Mid-winter is the traditional time for gardeners to check over gardening tools and machinery. I’m not one to flout a well-worn tradition, though in a world upside down, I sometimes wonder if I’d be better doing this in January when it’s too hot to be outside.
But give me a few days of wintry gales and temperatures in single figures and I’m only too happy to spend an hour or two in the shed.
Gardeners vary hugely in their tool requirements. There are those whose life is one long spending spree on gadgets while others seem to manage well with not much more than a sharp knife and a shovel.
Whether you like a lot of tools or a few, it pays to choose carefully and get ones that are exactly right for you.
If you’re not physically strong and powerful, don’t select big, heavy tools designed for someone twice your size. A tool exists to make gardening easier, not to put your back out.
Given a choice, select something light – plenty of top quality tools come in small sizes. A spade’s weight doesn’t force it into the ground, only the pressure you put on it. Don’t mess about with a mattock or a crowbar unless you have muscles to match.
I have accumulated a number of tools over a lifetime in the garden but there are a few I’d never be without.
A small hand fork is the busy gardener’s best friend, it being an easy way of keeping (more or less) on top of weeds. Other good companions are an asparagus knife for really intractable weeds, and a narrow trowel for potting up cuttings.
A small hand fork is the busy gardener’s best friend, it being an easy way of keeping (more or less) on top of weeds. Other good companions are an asparagus knife for really intractable weeds, and a narrow trowel for potting up cuttings.
Moving up to heavier digging and planting, one of the best tools I ever bought (from The Old Mole at Guyra, alas no more) is a lady’s fork, lighter and with a slightly shorter handle than Bill’s masculine monster.
My spade is also light, with a sharp blade that has a narrow shelf on the top edge to help pushing.
Northern hemisphere gardeners include hoes in their lists of essential tools but if your garden is mulched you won’t need a hoe, a lightweight pitchfork for spreading hay is a better investment. Essential pruning tools are a pair of small secateurs, a pair of large, lever action loppers for reaching into tall shrubs, shears for hedges (either hand held or re-chargeable electric) and small and large bow saws for bigger branches. Small secateurs are temptingly cheap, but long-lasting replacement blades for high-end versions (as for loppers and saws), cost very little, so if you can wear the initial investment, paying more now means you’re better off later.
If all else fails, fall back on scissors, they’re amazingly useful for light pruning.
A lightweight plastic rake is another essential. Like vacuuming a carpet, nothing brings up the look of paths, patios or terraces like a quick rake. Finally, you need a large wheelbarrow, preferably made of lightweight polyethylene. Two-wheeled barrows take the weight on their wheels, saving strain on arms and shoulders.
