Garden Tools
What basic hand gardening tools should I purchase?
My allies, attached to my hip at all times, are hand pruners. I usually use just a Velco bypass pruner. We don't want to use the anvil type pruners where the stem is smashed rather than cut. I love Japanese weeding knives. I use a Japanese head sheer, the open hat suni head sheers, which are very light and have a very sharp blade on them. Another blade that I will sometimes use are never dull pruners; they're sold as grape or bonsai scissors as well.
How often should I sharpen or clean hand gardening tools?
I don't know if there is a rule on how often you should sharpen or clean hand gardening tools. I've worked in gardens in Europe where they've cleaned the tools every evening and oiled them. I'm afraid I'm not that clean. I look at the tool and see if it's no longer pruning effectively. Then I will sharpen it. As far as cleaning, the only precaution I have is if I've pruned a plant that would have any disease or insect problems. I will usually then clean my hand gardening tools.
Should I use power gardening tools?
I don't really believe that we should be using a lot of power tools in a home garden. I don't feel that the power leaf blowers are necessary. They're quite a nuisance. So, I don't use any power hand tools. We do pretty much everything with manual tools.
