Saturday, December 26, 2009

Mini Indoor Gardening Set


The Rumford Gardener Mini Idoor garden Set is an well-needed item for anyone who has abundant indoor plantings to maintain and care for. As a person with large hands and who tries - often - to use large tools for indoor tasks, believe me when I say there are times when smaller tools are called for. My history has me breaking any wild number of vases and plastic thingies, let me put it that way. A more delicate touch is required indoors. This little set is perfect for such small endeavors, as numerous as they may be. Nothing here is on the over-built side of rustic but monstrous toolage. Believe me when i mention size matters. In this case, smaller is much, much better.

For more specific product information and for user reviews, please click here.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Folding Pruning Saw


This Silky Folding Landscaping Saw I recommend because I have used it. Folding pruning saws are fairly common and one can easily pick one up down at Home Depot or somewhere for a one time use for a bit less money. My experience with this one, however is something more than memorable. Somehow, the formation and manufacture of the teeth on this saw make its cutting time far faster than even the best other brands. These saws can universally surprise anyone who takes on limbs and branches with even the most average one's ability to quickly slice through wood. They are simply fairly stunning, even at their worst. But what this saw did for me - who had used them for decades - was not only surprise me with the speed of the cutting, but the sheer durability of the unit itself. And not only that, but the handle fits a hand with stunningly more comfort. It's hard to aver that someone should spend something extra on something they may only need to use a few times. But for anyone who has repeated journeys up into trees for purposes of pruning, there is no other saw I could possibly recommend more.

For more product information, including a rap on how they put these blades and teeth together, click here.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Electric Landscape Edger

This Black and Decker Electric Landscape Edger is just like what the professionals use - metal blade and all - but it comes at a stunningly fair price and without the ultra-power of the machine driven ones. At the same time, this item has plenty of Oomph to do the job for a single homeowner and represents yet another very cool movement towards quieter, cleaner and less dangerous equipment for the average Joe like us. What many people tend to overlook is the power electricity delivers. In terms of sheer torque, this one rivals gas-powered units. It is far cleaner to operate, has fewer parts to go South and it still represents the best possible way to edge lawns and sidewalk edges. This is a heck of a little machine.

For user reviews - all good - and for more product information, click right here.


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Garden Hopper Mobile Garden Stool and Storage


This Mobile Garden Stool And Storage device is not funny. I know, I know, I can hear the questions already: "Why on Earth is this even here, posed by a supposed serious landscaper and gardener?" Well, it's an easy answer to anyone who knows the field. Bending over gets exhausting. Standing up, bending over, sitting down - repeatedly, in just about that order - are even more exhausting. From working inside irrigation boxes to weeding and planting bulbs, from installing lighting systems to dealing with wet ground on the rear end of pants - these factors all contribute to a longing for just this unit. It carries around my 250 pound friend with no problem, scooting across grass and dirt at the typical glacial speed we gardeners operate at. It also gives a spot to leave a cell phone, tools, parts, gizmo's and the likes without picking them all up and scooting them, along with ourselves, to our next destination. Honestly, the height of this is ideal as is the concept itself. Frankly, I cannot recommend this tidy little unit higher.

But for real user reviews and for some product information, click right here.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

High-Powered Electric Snow Blower


This amazing Electric Snow Blower has actually been oin the market for quite a while. It actually runs at more RPM than gas-powered models and no one needs convincing that electrical appliances are far less smelly, less polluting and less prone to breakdown than any gasoline-powered anything. What's most interesting about this model is it's power. It can definitely fling some snow. Yes, it does have some limitations - predictably those relate to the overall amount of snow. The cord does have to be drug around but most people claim to clean off driveways of 30-50 feet two cars wide in less than a half hour. Make no mistake, under a foot of snow, this works as well as any unit in its class. A friend of mine has had one now for 4 years and he loves it. 25 pounds of snow blowing power is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, it's clean!

For some nice user reviews and for much more product information, click here.

Friday, December 4, 2009

The Multi-Talented Manure Fork


The Ames True Temper 10 Tine Manure Fork is more than just a pretty face! The variety of jobs this fork can do around the home and in the landscape is fairly astounding. Perfect for removing and piling leaves in containers or wheelbarrows, it is lighter and easier to handle than shovels for tasks such as loading mulch, grass clippings, and garden debris for removal.

Truthfully, I have used this as a true secret weapon of productivity and I am being 100% honest. Picking up stuff off the ground gets tiring, bending over or using shovels to try and not gouge the grass. With this hot little item, you can darn near clean up every morsel with a few swipes. I would include this in any list of a building tool repertoire without batting an eye. Oh yeah - it also handles manure great! This is a tool from Above.

For needless user reviews and for product info I wouldn't even bother with, click right here.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Garden Maintenance Set - Battery Powered


This Black and Decker Garden Maintenance Set is among the most successful battery-powered sets offered in the market. I actually used this set up myself to great effect. It is entirely possible to get less expensive items which are less durable. In fact, there is a rather glutted market of these products in general, with many suspect name brands entering the market. The result is a mysterious combination of elements which don't satisfy the way one would want - and at some expense! These 3 items are excellent for the real work of landscaping and gardening and provide durabiltiy with reliable performance. Nor does one need the entire set, of course. It's just that these particular products have been proven over my own experience, thus my recommendations. I highly recommend any one or all of these particularly helpful gardening items.

