My Personal Jungle: Tools

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Tools

Whether you live on an urban lot in the heart of South Florida, an apartment in Darwin or a hundred hectare finca in Peru, if you are trying to grow your own plants, you have some things in common: tools. The major differences arise from personal preferences, type of plants and the amount of work to be done. It might be that the most valuable tool in the garden or grove is common sense. Knowing just when to quit, just how much you are capable of can prevent most, if not all, mishaps.

While personal preference plays a large part in tool selection, a quick look at what's available and how to maintain it might help to make your gardening less work, more fun and safer. Some tools are common to all situations, some only find use under special conditions.

Browsing through a couple of large garden shops shows much of what is on the market for general consumption. Acquiring and seriously studying the catalogs of one or two major suppliers could send you out to buy silk plants. The happy medium is to find out what is useful to others and not to overwhelm yourself with too much ‘window’ shopping.

Looking through my own selection of tools (accumulated over a period of three decades) I find one or more of the following: secateurs, gloves, saw, ladder, wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, hoe, hand shovel, hand fork, potato rake, file, sharpening stone, knife, pole pruner, hose, hand sprayer, loppers, tank sprayer, roll wire, plastic tape, asparagus (dandelion?) knife, machete, oil can, hammer, wire screen, and chain saw. There are a few other items, some of which have gathered so much rust as to require an archeologist for identification. I almost did not include the chain saw, but it's a little known fact in South Florida (and other locations) that under dire necessity and with judicious use and firm restraint, a chain saw can be a horticultural tool, not an instrument of mutilation and despair!

POWER TOOLS It is beyond the intent of this article to delve deeply into power tools. Lawn Mower: If you have a lawn you will need a mower of some sort. Currently I use a 4.5 horsepower mulching mower and find it adequate for mowing medium to large lots. More than 150 x 200 and I would want a riding mower. Any mower should be chosen for safety, power and ease of use. Generally the more horsepower the longer the engine will last. Three secrets to success with mowers are a clean air filter, sharp blade and frequent oil changes. One variation on mowers is the old human powered push mower. These do an excellent job and since they are reel type cutters the finished lawn looks good. I bought one in a yard sale and use it from time to time (mostly in our winter months when there is very little growth). It is odd to be mowing and hear the birds sing and other sounds, I have also gotten some strange looks from neighbors. I’ve also had offers from kind folks to lend me a mower or even to mow for me!
String Trimmer: These come in two types; hand held and rolling. I’ve never had much use for hand held models, I find the light ones under powered and those with enough power to do real work get heavy quickly. Either kind will damage, even kill, trees and shrubs very quickly. I do use a rolling type and find it works well in areas that become over grown and have even used it to ‘mow’ the lawn when the lawn mower was in need of repair. With care it does a very good job.
Hedge trimmers, shears: Most of the time you only find powered shears in commercial use. With some practice you can shape up a 100 foot hedge in almost no time at all – while learning you can make mistakes that at best require a year or two to grow out and at worst earn you the nick name ‘three fingers.’ Even with electric models, you can’t really enjoy the sounds of nature while using these.
Chain Saw: After seeing how these are used in Florida, California and Hawai'i I have reached the conclusion that they need to be strictly licensed. If I had my way you could not buy one without completing a six week course on their use. Injuries to legs, arms and helpers aside I have seen more hat racked, misshapen and just plain ruined trees due to chain saws than any other tool. (String trimmers come in second, but their damage is more insidious).

GLOVES I've two or three pair and find that canvas gloves with small black plastic 'grippers' work well, so do the all leather. The problem is to remember to wear them. I'll start a small task and get carried away only to discover several hours later blistered, bleeding hands and that sheepish feeling of having forgotten again. If worn, gloves do protect your hands, and from more than blisters.

SAFETY GLASSES These are all they are billed to be – they can save your sight. If you don’t wear eye glasses, try to find a pair that absorbs UV light and you get an added benefit. Unfortunately I tend to treat these like gloves, I should wear mine more often.

PRUNING SAW I have a couple of these. One is an old curved blade and has lasted well. It probably needs sharpening, but really large limbs rarely require cutting. I also use a bow saw from time to time. I don’t think that I have really ever gotten a good understanding of it as the ‘bow’ is constantly in my way.

Most recently I have been trying out a 10 inch saw of Japanese design that has worked quite well. It is very sharp and cuts on the pull stroke and is fairly easy to control. This one may become my favorite.

LADDER I use both a low step ladder and a sectional one. Ladders are a lot like horses and should be bought and used in the same manner - check the legs firsthand, and don't get thrown. Just like a skittish horse, a moment's inattention on an inexpensive light weight ladder and you can find yourself on the ground. The best seem to be made of a combination of fiberglass and metal, or wood. On the other hand, if you spend all your energy hauling about heavy ladders, the added safety can be self defeating.

