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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-04-27, Page 32Let's *say You' "r.+: planting boa can aaa a• -spa, Your very first ower -:and shovel, butt it-isn``1 w=- vegetable garden�.. What will ciente • youneed in lea ndtools? Atioil it• ing is the spadiiitg A good way fr beginners g.�= o to start•would be th goto a has fiat, '.r square tibq' big hardware section and is espectaly good for leav say,. . "Show ` a ieyour best clay soil. lion t. confuse 11 Aren tool = Then•w fl Me with a pitchfork which �trhy they arcbotter � n# mull slender tines and is egarden• money ta• bay tools.}Theere,a t, if YAW doubt. ie €orged t00ls at fns• auctions alight*,d;strong after d desof harduse, Fewer Mad gardWen rider Mad °gardeners, You*, seen them," They have .a power machine or .gadget; for every job in the garden.' Now, some gardens are so large 4that ,machines are necessary. It's just that beginning gardeners get the wrong idea from watching :them ling ., `top used to movestraw or. col* q uahtY tong handled spade, post. .., a triangular hoe and an iron. So' much force is exerted rake. Then count,, ,your on spades and shovels that money and see ifyou can of- they need to be vary strong, ford a spading fork 'AS well. So buy.the best, Last would come . a good Sizes And Shapes hand trowel and a two -gallon • : Of Hoes pump -type sprayer. Hoes have long or short This beginning set of tools handles• and come m all might cost $100 or more. But `weightsand shapes: square, good tools will last from 10 to triangular, leer shaped, and 20 years. The steel will hold rectangular. Lift one of the an edge and not bend. You heavy, square hoes and if would really have to abuseyou guessed that similar them to break the handles. hoes are used for chopping.: You'll love good hand tools, a cotton, you'd be right. - feeling you'll never have if There is no need for large, you buy the shoddy, cheap heavy hoes in most gardens stuff. unless you have to break up Large Or Small clods of soil. So it comes Tools down -to 'a choice of which Large or small garden shape works best for tools, which should you buy? Young men usually start out with the biggest garden tools they can buy. At that age they are strong and have energy to burn. They want to do everything in a hurry. Older gardeners work smarter. They use small hand tools, designed for older people and women who are lacking in brute strength. You can turn over soil, move it, cultivate, thin and weed just as fast with the small tools but you don't get as tired. So when you're buying garden tools, pick the ones that are the right size for you. Big garden tools are okay for big, strong people, but if you are short on size or energy choose small tools. They're fun to work with. Short Or Long Handles When buying garden tools should you choose long or short handles? Garden tools are extensions of your body for reaching, pulling, pushing, throwing, shaping, cutting, or for use as levers when turning over the soil. You use tools precisely when weeding or thinning, or grossly when you are mov- ing soil. So, the best length of tool handle depends on your size and strength, and whether the tools will be used lightly .and precisely, or roughly with lots of force. Spades and shovels need heavy, reinforced handles, because you use them as levers. Big, square hoes for chopping heavy soil need heavy handles. Iron rakes and the small hoes for weeding need long, strong, lightweight handles because they are used for reaching and precise • work. Remember, always look for top quality garden tools. "Let's call a spade a spade." The only problem is that many new gardenrs weeding. Many gardeners prefer a lightweight, dual- purpose hoe ..with a triangular cutting head. When you turnit over you have a cultivating tool with three tines. Along the way you'll pro- bably try hoes that you push and pull, and all sorts of bright, shiny inventions, but chances are good that you'll come back to the lightweight triangular hoe that's as useful as a Swiss Army Knife and a lot cheaper. The Perfect Rake Iron rakes come in dif- ferent widths and with long or short teeth, straight or curved. Teeth can be widely or closely spaced. Rakes can weight as little as three pounds or as much as five pounds. The major use for iron rakes in home gardens is for pulverizing and leveling soil. If you have a big garden, buy a wide, heavy rake you can turn over to push or pull the soil, or use with the teeth down for pulverizing the top layer. If you have a small garden, buy a small rake with sharp teeth. For heavy clay or rocky soil, select a rake with wide spaces between the teeth to simplify cleaning out clods and rocks. Look for extra reinforce- ment at the socket and for straight -grained, dense wood handles. Cheap rakes have flimsy handles that will pull out of the sockets under heavy use. Buy the best. Rolled Steel vs. Forged You can still buy forged tools in specialty catalogs and the best garden stores. To forge a garden tool, manufacturers heat a blank of metal white hot. They bang it into shape with presses and hammers and temper it for strength. It takes an artist, a muscular artist, to forge metal. Forged tools are heavy don't know a spade from a and durable. They have rein - shovel. A shovel is built like forced sockets and strong a small scoop. It's designed handles. to move material from one Less expensive tools are place to another. Most made of rolled steel chopped shovels are not