This is a great time to check out all your garden tools for wear and any problems they might have that can be repaired. There isn’t anything worse than getting excited about going out in the garden to get started and finding out your tools need help. Check the handles for cracks or splinters. Check the edges to make sure they are sharp and there are no nicks taken out of them. Your garden tools are very necessary for the health of your garden. A good tool in good condition can make your job easier in the garden. Go out to the tool shed today and check them out, polish them, and clean any rust off the tool surfaces. Happy Gardening!

You know as you get older things do not work the way you would like them to. The garden can still be a serious passion for you but your body may fight you in your efforts to do certain mundane chores in the garden like digging or weeding. I was recently at a farm doing some work for a very nice older farmer and asked him just how he kept his farm in such great shape for a fellow his age. He told me is was no great secret. He just used what was there for anyone that had the knowledge to go out and find. It was so very simple and when he told me I was amazed. It was using the local church groups younger adults and teenagers. He feeds them a generous lunch and does not ask to much of them and they are more than happy to help out. He in turn donates products from his farm to the less fortunate parishioners and it turns out to be a win win situation for everyone. So the next time you are in need of help in your garden why not contact the local churches and see if they offer such a service. Maybe you can donate something as simple some beautiful flowers for Sunday services or extra food from your garden to help out the hungry. We can all work together and help each other through these tough times we are in just like people used to do in the great depression. If we work together and share, we will not only feel better about ourselves but we can know in our hearts that we have done what is intended of us as caring human beings.

In the northern part of the country it is rapidly approaching time to button things down for the winter. You invest good hard earned money in all of your garden tools and lawn tools too. It does not take a lot of time to protect those tools for the winter months but in those short few months those same tools can rust at an alarming pace. A short amount of time with a piece of sandpaper can ready those tools for some well deserved oil or paint to protect the metal parts for the winter. While you are at it why not sharpen any tools that require sharpening before applying oil or paint to their surfaces.

One more trick we use here in the northeast is an old trick my Grandfather taught me when I was very young and I still use it today. Almost all tools have wooden handles. Wood does have a tendency to dry out naturally over time. It is just the nature of it’s construction. Without the tree roots to supply moisture to any piece of wood it will dry out. You can treat the outside to help it retain some of it’s moisture but eventually it will lose some of that protection and the wood will do what it knows best once again, dry out. Well here is a very easy solution that will only take you minutes to do and it only needs to be repeated a couple times a year and will extend the life of your tools by many years.

Take an extra long drill bit, usually about a 1/4″ bit will be good enough. Go straight to the very end of the handle and drill in the very center parallel to the length of the handle as far into the handle as the bit will allow. The deeper the better and you will understand that better in a few seconds. You now have a 1/4″ hole directly in the center of the handle down about 5 inches or so. You will also need some 1/4″ furniture plugs like they use in wooden furniture to cover the screw holes to plug the end of the tool handle. Fill the hole you just drilled with some Linseed oil and cap off the hole with the furniture plug. Stand the tool on end so gravity can do it’s job and naturally let the oil work down through the handle. The oil will keep the handle from drying out and keep it somewhat flexible. More good tools have been tossed in the dumpster because of a simple broken handle.

People have gotten used to the inexpensive tools and the ease of just replacing them when the break a handle. My tools are good and trusted friends to me and I like to take as good care of them as the do me. They make my gardening easy and enjoyable so I feel I owe it to them to take a few minutes out of my time and keep them clean and well oiled and sharp. Clean sharp tools will make a job go smoothly and it is also easier on the tools if they are in good working order. Try this out on the next rainy weekend and you will see next spring that your efforts will have rewarded you.