Clinton News-Record, 1983-04-27, Page 36Pogo f
Fav
esse
1 tools
Let's say you're planting You can use a spade like a
your very first flower and shovel, but it isn't very effi-
vegetable garden. What will cient.
you need in hand tools? A variation in tools for dig -
A good way for beginners ging is the spading fork. It
to start would be to go to a has flat, or square tams, and
big hardware section and is espectaly good for heavy
say, "Show me your best clay soli. Don't confuse it
garden tools. Then tell me with a pitchfork which has
why they are better." round, slender tines and is
Have them line top a top used to move straw or com-
quality long handled spade, st-
a triangular hoe and an iron So much force is exerted
rake. Then count your on spades and shovels that
money and see if you can af- they need to be very 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 in all
might cost $100 or more. But weights and shapes:
shaped and
uare,
good tools will last from 10 to triangular, l
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 abuse you guessed that similar
them to break the handles. hoes are used for chopping
You'll love g 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 hheavy hin nless you have to most
tbark gardensus
stuff.
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? weeding. ny gardeners
d s
Young mien sweetly start preferlightweight,
dual -
out with the biggest garden purpose hoe with a
tools they can buy. At that triangular cutting head.
age they are strong and have When you turn it over you
energy to burn. They want to have a cultivating tool with
do everything in a hurry. three tines.
Older gardeners work Along the way you'll pro -
smarter. They use small bably try hoes that you push
hand tools, designed for and pull, and all sorts of
older people and women who bright, shiny inventions, but
are lacking in brute chances are good that you'll
strength. come back to the lightweight
You can turn over soil triangular hoe that's as
move it, cultivate, thin and useful as a Swiss Army Knife
weed just as fast with the and a lot cheaper.
small tools but you don't get The Perfect Rake
as tired. Iron rakes come in dif-
So when you're buying ferent widths and with long
garden tools, pick the ones or short teeth, straight or
that are the right size for curved. Teeth can be widely
you. : ig garden tools are or closely spaced. Rakes can
okay for big, strong people, weight as little as three
but if you are short on size or pounds or as much as five
energy choose small tools. pounds.
They're fun to work with. The major use for iron
Short Or Long rakes in home gardens is for
Han ':es pulverizing and leveling soil.
When buying garden tools If you have a big garden, buy
should you choose long or a wide, heavy rake you can
short hart es? Garden tools turn over to push or pull the
are extensions of your body soli, or use with the teeth
for reaching, pulling, down for pulverizing the top
pushing, throwing, shaping, layer
cutting, or for use as levers If
fyhavebuy a smalfl small
when hulling over the soil. garden,
ke
You use tools precisely when with sharp teeth. For heavy
weeding or thinning, or clay or rocky soil, select a
grossly when you are mov- rake with wide spaces
ing sod between the teeth to simplify
So, the best length of tool cleaning out clods and rocks.
ndle depends on your size Look for extra reinforce -
and strength, and whether ment at the socket and for
the tools will be used lightly straight -gr :tined, dense
andrecisely, or rou;:'sly wo ! :•,ndles. Cheap rakes
with lots of force. have flimsy handles that
S;I ::.des and shovels need pull out of the sockets under
heavy, ret ; ; i ore il] han es, heavy use. s:uy the best.
because you use them as '1 oiled Steel vs.
levers. Big, square hoes for Forg''
chopping heavy soil need You can still buy forged
heavy han es. Iron rakes tools in specialty catalogs
and the small hoes for and
o the
best garden stores.
tool,
weeding need long, strong, g
lightweight han es because manufacturers
heataThey
precise work. g
they are used for reaching of metal 1 .. n it into shapewithe
,
Remember, always look for presses and harnrners and
top quality garden tools. temper it for strength. It
"Let's call a spade a takes an artist, a muscular
spade." The only problem is artist, to forge metal.
that many new gardenrs Forged tools are heavy
don't know a spade from a and durable. They have rein -
shovel. A shovel is built i'::e forced sockets and strong
a small scoop. It's designed han es.
to move material from one Less expensive tools are
pl , ce to another. Most made of rolled steel chopped
shovels are not built for di into shape with a big cookie
ing cutter and pressed into
Spades are for -gging. forms. If the steel is thick
The blade is set at a and of high quality it can
straighter angle t 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 soi.. and bend or break it the first
11
1
day in the garden.
Spend the money to buy
ggood garden tools. They're a
fine investment ; if you doubt
this, look at the forged tools
on sale at farm auctions -
still straight and strong after
decades of hard use.
Power Mad
Gardeners
Power mad gardeners.
You've seen them: They
have a power machine or
gadget fol- every job in the
garden.
Now, some gardens are so
large that machines are
necessary. It's just that
beginning gardeners get the
wrong idea from watching
the power freaks. They go
out and buy big machines to
work small gardens. Not un-
til ey park them in the
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. If your soil is
so tough and hard that you
need a big machine to break
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
ening easter
and put it away 'fake the
money you save and use it to
grow a better garden.
Sharpen Your
Cutting Edge
Sharpen your cutting edge.
There's a beauty to the way
a sharp garden tool works.
Ever watch a farmer sw-
ing a hay scythe? Every few
minutes he will stop and take
the knicks out of the blade
with a sharpening stone.
Back at the barn he'll crank
up the big foot -pedal grin-
ding wheel and sharpen the
blade before he hangs it on
the wall.
Same way with hoes and
shovels. There is usually a
stump handy w give the
farmer a finis base fur- the
tool su it won't slap while he
sharpens it. Farmers have a
way of honing the finished
edge with a stone to wipe off
the wire that clings like a
hangnail.
Honing stones are about a
foot long, red, round and
coarse. A file will work okay,
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
ten/alter out of the tit»l
GAR EN
CALENDAR
Ministry of
Agriculture
and Food
s1
411
ul
11 1
.11
r1
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
APRIL
Fertilize lawns.
Remove mulch a little at a time
Plant shrubs. trees and hedges
Prune roses
Apply pre -emergence weeo kit! • 10
control crab -grass
Transplant biennials violas, pansies,,
foxglove, etc.
Repair lawn damage with topsoil and
seed.
Plant early vegetables such as peas,
radish and onions.
Sow seed of hardy annuals outdoors.
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
OCTOBER
Plant bulbs
Transplant shrubs and trees
Dig and store dahlias. gladiolus
tuberous begonias.
Plant amaryllis for Christmas blooms
Improve garden soils for next season
Gather leaves and add to compost
pile.
FEBRUARY
Commence feeding house plants.
Bring indoors — pots, bulbs for
forcing.
Propagate indoor plants by stem
cuttings.
Place mail orders for nursery stock
Prepare seed flats and containers for
sowing seed.
MAY
Construct lattice or ;wme supports
for vines.
Transfer bedding annuals to outdoor
cold frame to harden
Check trees fr,r ter:t c.aterpillers and
otherrnsects
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
AUGUST
Prune climbing roses.
Apply mildew control sprays
Prune birch and maple
Order flowering bulbs
Set out strawberry runners if new
planting was not started in early
spring
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
Protect trees and shrubs from mice
and rabbits
Clean garden storage area' and all
tools
MARCH
Plant Clower and vegetable seeds
indoors.
Prune 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.
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 back chrysanthemums.
Remove faded rose blooms.
SEPTEMBER
Prepare and seed new lawns.
Divide perennials.
Plant evergreens
Purchase flowering bulbs.
Last fertilizing of lawns tor the year
Take cuttings of geraniums and
coleus
Air dry onions tor storage
Renovate perennial borders.
Harvest grapes after the first frost.
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
Noir, Trmng may vary across Cnran°