HAVE you been guilty of throwing your garden tools in the shed without cleaning them. Too busy! Not enough time left… they can wait until ill next time, can’t they?!
I think we have all been guilty of this at one stage or another.
Of course, when you go to use them, the secateurs won’t budge, rusted in or stiff to use. Or the saw has rust marks which now make it hard to cut anything.
Your tools need care, precise care, not just being put away under cover or in a cupboard.
Try a different approach…maybe this could be a belated new year’s resolution!
Take an afternoon to de-clutter your garage or shed and clear out those tools that you never use or supplies you no longer need that are too old or well out of date.
Then get to work and clean those tools. Rusted tools won’t operate properly, so sharpen those that are blunt and oil those with moving parts.
Doing this will make you feel better in the knowledge that next time you want to use them, they will be ready to go.
It’s easy for many gardeners to stick with the same old plan and layout. Try rearranging your whole garden. Obtain new compost, the mixture you’re now using may have been there for a few years now, just because it looks like dirt, your plants may struggle to grow.
Think back to what sort of a crop you last had, was it just so-so. If it wasn’t as good as you thought, then the suggestion made would be well worthwhile following up on.
Experimentation is the key to good gardening,
Have you ever wanted to pollinate your own pumpkins, instead of leaving it to the bees. You can you know, and it’s quite fun to do. And you can almost guarantee that you will get more pumpkins on your vine.
In past columns, I’ve mentioned how to do this, but it has been a while so in the next few weeks there will be a column on pollinating your own pumpkins. Look out for it!
If you’re keen on gardening and growing things, have you ever thought about keeping a journal? It can be as complicated as you want it to be, or not!
Keeping a journal on the dates and times you plant or fertilise can actually help you remember when an action was last done.
In time you will build up a greater knowledge of your garden and what’s best at what time of the year.
That in itself will give you greater satisfaction to continue the work you started, get the whole family involved.
Till next time.
