You invest a lot of time, energy, and money in maintaining your landscape and having the proper tools for each job is essential. Maximizing the lifespan and usefulness of those tools, from rakes and pruners to weeders and wheelbarrows, will not only save you money and time, but will also help keep your landscape healthy and thriving across the seasons.
As you prepare your gardens and landscaping projects for their New Hampshire winter slumber, consider these steps to store your gardening tools and equipment and protect your investment.
- Clean your tools like you clean your hands! Getting your gardening tools ready for storage is as simple as that. Be sure to remove all of the debris with some warm water, give any blades a good wipe down with some antibacterial/ antimicrobial solution (this ensures that any potential disease won’t spread between vegetation when pruning), and make sure you dry them completely before storing them away for the winter.
- Sharpening is better for your tools, better for your plants! Doing so will prolong the life of your gardening tools and a sharp, clean cut not only looks better on your plant but also allows your plant to heal more quickly. Stick with the angle or factory bevel of your tool when sharpening or bring your blades and chains to us and take advantage of our on-site sharpening services.
- Oiling is your next step after cleaning, drying, sharpening and removing rust. While boiled linseed is often the oil of choice (it can be used on metal and wood), vegetable oil from your kitchen will do just fine to prolong the life of your metal blades and wooden handles, keeping them in good working condition.
- Storage of your gardening tools, now that they’re cleaned, sharpened and oiled, is an important last step in maintaining their integrity. Be sure to choose a location that is weather-proof and dry (undercover and out of the elements), keeping them off of the ground and out of foot traffic whenever possible.
Spending just a few hours at the end of each garden season to clean, maintain, and properly store your valuable gardening tools will save you money and will give you more time and energy to get out there and enjoy your healthy, beautiful New Hampshire landscape.
