Hand Garden Tools

[Lurker]

Ok - this summers garden is about 50% bust, we'll get a few things but not what we put in.

I know that someday soon my gas tiller may not be able to to the work I need so I need to get some good garden tools. There was a thread last summer I think about sites for good tools but that thread is long gone - so I'll start another one.

Taking all suggestions for sites with solid gardening, i.e. lifetime type, tools. Hoes, weeders, etc.

Thanks!

[Homesteader]

To be honest, I only use a rototiller once every three/four years or so. Most of the time I just turn over the soil with a garden fork.

I would spend the time and effort to get your soil in tip top condition.

I started with almost 100% clay. Over the years, I've added sand, manure, peat moss, more sand and manure, grass clipping, leaves, etc. Now it's pretty easy to turn with the fork.

[cyberiot]

Lehman's (www.lehmans.com) has a good assortment of hand tools, most of which are made in the USA!

Granted, they're a bit pricier than the cheap imports the weekend warriors buy at Home Despot and ChinaMart, but they'll also stand up to actual work, and may even serve the next generation.

[Davy Crockett]

Johnnys Seeds
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-JSSAdva...711_HGCR#tools

I just bought a stirrup hoe [from Walmart :( ] and I love it. $15
I do want to get a better one like from Johnnys

[dilligaf]

i agree with homesteader to start, but now we are in the process of taking it one step farther..

no till gardening.

our whole focus here now is shifting to making our life easier in our elder years. the goal is to not need anything more than a hand spade,hand rake and a nice comfy stool to plant and tend the gardens. well and of course a bucket or two to haul compost around..

[Summerthyme]

Lee Valley Tools has some REALLY high quality tools. You need a good digging fork (flat tines), a couple of good hoes- my preference are a stirrup hoe and a "cobra head" hoe.

A good rake, a couple of good shovels... pointed tip type.

As I get older, I've been doing more in raised beds, and short handled versions of some tools work much better for that. I have one of these:

http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/p...t=2,44823&ap=1

in the short version, and it's amazingly useful. I also have a "digging knife" that I use for transplanting and weeding. I can't remember for the life of me where I got mine, but here is a really nice (and awfully expensive) version:

http://www.garrettwade.com/japanese-...fe/p/16E02.01/

I've got to say, I LOVE my little 4 cycle Honda "Mantis type" rototiller. I had one on my wish list for years, and when we happened to walk into Home Depot last fall and they had one for 40% off their already discounted price, we grabbed it.

It's GREAT for renovating rows that didn't all sprout well (I dug up about 15 feet of a 60 foot row of beans and replanted), it works in the raised beds, and it lets me plant my garden rows a lot closer together; I'd always left room in between the rows to run the big TroyBilt tiller, which required around 40" once the plants got fairly lush. This little tiller takes about 12" space, and can till right up to the plants without hurting them.

It's fuel tank holds about a quart, and I've run it all afternoon on that... Granted, if things get REALLY bad and stay that way, even small amounts of gasoline won't be obtainable, but I've got a pony, harness, and cultivator for THAT scenario!

I've never invested in a broadfork, but if you've got fairly decent soil, they apparently can work really well. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/search.as...Term=broadfork

Don't forget good work gloves!! What could be a minor injury now could be a disaster if TSHTF and you can't get antibiotics. I'm paying the price of an old injury... I was weeding in the garden and somehow got a piece of glass in the side of the heel of my left hand. Unfortunately, it broke when it hit the bone, and by the time the doctor listened to me and x-rayed the hand and discovered he really *hadn't* gotten all the pieces out, I had a raging infection in the hand. I didn't learn for almost a week that they were discussing amputation at one point... I was that sick and out of it.

Anyway, it took months of therapy to get the fingers to work again, but it's been fine since then... but recently the wrist has started getting really painful, and I suspect that arthritis from the infection is starting to make itself known. And no, I still don't wear gloves as often as I should... it's a habit that you need to adapt to, and I never did. But there are times, such as pulling thistles or trying to prune back multiflora rose bushes, or when I'm doing a lot of digging, that gloves are absolute hand savers.

And gloves are one thing that aren't going to be easy to make at home... a badly made pair can cause blisters and more problems than they save.

You also may want to consider getting a roll of solar film mulch to help extend the year (and give heat loving plants a chance to produce in colder climates and years). Johnny's has the best prices I've found on that. A roll of Reemay plant fabric can be a plant saver... keep pests off, help keep heat in, etc

And yes, we'll have to learn to garden without all those nice "disposable" at some point, maybe. But even my Amish neighbors have adopted my use of plastic mulch film, as it lets them grow much larger gardens without being overwhelmed by weeds. A 2400' long roll of 4' wide Solar Film can grow a LOT of plants over several years... we get 6-8 years out of a roll currently. And they do have biodegradable mulch now, which would be awfully handy (pulling old plastic mulch is one of our least favorite jobs), but it's about 40% more expensive.

Summerthyme

[orion commander]

Summerthyme, can you tell us more about solar film? When I goggle it it is all about window film or power voltic film.

[Son of the South]

Yep Solar film is hard to see especially when you goggle it!

[Summerthyme]

Sorry!

Johnny's used to call it IRT mulch (infra-red transfer, IIRC), then they changed the name.

It's here:http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5999-so...-4-x-2400.aspx
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5448-so...ch-4-x-50.aspx

Summerthyme

[PatrickHenry2]

Could you ever have enough hand tools on “hand”?

Most gardeners around here have to till at least twice a year. The super cool set up is the five foot “rotovator” on the back of the Kubota, a nice walk behind counter rotating rear tine such as the Troy Built Bronco (have several extra belts on hand) and the mini Honda as already described.

Normally you get what you pay for.

We are convinced that fiberglass handles are the way to go.

When you take a shop class in high school or work in construction it teaches you that tools get put away at then end of EVERY use. Consequently it drives me crazy when people leave tools out overnight in the dirt!

Annual maintenance of hand tools is imperative for longevity. All metal surfaces get cleaned, wire brush, steel wool, dry rag. Then completely wiped down with NAPA Chain and Cable lube.

UV rays are an enemy to fiberglass. Fiberglass gets several coast of car wax. Apply, dry and wipe down just like you are hand waxing a vehicle.

Wood handles get coated with linseed oil or hardwood floor wax.