How to Care and Maintain for Garden Tools
Garden tools are invaluable for working in the garden, pruning and trimming landscaping. They can be expensive and the shear number of tools needed for gardening and maintaining landscaping can be extensive. Spending a few minutes cleaning, sharpening and providing proper storage to care and maintain for garden tools reduces maintenance and replacement costs.
Get in the habit of cleaning debris from your gardening tools as you use them. It is a lot easier to rinse off one tool here and there than to let cleaning chores build up. Moist clumps of dirt, grass and weeds can be removed from cultivators, hoes and shovels using wire brushes and a hose.
Sanitize tools used on diseased shrubs and plants. After cleaning dirt or debris on clippers or pruners dip them in a weak mixture of water and bleach. This helps to assure that you do not transfer obvious diseases from one plant to another.
Use stiff wire brushes to sand off rust found on shovels, hoes and rakes. After rust is removed, cover metal portions of the tool with a coat of oil. You can use any variety of oil that you have on hand. Oil is used to prevent additional oxidation.
Maintain tools periodically with sharpening. Shovels, hand tools, hoes, pruners and cutting tools kept with a clean edge work more efficiently and save time and frustration. Tools can be sharpened with a steel wool pad or a wire brush. A metal file works best for sharpening some types of blades.
Clean garden tools at the close of each gardening season before storing. Always clean and sharpen the metal portions of each tool and wipe down with oil before storing. Sand down wooden handles to remove splintering and treat with linseed oil.
- Store tools out of weather conditions in a protected location and off the ground when possible. Tools not properly stored and left outdoors and on the ground are liable to rust and corrode. Ideal storage is found in garden sheds or garages.