Tool Care featured on Fox 11\’s Living with Amy

by Green Bay Botanical Garden’s horticulturist, Loretta Dorner

Spring is just around the corner and before you start your garden work, you need to get your tools ready!  Clean, sharp tools save time on garden chores, giving you more time to enjoy your creation. 

If you do not currently own any gardening tools and are considering purchasing, here are a few things to keep in mind.  The tools you use in your garden are important – they should be the type of tools that do the work for you.  Sometimes we buy the cheaper tools to save money.  However, when purchasing your tools, ask yourself “Is this tool going to work for or against me?”  It’s been my experience (doing gardening for years), that saving money does not always save my back or prevent blisters on my hands.  Buying a tool for each task does not save money either and it’s hard to get a lot of work done when you have to switch tools for each task.  I highly recommend two tools and they are the tools I carry with me in my tool sheaths at the Garden:  a soil knife made by A.M. Leonard and a #2 FELCO pruner.  The A.M. Leonard soil knife is made of high quality, rust resistant stainless steel and has a 6″ blade with dual edges: a tapered slicing edge, plus a deeply serrated edge for root cutting.  It can be used to plant bulbs, annual flowers and herbs, dig weeds out of your flower beds and lawn, scrape out cracks in your drive, walk, patio, etc, loosen compacted soils, chop the greens off of your root vegetables, saw through roots, divide perennials and grasses and so much more.  Along with a soil knife, a pruner is great gardening tool to have.  Click here to read more about the benefits of a FELCO pruner.  I use both of these tools for the majority of my garden tasks and have them with me at all times.  The A.M. Leonard soil knife and FELCO pruner can both be purchased at the Trellis Gift Shop located inside the Visitors’ Center at Green Bay Botanical Garden. 

For those of you who already own gardening tools, here are a few tips on how to care for them.  Tools you have stored should have been oiled and sharpened last fall.  If this is not the case, it’s time to sharpen and check for wear from the previous season.  Shovels, rakes, hoes, loppers and hedge trimmers should all be checked for wear.  If you find rust on any of your tools, it can be removed by spraying ‘PB Blaster’ or ‘WD-40’ (available at Fleet Farm) and using # 1 steel wool (for rustier surfaces use a courser # 3 steel wool) to polish the surface.  The handles on your tools should be tightened and should be checked for cracks.  Blades on hedge trimmers, FELCO pruners and others should be sharpened.  You can sharpen them by filing with a fine metal file or honing stone.  Always remember to file in one direction across the tools beveled edge.  Shovels and hoes can be sharpened as well.  However, it is important not to make them too sharp, as this will cause the edge to bend and wear faster. 

For more information on how to clean and sharpen tools, read this article from Fine Gardening magazine.   

Think spring!  And remember, well cared for tools make gardening easier and make for happy gardeners!