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Winterizing your Garden Tools

Article © 2007 Kathy Burns-Millyard

As the days cool, it's time for pre-winter chores. If you live in a mild climate, you may only need to do some cleaning and sharpening tools, making sure all your plants have adequate drainage, spent flowers are pruned, etc. If you live in the north, you'll have a bit more winterizing to do. Purchasing or building a storage shed may also be helpful, especially if your garage is as crowed as mine!

Tools

Before storing your tools for the winter:

• Give them a good scrubbing. Soaking in warm, soapy water first will help.
• Dry thoroughly.
• Sand wooden handles lightly if needed.
• Sharpen blades. A whetstone can help provide a clean, sharp edge.
• Rub down with oil, such as linseed, so that in the spring you will find your tools it the ship-shape condition you left them.

Other winterizing chores include:

Drain garden hoses, check for leaks and allow them to dry completely. Repair as needed with a vulcanized rubber repair kit.

If you use fertilizer, herbicides or pesticides, clean the applicators. Allow these to dry completely before storing. Collect unused and partially used containers and seal. As always store in a locked cabinet out of the reach of children and pets.

Fuel powered tools such as tillers and lawn mowers that won't be used for the winter should be drained of fuel. Engines should also be cleaned. How this is accomplished with depend on whether it's a two-cycle or four-cycle engine, so check with a power tool supplier or mechanic for instructions.

Sharpen blades on mowers and tillers.

Shut down or drain the irrigation system, depending on where you live. Instructions are found at:
http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/winter.htm

Giving your Tools a Room of their Own

A tool shed is a handy place to store large tools, like the mower and tiller, as well as pruning shears, trowels, shovels, hoes, rakes and all the other tools you may have accumulated. If you don't have a garden tool shed yet and your garage is running out of room for what it's meant to store – your vehicles, then this may be the perfect time to get a shed. Tool sheds can be found, like garden sheds, in varying degrees of assembly from semi-assembled to turnkey and come in a variety of materials. Many building supply stores carry them. Prefab sheds can be easily set up in an afternoon. You can even order one online and have it delivered. Your tools can be secured if you purchase a shed that has a lock, as most do. If you'd rather build your shed from scratch, a search online will bring up sites with building plans, many for free.

The above article is by Kathy Burns-Millyard. Check the Amazon boxes below for additional useful reading.