I heard about this energy-saving tool from Master Gardener Rita Bernardi, who is in a pruning guild. After a talk I did for her group, she told me about when she was first learning her new skill. Her hands were hurting terribly, so she purchased a cordless lithium battery-powered pruner and a hedge trimmer by …
Wrestling with heavy hoses is hard enough for a strong gardener, but when you have a bad back or arthritis, using and storing heavy hoses is literally a pain. All my original hoses were the wrong hoses. Maybe it was a function of what was available at the time, but still. I was always wrestling …
1. Fill each cavity halfway with the appropriate potting mix (or cactus mix, if you are planting succulents). 2. Add your plants and more soil, tamping the soil down as you plant. 3. Two or three times a week, tamp the soil down and water them thoroughly. This is where patience comes in handy—before you …
When you’re done pruning this winter, don’t forget to clean, sharpen and oil your tools so they’ll be ready come spring. Diamond Tool Sharpeners Are Forever Even if you invest in good tools, you still need to keep them sharpened. The first tool sharpener I ever bought was from a major brand, but it was …
Winter is the time to prune back overlapping branches from trees and shrubs. A good quality pruner is your #1 most important gardening tool. Experience shows higher quality pruners hold their sharp edges better, so you work less and save energy while making cuts. Do not try to save money on your pruner. Instead, buy …
I love this Reversible Kneeler Seat, as does anybody who owns one. Why? Because it’s strong enough to help me get up when I’m kneeling and when I turn it over, it makes for a handy seat next to my containers, when I’m planting, tending, and harvesting.
Do you have a tendency to bend over more than your body wants you to? Why not consider buying a mobile garden stool to help you move easily around the yard? I often fantasize about having a larger garden to grow everything I want to grow, and then I think about maintaining it and I …
For years, I’ve been looking for the perfect tote bag and I finally found it! As a Master Gardener, we volunteer for workdays at our projects and I love having a tote for my tools, gloves, water bottle, keys, and phone. This Puddle Proof Tote Bag is large enough to carry all that plus it’s …
While we are talking about watering the garden, another Senior Select product is a thumb-controlled hand sprayer. The one I like has the seven patterns you will use the majority of the time. Thumb-controlled devices like this one are great to water window boxes because you can control the flow of water easily and you …
Quality Lightweight Hoses Do Exist! Maybe I bought the wrong hoses in the first place. I was always wrestling with them when I was unraveling it or unkinking it and the darn thing was heavier than I wanted to do when I wanted to put it back on the hose hanger. I found it was …