Tools and Garden Structures
Tools
Points to consider when choosing your tools:
- Never buy shoddy tools. Good tools are solidly made from the right materials, well finished, and nearly always expensive. Go for forged heads, straight-grained unpainted shafts, and well attached handles.
- Choose the right size of tool for your physique: this applies particularly
to the bigger, heavier tools.
If you can only afford a few tools, buy general-purpose ones or complementary sets. A spade, for example, will substitute for a fork and a shovel, but not the other way round. - The tools which are available at your local store may not be the
most suitable for you. Seek out specialist suppliers, who may be able to
offer tools which you didn't realize existed (and may be more effective).
The basic necessities (and a few others)
Spade. Choose a spade that isn't too heavy or so big that it invites overloading. A stainless steel blade costs more but lasts longer; it also stays cleaner in sticky soil. Footrests on the blade's shoulder let you step on it without damaging feet or footwear. The shaft should be as strong as possible without being too heavy, just long enough for you to stand upright while driving the blade fully home and levering it back to loosen the spit.
If you expect your spade to double up as a shovel, try to choose one with a fluted head. lf you already have a weak back, there are spades with lever mechanisms to take the strain.
Digging fork. The same considerations apply to cultivating forks as to spades, but with more emphasis on strength of shaft. Strength is more important than weight, since both tines and shaft arc used for leverage but rarely for lifting. A long shaft gives more leverage but less strength; a short shaft is useful in tight spaces. The two-handed fork allows you to use both hands for leverage.
Hoes. There are so many different kinds of hoe that it's surprising they all share the same name. Most people think of hoes as light tools for making furrows, for shallow cultivation, and for slicing the tops off weeds, but in fact there is also a heavy or cultivating hoe which is used in place of the spade and fork in many parts of the world. This digging hoe is extremely versatile once you have mastered it.
Dibbers and grubbers. Dibbers are for making planting holes, but their pointed ends give holes the wrong profile. An alternative dibber is a tool handle with a rounded end. You will also need a daisy grubber for winkling out deep-rooted weeds. Trowels. Look for a sharp blade with a strong neck, securely and smoothly attached to a handle that fits snugly into your palm.
Rakes. These have two functions: levelling and creating a tilth; and gathering light, bulky materials. The standard garden rake is designed for the first but will also do the second under protest. The spring-tine rake will only do the second, but much better.
Pruners. A good pair of secateurs is essential. For thicker woody stems add a cured blade pruning saw with both cutting and raking teeth on the blade. If you have a lot of pruning to do, long-handled loppers will deal more quickly with intermediate thicknesses - and if you have the skill and strength. a billhook is even faster.
Cultivators. Use a long-handled threehooked cultivator to break up surface soil and claw out shallow-rooted weeds. It's easier to replace broken hooks if they are attached individually. Use a similar short-handled tool to weed and cultivate at close quarters. You may find a wheeled cultivator a boon if you have a large area to cover.
Mattock and bar. Compacted heavy ground may resist even the fork, in which case you will need the services of a mattock and bar. The mattock will also cut and lever tree roots, while the bar can be used to break hard ground, lever rocks and tree stumps, and make post holes.
Sickles and scythes. Sickles or hooks are easier to use than scythes, and can be invaluable in clearing brambles and long grass. They must be kept sharp, however, so keep a sharpening stone in your pocket when using them. Tough and woody undergrowth is best tackled with pruning tools (see above).
Wheelbarrows. The single-wheeled barrow can travel along a narrow track, but sinks easily into soft soil. A double-wheeled cart is less manoeuvrable but holds more and is less likely to get hogged down. Avoid cheap, thin metal that will rust and break.
Care of tools
Owning good tools cuts down on maintenance, but the size of the
investment makes caring for them more important. Before putting tools
away each day, either clean with sand or wet clean and dry thoroughly.
Sharpen hoes and other blades. At the end of the season, scour metal
blades and oil thoroughly before storing them somewhere dry. Keep
sharp-bladed tools out of reach of children.
Keeping your garden tools clean
If you keep your garden tools clean you help to keep them sharp, prevent rust,
and lengthen their life span. Wipe your tools clean with a piece of rough
burlap after every use, and apply a small amount of mineral oil to prevent
rust. For an easy way to clean up small tools, fill a large bucket with sand
and add mineral oil to dampen the sand. Stick the metal end of trowels and
other hand tools
Keep fingernails clean
To keep fingernails clean when gardening, scratch your nails over a bar of
soap before heading out to the garden.The soap beneath your fingernails will
prevent dirt from accumulating and makes cleaning up much easier.
Garden Structures
As well as the living components of the garden, some non-living structures can enhance its appearance, utility, and productivity. It can be practical and satisfying to make at least some of these structures from natural or recycled materials, using rustic techniques.
Wood
While clearing ground in the first year, take care to save any useful wood
and store it for later use. In a large garden, one might even consider setting
aside in area to plant with suitable trees for coppicing, thus ensuring
a continuing supply of timber poles. Timber is best cut in autumn or winter,
when its sap content is lowest.
The
trouble with wood, however, is that, being part of the food web, it
tends to get eaten and degraded, so any structures you make (such as
trellises, arches, pergolas, seats, tables, fences) may fall apart
after a few years. So you must either:
• accept that they will be temporary or use naturally resistant timbers
• preserve the wood in some way
• use live cuttings to create a "living" structure.
Temporary structures.
These can be made from wood or wands you have gathered
from the garden: "coppice craft" structures include hurdles, rustic
fences, and screens.
Naturally resistant wood.
Every region has its own rot-resistant timber.
In the north temperate zone, oak, sweet chestnut, hickory, and cedar spring
to mind. Try your local sawmill if you don't have a home-grown supply.
Preservation.
This can be a difficult issue for the natural gardener. A structure that for 50 years may have less impact in the end than
a succession of 10 replacements each lasting 5. The point of fastest decay
is where the structure meets the ground, so often it is enough to deal
with this. Timbers which are driven into the ground can be inserted into
socketed metal spikes, but those in wet areas may still deteriorate. Some
timbers can be hardened by charring, although the correct degree of burning
- enough to harden the wood, but not burn it up, has to be found by experimentation.
If chemical treatment must be used, it should be confined to the portion of wood which will be enclosed in a socket. This is best done by standing poles, after shaping. in creosote until it soaks as high as required.
Above ground parts can be hand treated with preservative stains, the most environment-friendly of which are based on borax and natural oils. Another alternative is to have your wood commercially pressure-treated. This process tends to prevent the chemicals from leaching out. Never use preservatives of any kind on wood intended for nest boxes, nor for building compost bins.
"Living" structures. Many green sticks, stuck in the ground, will sprout roots and grow there and then. You can then weave, prune, and train your structure however you want it. This is the basis for the willow bank and the "fedge" (a cross between a fence and a hedge), but it can also be used for arbours, arches, and even gazebos.
Reclaimed materials
The possibilities are huge. Old window frames can become cold-frame covers;
old sinks or toilet-pans are good for isolating mint or holding small
bog gardens, old chimney pots make attractive planters. Even car
tyres make useful planters and worm bins.
