Mark Lane advises on the best tools to pick for container gardening
Pick the best equipment and keep it clean and sharp to get the best results
Let’s face it, the weather is still a bit rubbish, but I love this time of year to check over my gardening tools and prepare them for the seasons ahead. There are some essential tools to have, especially for raised bed and container gardening, and they don’t have to cost the earth. Pick from hand-crafted forged tools, lightweight aluminium or carbon fibre options, wooden handles or plastic, foam or metal.
Personally, I like a woodenhandled garden tool; it’s warmer to the touch, tends to ‘mould’ itself from wear and tear to the shape of your hand over the years and can last a long time if cared for properly. For gardeners with dexterity problems, there’s a growing range of tools, either clip on or pre-fabricated, to take the strain away from twisting your wrist.
Essential equipment
My list of essential gardening tools for raised bed and container gardening comprises:
l A garden knife l longhandled hand trowel and hand fork l spade or a smaller perennial spade for containers and raised beds
l fork l rake l hoe (or container hand-held weeder for tighter spots) l secateurs l a ball of string.
For some gardeners, a good pair of washable, all-season gloves are perfect when pruning, when the weather is cold or you just don’t feel like ge ing your hands dirty. Of course, you can add items, such as a watering can, hose, shears, loppers and a wheelbarrow. I like to keep my tools in a handy garden caddy so I don’t have to go to and fro to the po ing shed or greenhouse – the tools are there ready for me to use and are at a manageable height when working in containers and raised beds.
Make sure you know the width of your wheelbarrow and garden caddy, and design the spaces around the containers and raised beds so that you can easily and quickly manoeuvre them with great ease.
Keep it clean
Try and get into the habit of cleaning your tools after every time you use them. This will involve rinsing tools to remove soil, perhaps with a wire brush.
Secateurs, loppers, shears and spade blades should be cleaned down with warm, soapy water. If you’ve been pruning diseased stems then a quick soak in a bleach and water mix is ideal – just be sure to wash away the bleach with clean water. Alternatively, use a rubbing alcohol to disinfect the tools. Finally, dry off the tools before storing in the shed.
If you have a raised bed with a wide ledge you can sit down and clean your tools, otherwise find a comfy chair and cushion and clean them on an outdoor table. I get very methodical when it comes to cleaning tools, laying them out like surgical instruments!
You can keep a bucket of sand mixed with a plant-based oil, such as linseed or vegetable, and simply plunge blades or teeth into the sand a couple of times. The oil will help protect the metal from rust and corrosion. Sap can cause secateurs, loppers and pruners to clog up, so wipe the blades with a solvent such as turpentine, or an odourless, nontoxic solvent. Then clean with warm, soapy water and dry off.
Once in a while, at the end of the season, or now if you didn’t get round to it, clean secateurs thoroughly with wire wool, wash all parts in soapy water, unscrew nuts if possible and clean beneath, sanitise with bleach in water and, finally, rub with oil. Remember to also keep pruning tools sharp at all times, either using a file, whetstone or sharpening stone.
Caring for wood
Wooden handles need particular a ention to keep your tools in tip-top condition.
Like the blades or teeth, wipe down with a damp cloth. Look over the entire handle for cracks or blemishes. If the wood isn’t badly damaged, you can fill in slight cracks with a wood filler and sand down the entire handle. Wipe away any dust, clean and dry. Then finish with a coat of oil. This will help repel moisture and dirt and stop the wooden handles from drying out or becoming bri le. Boiled linseed oil used to be the go-to oil, but I like to use coconut or walnut oil. Ideally, oil the tools indoors as the oil will penetrate wooden handles be er at room temperature. Repeat if necessary.
You’re now ready to start or continue gardening in your raised beds and containers in the knowledge that you have tools fit for purpose.
l Join me for an online hanging baskets masterclass in aid of the Leonard Cheshire charity on Sunday, March 14! Tickets are £11.13 from www.eventbrite.com.