Five Fabulous Tool Tips for Summer Gardening

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Using the same old gardening tools is a thing of the past. Every tool has a life span, and most tools get rusty, corroded, or grow dull over time. As you launch into your summer gardening, consider these tips that can make your life out on your lawn a little less laborious.

• Motorize. Why slave over pesky weeds or labor over exhausting edging? Check out motorized gardening tools like sickles, edgers, hedge trimmers, tillers, and motorized garden carts
• Spring. If you don't spring for a motorized or electronic gardening tool, definitely go for a spring-loaded tool that lets your muscles off the hook. Spring-powered tools include shears, clippers, trimmers, and other handy tools that won't leave you or your muscles sore.
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  How would you like to improve your lawn?

  • Make it greener
  • Eliminate patches
  • Less weeds
  • Make it thicker

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• Go ergo. Is a gardening tool giving you blisters or a sore wrist? Drop it. Modern gardening tools often have curved handles or blades in order to maximize the strength of the muscle making it work. Go for rubber handles, long necks, and lightweight materials when you're looking for new gardening tools.
  • Extend. This one's easy. Look for gardening tools with extending or telescoping capabilities, enabling you to save your strength and reach plants and trees, high or low.
• Budget. Old, common household items can make great makeshift garden tools, alleviating the need to spend your green on new green tools.
  • Flower plants that are cracked in half can make great spades.
  • Old steak knives are handy for waging war on weeds.
  • An old pillow with a plastic bag or wrap around it can cushion the knees during long afternoons in the dirt.
• Multitask. Why not consolidate with your gardening tools the same way you do in the kitchen? Just as a knife doubles as a spreading tool, gardening tools like mattocks double as a pick and a hoe, making it easier and more efficient to break up soil in a variety of gardening tasks.

You don't have to break the bank to upgrade your gardening prowess this summer. Taking on even just one of the tips above can help you enjoy a pasttime that should bring you peace, not frustration.

 

About the Author

Joe Cooper writes education, home services, and design articles, and manages corporate communications. He holds a bachelor's in American Literature from UCLA.