I am looking to upgrade my tools after a gardening friend said my spades were poor quality and my storage system was a disaster. Any advice would be appreciated.
— Andrew Jones, Palatine
My wife has been asking me for a few months to organize my stuff, which is mostly gardening tools and supplies in the garage. While finally doing so, I took the time to evaluate my tools and supplies in preparation for the upcoming gardening season. I am a big fan of investing in high-quality gardening tools and keeping them sharp. Most home gardeners do not pay enough attention to selecting and maintaining their gardening tools. I believe that it is worth investing in well-maintained, high-quality tools, because they make gardening easier.
Install a pegboard on a wall with hooks to store tools. This can work in a small storage area, a shed, or a garage. I hung up tools that were scattered around the garage, which I should have done last fall. Maximize the use of space in your storage area and make it easier to keep track of and access your tools. Some shelving can also help store small tools such as pruners and gardening supplies.
Consider handling the tools you are about to buy. You get a better feel for the weight and balance of tools like spades if you hold them rather than choosing something online. See the two spades in the photo — one is lightweight with a fiberglass handle and the other is medium-weight and all metal. These are my favorites. The fiberglass spade is great for planting perennials, weeding and edging, while the metal-handle spade is great for heavy work like digging out trees and shrubs. Some gardeners prefer spades with wooden handles — try them! You may find that your spades are dull if you check your current tools. Sharpening them will make a significant difference. This ultra-light metal spade can handle all the heavy gardening tasks that I do. You can find heavier and stronger metal spades, but I find that they are tiring to work with for long periods. Some spades have a slight curve to the blade, which I find hard to use. Beware that new spades are not usually sharpened before they are sold. Use the angle that is already on your spade as a sharpening guide. If the blade is too dull (or brand new), an approximate 35- to 45-degree angle should work. Sharpen the inside edge of the spade, as it is a single-beveled tool. Since spades will probably hit roots and occasional rocks during normal gardening work, you should sharpen your spade at a steeper angle and around ¼-inch wide so that you end up with a more durable edge. A longer and thinner edge produced by a lower angle of sharpening will be sharper but can also be more brittle and quicker to dull.
Use a bench grinder or electric hand grinder to sharpen your spade. As you sharpen the spade, the metal will become shiny. Move the spade back and forth if you are using a bench grinder. The sharpening process is noisy and throws off many sparks, so it is important to wear ear and eye protection while sharpening. If you use a hand grinder, position the spade on the ground with the blade pointed up. I use my foot to stabilize the spade as I am sharpening. Move the grinder back and forth across the blade at a steady speed with gentle and even pressure to avoid overheating the metal. Stop occasionally to let the metal cool. The metal will start to blacken if you are moving the grinder too slowly or pushing too hard.
Keep moving the grinder back and forth until the blade is sharp. Focus on keeping the same angle as you are sharpening. Sharpen again as needed during the gardening season.
Keep your tools clean. A putty knife that has a blade width of 1 to 2 inches should work to scrape dirt off your shovels and grass from the bottom of your mower. The wider the blade, the faster you will be able to clean. A smaller putty knife works better on small shovels and curved shovels. A steel brush can also be used on these tools to clean off any dirt more finely. Pitch can build up on your hand pruners and loppers and cause the blades to stick when you are pruning certain types of evergreens. Use fine-grit sandpaper to clean up the blades when this happens or as needed to keep the blades clean. Be careful not to cut yourself on the blades as you work. Spray the tools with Lysol® disinfectant spray if you have been working with any diseased plant material. I seldom find this necessary in the work that I do in my garden. I generally do not use water to clean up any of my own tools.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.