Tools of the trade
Traditional is best but don’t ignore innovation, says Peter
QUITE often, news of the latest redesigned tool reaches me, and too often my heart sinks at the sight of them. Garden spades have been forged for centuries and improving on all this experience is challenging, to say the least.
I prefer wooden handles – they are warmer to the touch, and become shinier with use from the oils from the user’s hands. Long ones on hoes have a spring to them, and should they break they can be replaced without difficulty.
There are exceptions. A while ago, news reached me of a new bulb-planting aid. Bob Sweet, a former Chelsea Flower Show manager, was in Canada visiting a relative with a retail nursery and he saw a large area planted up with spring bulbs. Bob commented, “That’s a lot of hard work planting those”. To which the reply came: “Not if you use one of these!” At this point, an auger, that fits on to a battery-driven power drill was produced.
We like to test things for ourselves before recommending to others, and so I bought the shorter handled one from Amazon. It works like a charm in heavier and firm soils, drilling out a neat hole ready to drop in bulbs and, at this time of year, seed potatoes, gladiolus corms, lily bulbs and pot dahlia tubers. A UK supplier is likely to introduce this attachment soon, but they are available on Amazon from £10 upwards.
Now, when it comes to hand trowels, I use a wooden handled, short-shanked and curved-bladed traditional model. A day has just been spent planting 400 pot-grown pansies, and the curved blade gives a neat circular hole, which is just the job.
Easter weekend is the time to pull down winter-dug soils, ready for sowing and planting, and the three-tined cultivator is perfect for this. Simply turn through 180º and the curved tines are ideal for breaking down clods.