It is commendable to get the right garden tools for your gardening needs. However, you will have to purchase new ones not long after buying a set when you have poor maintenance culture. This article will help you with maintenance tips for some common and vital gardening tools.
Daily Maintenance Tips
It is not all your garden tools that will be needed every day. Below are some general daily maintenance tips for your garden:
General Maintenance Tips
- Rinse digging tools such as your EVEAGE Auger Drill Bit with a water source such as a garden hose. It will also help if you can use a putty knife or wire brush to take off caked-on dirt.
- After rinsing your tools, it is recommended that you let them dry to prevent rusting and any other form of corrosion.
- Disinfect wipes to prevent bacteria, fungal, or viral infection.
- Ensure that your storage space is well ventilated. Store large tools upside down or hang them to prevent dulling their blades.
- Soak tools that are exposed to diseased plants in a bleach solution and wipe them with a rubbing alcohol-soaked cotton pad.
- With the aid of soapy water and a nail brush, scrub your shears, loppers, and pruners.
Taking Off Saps
Pruners are used almost every day in the garden, especially when your plants have grown to a certain level. During use, their blades can be clogged with sap and this is quite difficult to handle. However, with the aid of solvents such as turpentine or spirits, you can find it easier. The following tips will help you in this regard:
- Use cloth dipped in turpentine solvent to wipe the blades to loosen the grip of the sap on them.
- With the aid of soapy water, clean the blades and treat them with linseed oil afterward. So, if you have EVEAGE 20V Cordless Grass Shears, this maintenance tip will come in handy.
Seasonal Maintenance Care
Some gardening tools only require intermittent care because you do not need them every day. For example, it is not every day that you will need a tool like EVEAGE Electric Tiller for planting because you will not need to plant daily. Below are some tips that will help you regarding seasonal maintenance care of your gardening tools:
Sharpening Blunt Tools
After prolonged use, it is expected that the blades of cutting and pruning tools will be dull. Therefore, it is required that you sharpen them. Failure to do this will damage the branches of your plants or tear them apart, putting them at risk of sicknesses.
Your shovels, knives, and hoes can be sharpened with the aid of a sharpening file or sharpening stone. However, your pruners might require a specialized pruner-sharpening tool.
Wood Handles Care
It is easy to neglect your wood handles but it is vital that you do not fall into this temptation. When you notice minor cracks on them, do not hesitate to reinforce them with hockey-sticky tapes or any other heavy-duty tape.
In the case of a handle that is cracked beyond repair or taping, replace it to avoid getting injured if it breaks while you are working with the tool. It is also recommended that you check for cracks between the handle and the tool head. You can also condition the handles by applying boiled linseed oil or lightly sanding them.
Shears, Pruners, And Loppers
Seasonally, you should take out time to deeply clean your pruners, shears, and loppers. It is best that you do this before storing them for winter. The following tips will help in this regard:
- Sanitize them by soaking them in bleach and water
- Before reassembling them, rob them with boiled linseed oil
- Wash all the parts holding them together with soapy water after unscrewing them
- For dusty tools, soak them in a solution of vinegar and scrub the steel.
Conclusion
The maintenance of gardening tools is critical to their preservation. It is not the best situation to find yourself buying gardening tools every season. Therefore, it is vital that you create time to maintain them either daily or seasonally. Endeavor to take advantage of the tips you have learned in this article to keep your gardening tools in good condition.
