How to Develop a Lasting Relationship… With Your Tools
21.08.2023 - 12:05
/ theunconventionalgardener.com
/ Emma Doughty
As its Valentine’s Day today, and the whole world is in the mood for love, I thought I would talk about one of the most enduring and productive relationships a gardener can have. Although plants (and even gardens) may come and go, if you invest in good tools and look after them properly they will be with you throughout your gardening life.
In some families tools are handed down as heirlooms, and have been lovingly used and preserved by many hands. These are tools that were ‘built to last’ and are as useful now as when they were first made. But if you’re not lucky enough to have a green-fingered heritage, or you’re a completely different size to your ancestors, then you may need to invest in new tools.
It’s easy to be seduced by the cheap tools on offer in garden centres and gardening catalogues, as their descriptions make them sound perfect and they are within everyone’s budget. But their performance can be disappointing, and their lives short-lived. Plastic handles can fade and become brittle over time, and I know from experience that cheap trowels can be easily bent. I have developed a keen hatred for what he calls ‘garden tat’ – cheap, usually plastic or aluminium, tools and sundries that are not fit for purpose and rarely make it through even one growing season. My personal horror stories include an aluminium cold frame that literally kept unscrewing itself, and those plastic ‘garden pegs’ that bend when pushed into the soil. (Do yourself a favour and buy metal tent pegs from the outdoor shop instead – they’re cheaper and longer lasting.)
If you want to have a lasting relationship with your tools then it pays to save up and buy high quality ones, where you can replace handles if necessary and where proper tool
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