Winter-proofing your garden tools: 4 mistakes that wear out spades and shears
Rust, sap residue and dry handles: tools hung away dirty in the shed cause frustration come spring. A few simple steps keep them in shape for years.
The season is winding down, and your spade, shears and hoe have worked hard. Right now decides whether they are sharp and ready in March or rusty and dull. Four common mistakes can be avoided with a little oil, a brush and half an hour.
Mistake 1: Soil stays stuck on the blade
Damp soil holds moisture against the metal and promotes rust, especially when tools sit in the shed for weeks. Knock off coarse soil and scrub the blade clean with a wire brush. On spades and hoes it is worth brushing out the socket where the handle sits too, because moisture collects there. Stubborn residue comes off with a damp cloth.
Dry the tool thoroughly before you store it. Ideally, give it another day in an airy spot to dry completely instead of leaning it against the wall while wet.
Mistake 2: Ignoring rust
Light surface rust comes off with fine steel wool or fine sandpaper. Rub along the length of the blade until the metal looks dull-bright again, then wipe off the dust. A bucket of sand mixed with a little oil helps too: plunge the tool in several times to clean it and leave a thin protective film. A mineral oil such as machine oil works best, because cooking oil can turn rancid over time.
Then wipe the metal with a lightly oiled cloth. Deep, pitted rust cannot be undone. In that case, all you can do is maintain the tool well and keep an eye on it.
Mistake 3: Leaving shears sticky and dull
Sap and resin make shears sluggish. Clean the blades with denatured alcohol on a cloth. This also lowers the risk of fungal diseases spreading from plant to plant. Denatured alcohol is highly flammable, so do not work near an open flame or embers.
Sharpen the edge with a whetstone at the original angle until it bites cleanly again, and add a drop of oil to the pivot. Then open and close the shears a few times to spread the oil.
Mistake 4: Neglecting wooden handles
Dry wooden handles splinter and turn rough. Sand them lightly and rub in boiled linseed oil, which dries faster than raw. Caution: rags soaked in linseed oil can spontaneously ignite. Do not bunch them up. Spread them out singly outdoors until they are hard, or put them in water in a sealable metal container before disposal.
Store tools dry and frost-free, ideally hanging rather than on the floor.
Your tool plan for the journal
Write down which item you maintained and when, and what needs replacing soon. In spring you will know exactly where you stand. In Rootivo you can keep notes like these in your garden journal and be ready to go in March.