Garden BUYING GUIDE

Tips on how you can select the right gardening tools for your lovely garden

How often have you admired your friend’s beautiful garden and wished to have one of your own? A picturesque garden is a result of days of painstaking activity, which can be made quite an enjoyable experience if you use the right gardening tools. Whether it is tilling the soil or mowing the lawn, use the necessary garden equipments and you’d not only see the tasks through in quick time but also more efficiently.

Tools for gardening activities have been in use since olden times when the garden tools were basic unlike the specialized and sophisticated ones available today. Here’s a quick glance on the garden tools & equipments you can choose from.

• Shovel – helps in turning the soil. It comes with round or square points. Round tip is good for digging and cutting into the soil. Square point shovel is good for lifting and moving materials.

• Spade – is similar to a shovel but is smaller and has a flatter blade. Spades come with square blades for cutting, lifting and digging activities. A slim, narrow blade allows access to difficult-to-reach corners. Some others may have a serrated head to allow better tearing and lifting.

• Rake – is a garden tool with teeth or tines for collecting cut grass, leaves, mulch & hay or for smoothing a plant bed surface. Rakes are available in the types of leaf (for movement of grass clippings, leaves and other debris), garden (for removing debris or working the soil to make it levelled) and thatch (for scraping into the grass and removing thatch).

• Fork – is a long handled tool (also known as pitchfork) with long and thin widely spaced prongs to lift and throw large quantities of material like hay, mulch, leaves and the like. A spading fork or garden fork is used for loosening or lifting soil and is used in a way similar to a spade.

• Hoe – like spade and fork, is a basic but essential hand-farming equipment used for cultivating, weeding or for a simple work on the soil. Backhoe helps in digging compacted earth, holes, trenches, and also for lifting heavy loads. Wheel hoe is a push hoe mounted on wheels. This is used for cultivation and for forming grooves on earth. Hoes make your job simple and quick. They are of different types with variations in head size and shape.
  
  Here are some applications of a hoe
  
  
  • Works on the soil surface around plants and removes weeds.
  
  
  • Creates narrow troughs and shallow trenches on which seeds and bulbs can be planted.
  
  
  • Digs and moves soil, and chop weeds, roots or crop residues.

• Sprayers – are used for dispensing pesticides and fertilizers to plants, crops, or vegetation. Sprayers are available in sizes that range from easily portable backpacks attached with spray guns to bulky self-propelled units. Sprayers are usually preferred for their ease of use and efficiency in distributing a material in the right amount and in the right place. All Purpose Sprayer - Battery Powered - Kill Germs / Weeds + More! is great for killing weeds and germs, and is perfect for anyone who enjoys looking after his home and garden.
  
  Know the types of sprayers
  
  
  • Powered sprayers are powered by gasoline for spraying. They are highly portable and provide good capacity, which makes them ideal for use in large yards or gardens.
  
  
  • Hose end sprayers are inexpensive and the simplest type. A hose end sprayer includes a jar into which the material to be dispensed is added in a concentrated form. Depending on the preset adjustment of quantity to be delivered, the material is then pulled up by water force through the hose and diluted with the water. There is a built in anti-siphon device inside the sprayer equipment to hold unused material in place and to prevent it from mixing with water.
  
  
  • Compression or tank sprayers are the most common type in use and are helpful in providing accurate, on target sprays effective for the soil and lawn pests as well. A handy set of adjustments enable you to dispense material in a thick stream, fine mist or as a drench spray. The equipment comes in a range of capacities from 1 quart to over 3 gallon for handheld models.
  
  
  • Backpack sprayers offer a mode of usage similar to the handheld compression sprayers. These sprayers can be slipped on the shoulders to carry a larger quantity of spraying material conveniently. These days, there are backpack models providing for a lever-style pump that maintains the necessary pressure without the need to unload the unit from the back.
  
  
  Tips for you to keep in mind while working with sprayers
  
  
  • Read, understand and follow the spray material instructions for mixing and spraying. Also read and follow the sprayer’s user manual for application and maintenance.
  
  
  • It is advisable to use separate sprayers for herbicide and pesticide. Herbicides often leave residue behind, which is difficult to clean from the sprayer tank. This residue when mixed with pesticides could be harmful to other areas you use the sprayer on. Besides this, it is also not a good idea to mix and spray different pesticides from the same applicator. For effective usage, it is better if you label each sprayer. Keep in mind to dispose off residual spray material and clean your applicator following the instructions given.
  
