What are we doing in the garden 2025

My two favourite tools are aluminium, a hoe and a long-handled weeding fork. Very lightweight and will happily stay outside in the rain. I bought the pair for a total of £3 from a car boot sale.

 

I bought stainless steel all those years ago because we gardened on heavy clay. It did make life easier. Not such a problem here. For all other tools I like the Wolf multi-head system as I can change head and handle length as needed tho I do also have a Sneerboer trowel I like for some jobs.

 

I've bought 2 stainless steel forks over the years and managed to break both.
Got my money back on the first one as it broke within a year.

One the plastic shaft bent, and the other lost a tine on a stone.

I've had a forged steel one for quite a while now with no problems, I don't get what people see in S/S its not up to the job IMO.
Similar with S/S knives.

 

Quite often the problem is how they are made some are cast others have the tines welded onto a bar and then that welded onto a shaft that fixes onto the handle. Even spades sometimes have the blade welded onto the shaft and quite often made out of fairly thin steel that bends when it hits some resistance.
You need to look for a forged or good quality cast fork or spade. The advantage of a wooden handle is that is you split or break it you can replace it yourself with fairly minimal tools.

 

I've broken a couple of SS forks trying to lever something out. Like @Obelix-Vendée I am a fan of the Wolf system - the different handle lengths are very useful, and the tools seem pretty robust - I've got quite a range, including the gutter brush and the 4m extension pole.
And my Sneebauer trowel is gorgeous - it fits the hand so well.

 

Hi,

I prefer hickory wooden handles and look after them with linseed oil; if cared for they last forever; welding isn't a problem and a 140A arc welder is a good investment and not too difficult to learn to use; welding opens up an whole new world in a garden. Aluminium is too soft for me. I prefer old machinery to new because it's usually more robust and can be repaired with a handful of spanners it not having electronics other than a simple ignition system also if spares aren't available I make my own but I have a decent workshop. Scrap machines like my 64 year old Howard Bulldog rotavator I restored and it still works like new also I modified it to suit my needs.

A very basic tool kit I was supplied at the age of 15 together with safety boots and donkey jacket employed at the pit as an apprentice mechanical engineer included a 2lb bare hammer head and the shaft I had to make was from an old hickory pick handle; all the tools were heavy and had to put up with abuse underground. All tools were always maintained in good order and an oil can with grease gun were good friends.

Paying a lot of money for modern gardening tools/machinery doesn't guarantee they are long lasting; many only lasting until the warranty expires; tools made 50 years ago are often better and can be bought at car boot sales or places like Rufforth Auto Jumble were I've bought some decent gear over the years; I'll always remember the looks on faces as I pushed a scrap Suffolk Colt petrol mower to the car it making a great deal of noise; I rebuilt it but because of its steel roller it slid around on the steep slope so I sold it at a very good profit and bought the Howard through eBay having it pallet delivered.

I fully appreciate not many gardeners have my facilties but repairing and restoring over the years has saved me a fortune. Americans appear to have much better equiped and vastly larger workshops than we in the UK often with heavy machinery like fork trucks but I'm better at this than I am at gardening.

Kind regards, Col.

 

I like this system as well and originally bought a 3m extending handle and pruning saw to suit, since then I've got a couple of other tools for long reach jobs.
Ash over hickory any day unless you're American of course.
I've yet to see a welded fork that is as solid as a good forged one piece fork.

 

Stainless steel is brittle, which is why it tends to break more easily. The only SS tool that I like is a trowel. I also prefer Ash handles for all the reasons already mentioned. Some of the best tools I have were inherited from my father, that said I do have more modern tools as well, horses for courses.

This fork was not new when my father had it, so its well over 100 years old. It has worn rather short, but fine in the garden. I much prefer the term border spade/fork rather than "ladies"
My BIL was an ex county level rugby forward and still rows (single and double sculls), he always uses a border fork, he says it stops him damaging his back so he can still row.

Today I was at Capel, the cold wind had abated but pruning in the Japanese garden is a rather static affair.

 

Nothing to do in the garden. All leaves are collected.

 

I'll still be doing this in Feb!

 

I've collected all I can be bothered to collect. The rest can just rot where they've fallen.

 

Sunny but cold here. Have spent an hr trimming the wilted bits off the Impatiens and cutting back the now brown growth of two herbaceous clematis Cassandra. The debris created has pretty much filled my green bin.

Will try to do some more leaves this afternoon while it is dry as the forecast is for milder but wet after today.

I do find winter gardening an absolute joy. There is something about the appearance of spaces which have been crowded all summer that is very refreshing. Also, being released from the daily need (I won't say chore, because no gardening is that, but the routine is certainly a tie) to water things is a bonus.

 

Well I spoke too soon. I just went for a bimble down the bottom and found the steps piled high with hazel leaves. Don't want to leave that to get soggy in the next spell of rain - the steps are a health hazard enough already. So I gathered up a couple of flexitubs full, and a robin followed me down sucking up the worms I uncovered before perching in the rowan to sing.

Then I cut down the two tromboncino vines and put in the compost bin. I was glad to get back inside after that - leaf gathering is warm work, but cutting up soggy, frosted, hollow stems is not so much.

One benefit of the cold snap is that it has finally finished off the fruit flies, and I don't get a cloud of them in my hair every time I open the compost bin.

 

Added some more leaves to the crown of the tree ferns. Thankfully they had collected some of their own the night before. Wanted to harvest some carrots today but no chance. Ground totally solid. Good thing that I do freeze surplus veg at regular intervals.

 

Today I am just waiting for the snow to melt.

I must say, this cold spell has been a lot heavier than I expected and I didn't get the chance to do much in the way of winter protection, except for the plants which I knew were definitely in danger.

In a way I am glad. I have always wondered if some of the things I used to do for winter protection were unnecessary (e.g. bubble wrap around pots). Now I will at least get to find out And if I have lost a plant or two - oh no, I might have to go to more garden centres in Spring and look for replacements