built for digg- into shape with a big cookie ing. cutter and pressed into Spades are for digging. forms. If the steel is thick The blade is set at a and of high quality it can straighter angle than a make a good garden tool. shovel. You push a spade in- The only trouble is that most to the soil with your foot, pull gardeners can't tell by look - back on the handle like a ing. They buy a flimsy spade lever and turn over the soL. and bend or break it the first the power freaks.,. They go out and buy big machines:to work small.gard ns. Not un- tfil they park mem in ..tbe; garage do they realize what a price they are .paying to .Save . a small' amount of labor. There is much, to , recom- mend doing most garden work. by hand. it your soils, so tough and hard that '‘you need a big machine tobreak it up, then you should add organic matter to loosen the soil enough to work by hand. In small gardens you can get the job done with hand tools before you can feed a machine, crank it up, clean awl put it. away,. Take 'the .'stump' handy. ,toy give the_ moa Yeti save and use it to grow abetter garden.. SharpenY1ur, cotung'EA0e Sharpen::, your.. cutting edge. There's al:beautY to the -way a sharp•garden tool works. fixer watch a farmer :sw sw- ing a hay scythe's `Every' few minutes hemill stop and take the knicks out of'the blade with a, sharpening stone. Back at the barn he'll cra*. up the big foot -pedal grin- 'ding wheel pard sharpen the blade before he hangs it on the wall. Same way with hoes and shovels. There is usually a farmp�r u felt; ibase for e: tool- ,a .�;sli . whil.: e•�. s. s _:,t won! .,. hd .�+�:: sharpens d, Farmers have a way of,boning the finished edge with a..donate wipe off the wire that .clings dike a hangnail. • 1-loni tg stones aro about; a foot long, reef round and coarse. A file will worktokay, but it doesn't leave that slight sawtooth edge, Never use a •power grinder without a • bucket of water handy to quench the blade frequently:If you let the heat build up you can draw the temper out of the steel - Your Annual GARDEN GALE DAR Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food JANUARY Inspect house plants for insects. Check glads. and dahlias in storage for insects & diseases. Avoid salt use near plants. Keep yourself informed — read garden articles & take advantage of courses. Plan garden renovations. Order flower & vegetable seeds. FEBRUARY - Commence feeding house plants. Bring indoors - pots, bulbs for forcing. .Prune Propagate indoor plants by stem cuttings. Place mail orders for nursery, stock. Prepare seed flats and containers for ' sowing seed. • MARCH Plant flower and vegetable seeds indoors. fruit trees (and grape vines). Start tuberous begonias in pots. Check garden perennials and press back into place, if they heaved. Apply fruit tree dormant spray. Prune back shade trees, over grown hedges and shrubs. Check for rodent damage. Prune summer flowering shrubs. APRIL•. Fertilize lawns. Remove mulch a little at a time. Plant shrubs, trees and hedges. Prune roses. • Apply pre•emergence weed kitir'r to control crabgrass. Transplant biennials: viols, pansies, foxglove, etc. Repair lavdn damage with topsoil and seed. • Plant early vegetables such as peas, radish and onions. Sow seed of hardy annuals outdoors. MAY Construct lattice or twine supports for vines. Transfer beddrng• annuals to outdoor cold, frame to harden. ' Check trees for tent caterpilters and other insects. Control pests with safe chemicals. Plant tender flowers, petunias, etc. • Water early flowering plants. Remove faded flowerheads of tulips, and daffodils Prune shrubs and trees after flowering. Kill lawn weeds with herbicides. JUNE Prune evergreens and hedges. Add grass clippings and garden wastes to compost pile Use mulches .of grass clippings and compost on gardens to conserve moisture and control weeds. Irrigate lawns and gardens. Thin out . crowded annuals and vegetables. ,. Stake tall growing perennials. Pinch backchrysanthemurrts. Remove faded rose blooms. JULY Raise cutting height of' mower blade. Thin out and cut back old raspberry canes. Fertilize annuals and vegetables. Shallow hoe gardens regularly Pinch back annuals. Water gardens during dry spells. . t AUGUST Prune climbing roses. Apply mildew control sprays. Prune birch and maple. • Order flowering bulbs. Set out strawberry runners it new planting was not started in early spring. ,,,r SEPTEMBER Prepare and seed new lawns. Divide perennials. Plant evergreens. Purchase flowering bulbs. Last fertilizing of lawns for the year. • Take cuttings of geraniums and •coleus. Air dry onions for storage. Renovate perennial borders. Harvest grapes after the first frost. OCTOBER Plant bulbs. Transplant shrubsend"trees. Dig and store dahlias, gladioius. tuberous begonias. Plant amaryllis for Christmas blooms Improve garden soils for next season Gather leaves and add to compost pile. NOVEMBER Plow vegetable gardens. Soak. soil around evergreens if ground is dry. Plant fruit trees. Hill up roses. Check supports for new planted trees. • . Mulch tender plants': Plant hyacinth, amaryllis and other bulbs for winter forcing. s Protect trees and shrubs from mice and rabbits.. Clean garden storage areas and all tools. DECEMBER Get indoor lighting units in use. Loosely 'wrap pyramidal evergreens with burlap or plastic netting. Carefully remove snow from shrubs and spreading evergreens. - Reduce the watering and fertilizing of . indoor plants. •. • . • Note- Trmrng may vary across Onrarro.