WELLINGTON COUNTY – You don’t need to have every gadget on the market to be a good gardener, and depending on the size of your lot and the work that needs doing, it’s possible to manage with only a few essential tools.
But once you have them, it’s important to take good care of them. This will lengthen the life of the tool and increase safety for you and your plants, experts say.
Elizabeth Steggles is with the Guelph-Wellington Master Gardeners and top of her list of essential gardening tools are a good pair of pruners, a hand trowel and hand rake. These tools will see a gardener through planting, weeding, deadheading and pruning.
But when it comes to preparing garden beds, Steggles said a spade, shovel and garden fork are what you need to get the job done.
Spades and shovels are for digging, obviously, but the garden fork, “is for digging plants and digging the ground without damaging your plants,” she said.
And come fall, you’ll likely need a leaf rake.
Rounding off Steggles’ list are a good garden hose and nozzle, a hoe, and a wheelbarrow.
“I couldn’t live without the wheelbarrow,” she said.
After that, the tools can be more site-specific, like hedge trimmers and loppers.
Some people find gardening gloves essential although Steggles said she pulls them off as often as not.
It’s always fun to check out what’s new in gardening tools, but in Steggles’ view, it’s better to spend your money on the essentials.
“Generally, the more money you spend, the better the tool will be,” she said.
And if you’ve invested in tools, it’s wise to take good care of them.
Clean off dirt after every use and and leave tools to dry before packing them away for winter, Steggles said.
Holly and Andrew Hutchinson, owners of Sharp My Knife based in Rockwood, see all kinds of gardening and kitchen knives in various degrees of repair and disrepair.
Sharpening blades “can be a low priority on people’s list – until their tool doesn’t work at all,” Andrew said in a recent interview.
“All tools function better when they are sharp,” added Holly. “Then you’re cutting plants and not tearing them.”
You may recall the era when knife sharpeners would travel up and down residential streets in a van ringing a bell to announce they are in the neighbourhood. Homeowners would often scramble to collect their dull blades for sharpening.
A decade ago, when the couple decided to go into the knife sharpening business themselves, they decided to make appointments and schedule routes accordingly. The work is still done in the truck and on the spot.
Holly said it’s a model that has worked really well through COVID-19 restrictions.
“People are so limited where they can go,” Holly said.
“This is safe, it’s provided at your home, and there’s no contact. It’s been a great match.”
Typical garden tools that could probably use sharpening include lawn mower blades, pruners, loppers, secateurs, spades and shovels, edgers, chain saws, hedge trimmers and axes.
Sharp My Knife serves customers throughout the GTA, Waterloo Region and Wellington County.
For information, visit www.sharpmyknife.com.
The Guelph-Wellington Master Gardeners have a hotline and are available to answer questions. Email mgguelph@hotmail.com.