WHEELBARROW/YARD CART I had a nice construction wheelbarrow of medium capacity for a number of years. It was rarely used at home. Wheelbarrows are difficult items to store out of the weather and the tendency is to hope they'll last forever, under a tarp. Well, they won't and you'll discover a real need for one as soon as it rusts out or rots. A garden cart is very convenient for carrying many pots, plants, small amounts of soil, stones and children. While these two items are somewhat interchangeable (carts and wheelbarrows, not children and stones), they were designed for different uses; think your needs through and decide which is better for you. If you have construction projects in mind, a wheelbarrow rather than a garden cart is made for the job. In emergencies, your child's little red wagon can be pressed (briefly!) into service.

Limb saw on left, root saw on right

Pitchfork, bow or steel rake and potato rake

SHOVEL, RAKE, HOE, ETC. If you mix soil, get a tree spade with a square top and short handle. Digging in anything but sugar sand requires a real spade with a full-length handle. More often than not I have found a metal stone rake useful for mixing large amounts of soil. Flexible rakes are fine for collecting leaves for compost (I mow mine). A hoe with a flexible blade, one that looks like a stirrup, works best for me. Keep it sharp. Cutting both ways, work goes fast. I also use a 3" hoe of traditional design. I haven't used my potato rake since the last time I collected 'potatoes' at the ranch. I use a pitchfork to spread the ground up trees that a local tree service drops off occasionally. Look for good handles and strong construction.

HAND SHOVEL AND RAKE Both narrow and wide hand shovels have their uses. Narrow ones work well when repotting; the wider ones fill pots and small holes quickly. A hand rake breaks up clods both on the potting bench and in the field. Look for good metal. I prefer plastic handles as the wood on these small items tends to split or rot quickly.

POLE PRUNER I bought mine without a handle and for years have used a telescoping aluminum fishing net handle. Heavier but safer would have been one of non-conducting wood. Also, if used too often, telescoping handles tend to slip apart, leaving the top half of your pruner out on a limb, hard to retrieve. With practice, this and all other procedures in the garden are easier and safer. Do keep the saw blade sharp for a smoother cut and don't let it rust; clean after each usage.

Hand cultivation tools

Fruit picker with telescoping pole

FRUIT PICKER Several good models are available if your budget allows. If not, by fashioning a bag and hooking it to your pole pruner, the sweet rewards of your labor are readily at hand.

KNIFE A regular pocketknife is all I usually need. With rare exceptions a blade longer than 3 1/2" is not required. Case makes some of the best pocketknives on earth. Barlow makes a good utility knife. It's smart to get one with a blade that locks open. Make friends with your knife: keep it extra sharp and never use it to cut wire, turn screws, or as a pry bar. Dull knives are dangerous, the blade can easily slip off instead of cutting in. Mine have lasted for years and yours should, too.

MACHETE More than just a large knife, great for a number of things. Great for pruning off smaller branches, like water sprouts, without dragging out the ladder and loppers. They come in different lengths, and if you are unsure of your ability to handle a long blade, get a military surplus ‘shorty’ with a blade 15” to 18” long. Stay away from cheap extruded handles, which at the very least are hard on the hands. The metal of the blade should extend out to both sides of the handle (tang) and the handle should be riveted on. I would not trade any of mine, not the military shorts or the long bladed 'cane' cutter types. I've never found much use for the hooks, spurs, flanges and other accessories at the working end of the blade that some manufacturers insist on adding. Practice makes perfect and when working, watch out for your fingers, your shins and your feet, and especially bystanders.

Many sizes and designs of knives. The two black handled folders find use in the garden

Long machete has seen more than a year's work for each inch of the 24 inch blade

ASPARAGUS (DANDELION) KNIFE This looks like a long screwdriver with a 'Y' tip. The 'Y' is sharpened and is used to cut roots 6" to 18" below ground level. I use mine much more than a claw or rake as I know the weeds are cut off down at root depth and not broken off at the surface.

HOSES The ones that are rubber on the inside and reinforced vinyl outside last quite long. Prices range from moderate to expensive. Those that are plastic/vinyl, if reinforced, also work well. Some major stores offer an all-rubber hose guaranteed for life; if it leaks you simply cut off the ends and return them to the store for a new hose.