  
  • Be sure to wear protective clothing, gloves and goggles for protection to your eyes while spraying.
  
  
  • Know that a garden sprayer can be used for both synthetic chemicals as well as organic materials like dormant oils.
  
  
  • Avoid eating, drinking or smoking while spraying, and don’t forget to wash your hands after you are done.
  
  
  • It is advisable to keep spray materials away from children and pets.
  
  
  • Choose a calm day for the spraying activity. A windy day may result in an off-target spray. The best time of spray is early morning or late afternoon when it’s relatively cooler to ensure better absorption of sprayed material with less evaporation.

• Leaf Blowers – are hand-held tools propelled by engine, which make use of the blowing action to free your beautiful garden of leaves and other debris. You can choose to blow all debris in one place to form a heap or blow them all in a gutter, which can be cleared later. Now, let us tell you what the leaf blower looks like. The garden tool comes with a small motor at one end and a long neck at the other to let out a constant flow of air. Some come with a shoulder strap or in a backpack style for better comfort when using for longer periods. Blower - Rechargeable Cordless Genius Blower makes quick and easy work of removing leaves, clippings and other litter from paths and driveways. It is light, powerful and extremely handy to have around the house, garage or workshop.

• Water cans and hoses – are essential for any garden. Watering right after planting settles the soil around the roots and provides water essential for the healthy growth of saplings. Hoses will help watering your plants that are far from the faucet head.

• Lawn mowers – are mechanical devices that shave the surface of the grass by using a rapidly rotating blade or blades. Push mowers and riding mowers are the common types of lawn mowers. There also are other types, differentiated on the basis of size, design and operating function.
  
  
  • Push mowers are usually powered by gas or electricity. Reel type lawn mowers are manually powered and are difficult to push when compared to the newer models. However, they are considered environmental friendly since they conserve power.
  
  
  • Mulching lawn mowers mulch the grass clippings and throw them back on the lawn.
  
  
  • Bagging or catching mowers collect the clippings in an attached bag.
  
  
  • Riding lawn mowers are also known as lawn tractors, and are often used for mowing large-scale yards. A riding lawn mower with different features like a hitch used to pull cart or a spreader can be used for performing other lawn activities apart from mowing.
  
  
  • Automatic lawn mowers run using a battery-powered electric motor and are also known as robotic mowers. An automatic lawn mower can be commanded to run continuously, or only on specified days and times. With an automatic lawn mower, you can mow about an acre with just a single battery charge. All you have to do is switch on the mower, sit back and watch it trim your lawn for a smooth, velvety look!
  
  
  Some tips for purchasing the right lawn mower for your garden
  
  
  • Ease of use – Keep in mind to check its ease of use. Only if the mower is user friendly and convenient to operate, will you like working with it.
  
  
  • Price – Cost is a very important consideration. We understand that you expect good value for your money spent, but sometimes it's worth investing a little more to make sure you lay your hands on a quality equipment. Choose a lawn mower that performs its job well and is durable enough.
  
  
  • Area type – Consider the nature of the area you wish to mow before you zero in on a lawn mower. If the terrain is rough, shop for a lawn mower that is sturdy enough to handle a craggy surface.
  
  
  • Adjustments – Make sure your lawn mower comes equipped with provisions of adjusting the cutting blades to varying heights. In rough areas, you will first have to do a rough cutting with the blades raised, and then finish it over with the blades lowered in order to get a good quality cut.

Here are some points for taking care of your garden tools

Certain care should be taken for maintaining the durability and operating condition of garden tools and equipment.

• If a tool becomes rusty, it is less efficient and thus more labour-intensive. So be sure to wipe, clean and keep your garden tools away from water after use.

• Make sure that you grease the saws after every use.

• Keep in mind to regularly oil your tools and sharpen those used for cutting. Sharpening should always be done in motions away from your body. Here’s how you can go about the sharpening process! Between each stroke away from you, lift the file from the tool and reposition it in your starting position.

If you consider these points, we are sure you can make a good choice while shopping for Garden Tools and Equipment at Dealsdirect.