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| Home > Essentials of Gardening > Gardening Tools
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| | Gardening Tools
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 Having a garden means that you will need to possess some gardening tools. You could begin with some simple tools like a spade, a rake and gardening gloves; but as your garden flowers and grows you may find that having a handy set of tools is most useful.
When you are purchasing new gardening tools, you will have a choice of buying low priced- low quality tools or higher priced but quality tools which will last you much longer. While it is advisable to buy high quality implements which will last, it is better to buy only a few at first and then gradually increase your collection as and when you need them. This way, even if your interest in gardening peters out in a few months, you will not regret having spent a fortune on gardening tools.
Quality tools are designed to last many years, but they must be cared for and maintained. If you opt for bargain priced tools, maintaining them is less of a problem. When they wear out, you simply throw them away.
Maintaining your garden tools on a regular basis assures that they will be ready to go to work on your next garden chore. Following a few basic rules will add many years of life and use to all of the tools which make your gardening tasks easier.
1. Always remove all of the soil from your digging tools after each use. You could use your garden hose to wash off all the dirt and tackle the dried mud and tougher dirt with a screwdriver.
2. You must never put your gardening tools away wet. Allow them to dry completely before storing to prevent rusting and handle rot. Every season rubbing linseed oil onto the wooden handles is a good idea; it will help to preserve them. These days many tools are made of synthetic materials too.
3. After each use, wipe the metal parts of pruners, shears, and loppers with an oily rag so that they remain clean polished and well oiled.
4. Sharpen your cutting tools as well as the blades of shovels and spades during the gardening season. A hone or whetstone should be used for sharpening cutting tools. A file should be used to remove nicks and smooth the edge of your shovels and trowels.
5. Thoroughly clean any gardening tools which have been used for chemical applications. Fertilizers and other chemicals will rapidly corrode any metal parts.
6. For extra rust prevention, fill a 5 gallon bucket with builder`s sand and pour a quart of new motor oil over it. Use this as a shovel cleaner/oiler each time you put your tools away. Push each tool into the oily sand several times. You can also use this bucket as a shovel stand.
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