NOZZLES Before getting into nozzles and what happens at the end of the hose, please remember that to preserve your hose, always turn off your water at the faucet, don't entrust the nozzle to the task. Constant pressure may cause bursting of the hose if the crime is repeated too often. For seed beds and very small pots, try a Fogg-itt nozzle; also great for misting leaves. I have 1/2 gallon, 2 gallon and 4 gallon per minute. The 2 gpm gets the most use in my garden. The 1/2 gpm is superfine and is useful for small delicate seeds and plants. For several years the children used this nozzle for water play. I have used a 'water breaker' or 'water wand' for medium and large pots but so much water missed small pots I now use my thumb to direct the flow with greater accuracy and less waste.

Jamie demonstrates on the black sapote

Gilmour's adjustable hose end sprayer is one of my favorite garden tools

SPRAYERS The small hand pumped sprayer is the staple in most gardens. A 2 to 3 gallon unit will handle small and the occasional medium sized tree. Watch out for plastic handles - I've had them break and never at a good moment. For large spraying I use Syphonex, a device that connects between the faucet and the hose; a long tube is dropped into your spray mix and the siphon action of the water rushing through the hose draws the mix into the flow. This works well and I like it for liquid fertilizer and nutrient mixes. I don't like the idea of coating the inside of my hose with fungicides, insecticides or oily, gummy spreaders. When I use these, I use an Air-o-matic, made by the Gilmour company. This is the traditional bottle at the end of the hose with as couple of modern improvements. The major feature is that you can regulate the amount of mix that exits the container from one to ten teaspoons per gallon of water. I use two Gilmour’s, one for insecticides and fungicides and one for everything else. When I need a spreader/sticker, my usual choice is dish detergent. I would like to add that I rarely, as a personal preference, use insecticides or fungicides.

Nozzle on a home made water wand

Long handled loppers

WIRE; PLASTIC GRAFTING TAPE; TREE TAPE I use them all but have to remember
to remove them when used on living plants. If you forget to remove it, of the three, the plastic tape seems to cause the least amount of girdling.

SHARPENING STONE; FILE One of each is needed for you to keep an edge on your tools. Sharpening stones work best with oil or water, which floats the bits of metal off the stone and out of your way. Get a handle for your file.

LOPPERS Loppers are giant clippers and then some. The blades should not crush when cutting; a bypass cut is preferred. Sometimes a saw is a better choice for cutting branches. Corona and Sears make good models. My Craftsman loppers have lasted very well. They also have sturdy wooden handles.

Corona long tips, somehow I have not broken the wire clip in 15 years. I added the clip so they would attach to my belt

These Felco's made many years of cuttings before I replaced their blade. They have had constant, heavy use in my gardens

SECATEURS, CLIPPERS Clippers are better known as pruning shears. They have been saved for last for a reason. Pruning shears or 'pruners' can be one of the most personal items used by a horticulturist or gardener. This is no exaggeration. I once worked at a nursery where two dozen new pruners had been ordered for 30 people. On looking through the box I found a half dozen seemingly identical pruners not to my liking at all before choosing my pair. These days I own several pair, loaning them only if pressed. Looking at my box I see three Corona #60's, one Corona # 21S (long, straight) and one Felco #2 (comparable to the Corona #80). I've also got a very short Corona, with blades only about an inch long, whose identity is a mystery as the number is worn off. All of these useful tools are of the bypass cut variety. The Coronas are almost my favorites: their good steel holds an edge well, but the clip that holds them shut easily gets caught in the spring and is broken. Tied with the Coronas for first place are the Felco pruners, with a good aluminum frame and replaceable steel blades which hold an edge well. Corona holsters, handy for keeping your pruners at your side for a quick draw, fit both these brands as well as others. I also have a pair from Italy. The Italian Taia is neither anvil or bypass – rather the two sharpened blades close and meet edge to edge. I have been told that in Italy these are popular in vineyards and groves and frequently handed down from one generation to the next.

Taia, the Italian secateur that uses opposing blades to cut

I use these light weight clippers that hold the cut piece for flowers and herbs

You certainly don't need all these tools to grow your plants well. Most simply save labor and time and their choice has much to do with personal preference, growing objectives, size of project and budget. The old saying about "buying the best you can afford" is quite true here, especially since you are dealing with potentially dangerous objects and situations.

Don't fall for the latest gizmos but invest your money in good reliable tools. And always take the time to maintain them; what you may need to replace due to abuse or lack of care may be of lesser quality in the future and certainly more expensive.

I've not covered all of the tools that you yourself would find useful but have tried to stick with the basics and what has worked in my own experience. Hopefully I've succeeded in making your own gardening simpler and more fun.

Never, ever, ever, take all the tools into the garden at once!

Breaker bar and pick ax are two tiring tools - avoid them if you can!

This article first appeared in Tropical Fruit News magazine, October 1990, in a somewhat different format.

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