Beyond Behnke’s › Forums › Gardening Products › What is the best gardening product you own?
- This topic has 10 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 4 months ago by
Stephanie Fleming.
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December 1, 2021 at 10:57 pm #44332
Larry Hurley
KeymasterOf course a good pair of pruners for our family is a must but what other tools or products do you feel are the most important?
December 2, 2021 at 11:09 am #44338linus_cello
ParticipantExtra large unbreakable wine glass (and sturdy trowel).
December 4, 2021 at 3:27 pm #44340Larry Hurley
KeymasterMaybe not the best tool around, but if you need to dig in rocky soil or remove modest brush, I find that a mattock is really useful. One end of the head is for cutting, while the other end may be a pick or a smaller cutting blade, depending on the style. I have a small wooded area at the back of our lot here in Wisconsin, and it’s full of invasive buckthorn. A few swipes at the base with the mattock severs the roots, and I can pull a six foot buckthorn out easily.
If you have a larger area to clear, check out the Uprooter. I’ve used one of those several times and it pulls up saplings without a lot of back effort.
December 4, 2021 at 4:53 pm #44341Stephanie Fleming
KeymasterI am thinking the Large Unbreakable Wine Glass is a winner as long as someone has wine to put in it!!
December 5, 2021 at 9:41 am #44342Larry Hurley
KeymasterOne more thing on the mattock. In Maryland, I had a patch of bamboo to remove. Each year I cut out most of the old growth at the ground, so this wasn’t a mature patch, the shoots were about an inch in diameter. Over the course of a couple of months I cut the shoots to the ground, then attacked with the mattock. The mattock chopped thru the rhizomes, and then I could pry the rhizomes out of the ground using the mattock like a lever. (That is, putting the blade under the rhizome and pushing/pulling the handle toward the ground to exert pressure under the rhizome.) A lot of work, but it cleared the area.
I deserved a big glass of wine for that job. Maybe a case.
January 6, 2022 at 9:28 pm #44545Dbhawk
ParticipantDid the same thing to a huge stand of bamboo using my mattock just as Larry did. Took a season or two to get everything out.
January 9, 2022 at 11:56 am #44551caroldallen
ParticipantI do love my mattock for whaling away at bamboo roots, however I did tear a tendon in my shoulder that way. Now, I teach younger and tougher folks how to use it. Shades of Tom Sawyer!
Truly the tool that is never far from my hands (along with my Felco pruners!) is a Korean hand plow. With that I plant bulbs, dig weeds and dig holes for setting plugs or other smaller plants. When ever I use it and there is another gardener nearby, they invariably want to try it out.
January 12, 2022 at 7:45 am #44721Stephanie Fleming
KeymasterSo when you say you teach younger and tougher folks how to use the mattock, does that mean at your home? On the job experience? What a great idea!
I think I am going to buy a Korean hand plow. Just looked it up and it does look like a great tool. I will gift it to my husband 😉
January 12, 2022 at 7:47 am #44722Stephanie Fleming
KeymasterI am very impressed with everyone that can swing a mattock! I tried once and failed. Need to work on that.
January 12, 2022 at 8:02 am #44724caroldallen
ParticipantStephanie, you do have to learn how to use a mattock. Many people want to push the blade into the soil on the down stroke rather than letting the weight do the work. You may not remember, but I taught tool selection and use at Behnke a couple of times. I also include a module on tool selection, use and care in some of the courses I teach at college.
January 12, 2022 at 8:13 am #44725Stephanie Fleming
KeymasterI clearly have no idea the correct way to use one. I know you had so many great classes at Behnke’s. I only wish someone had filmed them.
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