Clinton News-Record, 1983-04-27, Page 37Pogo 12
Five esse
1 tools
Let's say you're planing You can use a spade lake a
your very first flower and shovel, but it isn't very effi-
vegetable garden. What will cient.
you steed in hand tools? A variation in tools for dig -
A good way for beginners gang is the spading fork. It
to start would be to go to a has flat, or square tines, and
big hardware section and is especialy good for heavy
say, "Show arae your best c soil. Don't confuse it
garden tools. Then tell me with a pitchfork which has
why they are ',,,~titer." round, slender tines and is
Have them line up a top used to move straw or com-
quality long 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 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 Shams
hand trowel and a two -gallon Of Hoes
puaaip-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: square,
good tools will last from 10 to triangular, leaf 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 abuse you 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 Swill clods of soil. So it comes
Tools down to a choice of which
Large or small garden shape works best
fo
tools, which should you buy? weeding. Many gardeners
Young men usually start prefer a lightweight, 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 pros
smarter. They use small ...-bly 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 cerne 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. Big 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 tang
Handles
When buying garden tools
should you choose long or
short ban es? 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 len , : of tool
han+r'e 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 han es,
because you use them as
levers. ig, square hoes for
chopping heavy soil need
heavy han�'+- 1. es. Iron rakes
and the small hoes for
weeding need long, strong,
lightweight handles because
they are us ,; for reaching
and precise work. bang estaaadinto
shaaers and
with
Remember, always look for pre
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 Forged , to
forge
gefls etre heavy
that many new gardenrs
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 di Mg. 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 son. and bend or break it the first
day in the garden.
Spend the money to buy
good 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 for 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
ke r'.r
the power freaks. They go
out and buy big machines to
work sanall gardens. Not un-
til they park them in the
garage do they realize what
a price they are paying to
save a small amount of
!asst...
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 e
and put it away Take the
money you save and use at 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
sten
stump handy to give the
farmer a firm base for the
tool so it won't shp 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
temper out of the step1
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
c ..y or rocky soul, select a
rake with wide spaces
between the teeth to simplify
cleaning out clods and rocks.
Look f extra reinforce-
ment at the socket and for
straight -grained, dense
wood han les. Cheap rakes
have flimsy han Iles that will
pull out of the sockets under
heavy use.:.uy the best.
Roll 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
r
ainn
Your Annual
GAR EN
CALENDAR
Ministry of
Agriculture
and Food
JANUARY
Inspect house plants for insects
Check Wads. 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.
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.
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.
APRIL
Fertilize lawns.
Remove mulch a little at a time
Plant shrubs, trees and hedges
Prune roses
Apply pre -emergence weed kill,.. to
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.
MAY
Construct lattice or twine supports
for vines.
Transfer bedding annuals to outdoor
cold frame to harden
Check trees fe.r tern r.aterpillers and
otherrnsects
Control pests with safe chemicals
Plant tender flowers. petunias. etc.
Water early flowering plants
Remove faded flowerheads of tutips
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 back chrysanthemums.
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
AUGUST
Prune climbing roses.
Apply mildew control sprays
Prune birch and maple
Older flowering bulbs.
Set out strawberry runners it new
planting was not started rn early
spring
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.
ei
OCTOBER
Plant bulbs
Transplant shrubs and trees
Dig and store dahlias. gladroiu',
tuberous begonias.
Plant amaryllis for Christmas blooms
Improve garden soils for next season
Gather leaves and add 10 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. arn.aryllis and other
bulbs for winter forcing
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
Near Timing may v J'y a( Toss Ont,e o