about… what do I want to plant this year , does my soil need more amendments, what can I plant this year that requires less water, does this new planting area get enough sun, how will I deal with pests or disease, oh, and what about those weeds. These and hundreds of others are on our mind when we’re planning this year’s garden, but there is probably one thing you haven’t thought about…your garden tools.
I’m sure that at the end of the season last year you took inventory of your garden tools. While you were cleaning, sharpening and oiling your tools for their time off in the shed, you might have thought of a few tools that might make your gardening more enjoyable, but probably not. Well, now’s the time to start thinking about what garden tools you might need to replace or a new garden tool that will make your gardening easier.
Now I’m not saying that we all need every different garden tool out there, because we gardeners seem to find all kinds of uses for a single garden tool, but in your garden planning, is there a garden tool that will make your job easier, more enjoyable and less tiresome?
If you are buying new garden tools this year, purchase the best quality garden tools you can afford. It’s just counterproductive to buy cheap tools. You’ll be rewarded with a garden tool that not only lasts longer, but a tool that works harder and won’t end up in the landfill.
One last note and it’s a shameless one: If you’re looking for some of the finest garden tools made, you may just want to check out Garden Tool Company…quality garden tools and fast, neighborly service.
List of Garden Tools You Must Have! (NOT)
01 year ago
Caution – Rant just ahead-
Is it just me, or are there too many articles with a “List of Garden Tools You Must Have”? While I know that the web is a pretty powerful tool – How in the hell do these people know what garden tools I need? How do they know whether I live in an apartment and only need a nice trowel for my container garden or a 300 acre estate and need four different size spades? Do they know that I am 6′ 4″ tall and like a longer handle?
Gardeners are all different and have different needs! We are tall and short, we are right and left handed and we have flower beds and large vegetable gardens. Because of these differences, only WE can decide which garden tools will make our gardening more enjoyable and less tiresome. So, I say – Cut it out with the “Garden Tool Must Have Lists” and start writing articles about how a particular garden tool can help the gardener.
-Rant Over-
Sneeboer Garden Tools – Art On A Stick
151 year ago
by Blake Schreck
in Garden Tools
Do you have art in your garden shed? If you have a Sneeboer garden tool, you might. Although you probably won’t find them at the Guggenheim Museum, Sneeboer stainless steel garden tools are individually hand-crafted and finished by people who could only be called “Garden Tool Artists”.
Sneeboer & ZN was founded in 1913 by grandfather Arie in the West Friesland district of Holland and later by son Paul. Today, two generations later, brothers Jaap, Frank and Aad continue the tradition of making the highest quality garden tools for the passionate gardener.
“As passionate gardeners like you, we appreciate how important it is to have quality garden products. If you buy one of our tools you actually don’t own this, you only taking care for it for the next generation”. - Jaap Sneeboer
Each Sneeboer garden tool is hand forged of stainless steel, individually shaped, sharpened, and polished into a garden work of art. Sneeboer tools are then fitted with an FSC certified Cherry or Ash hardwood handle from managed forests.
To see more Sneeboer garden tool art; visit Garden Tool Company – your source for the finest garden tools made.
Plant A Lagniappe Garden This Year
01 year ago
It’s that time of the year when we are or have been planning our vegetable gardens, but this year, how about a Lagniappe garden. Lagniappe is a word I learned while living in Louisiana that means “giving a little something extra”. So, how does that relate to your garden. Well, there is a great organization called Plant A Row For The Hungry that encourages people to plant an extra row of vegetables and donate those crops to food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations. So plant some extra and “give a little Lagniappe” back to your community.
Reuse, Reduce, Recycle Works for Me
91 year ago
The Assignment
“For the March Carnival, I’m seeking posts about using an non-traditional container. You can write about about anything so long as it does not involve a pot. No plastic pots. No terracotta pots. No metal pots. No glazed pots. I’m talking about planting daisies in a rain boot. Or growing succulents in muffin tin (something I saw in Succulent Container Gardens). Or anything else that strikes your fancy. Just no pots.” by Fern on March 1, 2010 of Life on the Balcony.
My Response
As is typical of me, I obsessed and did the assignment more than once. The first result was a collaborative effort between Blake and me and the second was purely my doing.
Project 1
- I thought of the clogs that I no longer wear or that the dogs have chewed on and Blake mentioned screwing them onto the fence and bingo together our first attempt at vertical gardening was born.
- I used one pair of gardening clogs that are too small and one pair of Christmas clogs that were chewed on during the puppy era (“Sorry,” Jane.)
- Now, the combination of red and pink would not have been my first choice, but I think that they aren’t a horrible combination.
- The plants are all from the organic herb section of our local nursery, Bath, and they include spearmint, alpine strawberries, angel vine and, who would have guessed, there was a cigar plant.
- Good symbolism there since Blake and I are about to attempt to quit smoking again – don’t ya think?
- That placement on the fence will ensure that the garden and plants reap the benefits of these cool little plants’ mojo.
Project 2
- I had these old, killer looking coffee cups from my Grandmother that I had never had any idea how to display.
- I blended that with my ongoing affair with cactus and voila, the crazy combination seemed perfect.
- I think these are an awesome oxymoron.
- Please see the photo below on the next post.
