Garden Tools

Garden tools are essential for taking care of your plants, flowers and vegetables, and make gardening a quicker and easier process. Each tool helps you maintain your garden’s health in different ways: for example, pruners will trim your plants and promote healthy growth, while digging tools can aerate the soil to help provide the best conditions for your plants to grow in.

Keeping your garden tools sharp will make them more efficient and easier to use, so you can get your garden jobs done more quickly. Before you sharpen them, it’s important you get the tools clean using a stiff brush. Once the excess material has been removed from the tool and any crevices, take a sharpening file and run it along the working edges of the tool. For example, to sharpen secateurs, run the file along each cutting edge, and for a rake, around each prong. Remember to move the file, rather than the tool, for safety.

Clean tools work more effectively and help prevent the spread of disease, so it’s important to clean them regularly. Start by using a stiff brush to remove any excess soil from the tool, working your way into all the crevices, and then use soapy water to break down any residual soil. Once you’ve done this, ensure you rinse with cool water and dry with a cloth. If your tools have come into contact with diseased soil or plants, apply a disinfectant such as Jeyes Fluid, leave for 20 minutes and wipe off. If your tools have begun to rust after years of use, you may be able to remove this by working a wire brush in circular motions around the area. To finish your tool maintenance session and to help prevent further rusting, apply some general-purpose oil and wipe away any excess.

The type of garden tools you need will depend on the maintenance your garden requires, the size of the space, and how frequently you will be using them. However, these five tools are generally seen as essential for all gardeners:

To make sure that your tools last, store them safely in a well ventilated garden storage unit or shed. This will keep them dry, prevent rusting and ensure they are safe until their next use. Rinsing your tools between gardening sessions, as well as regular cleaning, will also help them to last. Remember to thoroughly dry them before putting them away as this will help to preserve the materials they are made from. Oil the metal part of your tools every now and then so as to prevent rust, and oil wooden handles to help prevent swelling and cracking. Finally, to maintain effective functioning, sharpening your tools when they become blunt is essential.