In article ,
BeyerT wrote:

;825679 Wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:11:53 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

[...]
-

Take care of your tools

If you’re like most people, your tools are leaning against the wall in
the garage or shed, just where you left them the last time you were
working in the garden. And they probably still have chunks of dried
dirt and dead grass stuck to them. A few minutes invested now will pay
dividends next spring.

Start by cleaning mud and dirt off shovels, forks and trowels. That’s
a minimum, but it’s also a good idea to rub the metal parts with an
oily rag. If you have a can of WD-40 on the shelf, that'll work fine.
If you have any linseed oil, rub it on to the wooden handles to
prevent them drying and cracking.-

[...]

Thank YOU for the heads-up! I am guilty of all of the above. Will
take care of tools ASAP.

Just before I returned from a 3-week trip we had two huge storms!
Great for the garden*, and great for parched So. Calif in general.

(Too bad the area does not yet have infrastructure in place to
capture the damn rain instead of letting just run out to sea!!!
My buckets on front porch are overflowing; wish I'd thought to
set out trash cans instead.)

Reason I mention the storms: Hedge trimmers and big clippers
accidentally left out; blades rusted. I've been immersing rusted
pruners, etc. in vinegar and then cleaning off and oiling.

*** Anybody have better suggestion?

* Everything looks in good shape. Snow peas climbing up trellis.
First batch of radishes about used up; time to replant. Baby
spinach for dinner last night...yum. Bok choy needs thinning.
Beets doing OK, but need thinning. (I am always chicken about
thinning, though I know it's counterproductive to be anthropopathic
about plants.) Couple of big tomatoes slowly ripening. Some weird
cherry tomatoes still hanging on; never get red. Brussels
sprouts doing OK, but full of holes. Strewed some snailbait;
hope it works. Same for mesclum, which is leaping out of the
ground; will soon need to be pulled & replaced. Carrots going
gangbusters; same with green onions.

Hi,

thank you for the great tips and "reminders". I have to admit that I am
also quilty of most of the above... Even though I cannot consider myself
being a big gardener (my wife does most of the planning, working and
commanding...) I still enjoy the beauty of a well maintained garden.
Some of the things mentioned have actually been carried out by a
gardener we found over the internet (not all of it, but we can take
care of the rest, I guess...). Let me share our experience with you, as
it really paid off:
As mentioned we needed someone to some gardening work and found a
website called www.egenie.co.uk where you can post your job and
professionals send you estimates. Worked out just finde, the next
weekend the guy showed up and did all (and a little more than) we asked
him. The garden looks great right now and we will call the same guy
again in spring.
But now I guess I have to take care of those dirty tools, and yes, the
WD40 is sitting on the shelf!

When I pulled out my nice pruners out for trimming the Christmas tree, I
saw a little rust on the blades. They looked clean just three months ago.

Enjoy Life ... Dan

--
Garden in Zone 5 South East Michigan.