For more product information or for hundreds of user reviews, click here.

Just Like Dad!


Battery Operated Tool Set, just like dad uses. I don't do this that often, but I surely recall wanting to pull out my own tools when my Dad went to work around the house. Naturally, I had a more primitive setup - including a belt! - but this one matches well all those new-fangled power tools all of our dads are sporting these days, from battery-powered drills to Sawzall's and Skil Saws. This is "just for kids", seeing as how the drills don't really drill anything, although let me be the first to applaud the functioning power light! You have hammer, pliers, even a generator to make your kid's world a perfect reflection of the working world's aims. Help Dad by using your own doggone tools! You'll never have to borrow a tool again!

For some more information on this ideal Christmas Present and for some user reviews, click here.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Battery-Operated Timer For Hoses and Gardens


This Nelson Battery-Operated Hose Timer is an interesting product and is grouped with a wide number of competing products, all of whom are of reasonable quality and durability - and whose timing has good reliability - when treated right. I stress the latter - "When treated right" - because we are speaking generally of using a plastic product attached to one of metal. And that is about the only caveat I would counsel using this amazingly great labor-saving device. These are honestly pretty fantastic things. What you have in this small unit is "Freedom", in the end. For those people who long to travel, yet feel the tug of all the effort they put into establishing their Summer gardens, this item - or ones like it - are a virtual dream come true. It is the same with lawns or anything which your hose can attach to and actually water on a regular basis. Labor-saving and security-enhancing, these small battery-powered timers are the next best thing to having a literal irrigation system. This Nelson is a product from a very reliable company whose business has always been irrigation.

For more on this product and for looks at similar ones, click here.

A History of The Shovel

From ancient times, shovels or some form of them have been utilized for grubbing for food to burying people. Interestingly, just about the only really noteworthy breakthrough in the history of the shovel itself was the move towards using metal in their construction. Actually, this was a major change and allowed for far deeper digging as opposed to using the older versions which were composed mainly of hardwood business ends.

An ancient mining discovery found by anthropologists in Turkey revealed an ancient, one piece, carved wooden shovel dating from approximately 2,000 B.C. It was about 12 inches wide at it's scooping end, 27" long and the handle was about 2.5 inches in diameter. Well-preserved owing, in part at least to the hardness of the wood, this shovel was obviously used manually in a mining operation.

Here's an interesting take on the Religious role of the shovel from Wikipedia. Beware the Shovel!:

"The shovel is worshiped in many religions today although it may not seem noticeable at first. The Buddhism god, Gishnu, an 8 armed elephant, wielded 8 shovels when the Buddhists fought the terrorists at the battle of El Alamein in ancient times. The elephant slaughtered thousands of foes and it was decided amongst the other gods that this elephant should not hold the 8 shovels of power. These shovels were spread all over the world in each of the 7 ancient wonders. One shovel is said to be amongst us, keeping guard of the long forgotten world of the shovels. These shovels all over the world remain dormant, hidden away in safe locations."

In the Northernmost areas of the world, Eskimo's utilized the bones of whales and and walruses to make themselves shovels they used for carving ice and building igloos, cutting through ice to fish and the numerous cold weather uses they would need. "Walrus Scapulae" were deemed perfect for this work.

In Great Britain, early man heated his place by burning peat, cut and sectioned out by shovel from the many resources of this interesting fuel.

Imagine making just about anything in the garden world without a shovel. It might be a crime!

There is little need to question the need for shovels. Particularly, when considering our ancient agricultural past, the shovel would have to be assumed to be a most common and among the very earliest essential tools. No doubt it is preceded - as always - by weaponry, yet it remains one of the quintessential tools raising us from the caves and bushes of our past into the most modern times.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Garden Rake


This garden rake to me is pretty easy to advocate in nearly any form at all. While I would advise staying away from cheaper models owing to the strength of the steel or metals comprising the thing and the handle's composition, almost any mid range priced rake or above is pretty much just about perfect. Fiberglass or wood handles - either one - make excellent and long-lasting tools. A tiny caveat: The one personal preference I have developed for rake handles - on the issue of whether to go for the fiberglass ones or wood - deals with their girth. I always enjoyed the thinner wooden handles, myself. Particularly for longer hours spent at the end of one, a thinner handle always seemed somehow more Snedeker-ergonomic. ;-)

Click right here to find out a bit more on this tool and for some user reviews.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Digging Shovel


Some shovels are more "shovel" than others. This one is my choice for the perfect shovel for digging. The over-sized foot step allows for some real pressure being applied from the legs, opening soil easier and breaking roots and smaller impediments far easier. Now, as a professional, I need to issue a "caveat" and mention this shovel is a tad heavier than others of similar construction. It is because it is designed for a very principal function of excavating. Lighter shovels might be indicated for such things as loading wheelbarrows with soil or mulches simply owing to the amount of time spent on the tasks and the effect of heavier lifting over time. However, the overall framework of this industrial style shovel is far more amenable to digging and excavations in soil. For one thing, it will last longer. For another, it is designed for digging and penetrating harder and tougher soils. The welds on this are solid and the balance is a great asset, along with the near-"plate" for using the boots. This is your "excavating" shovel, par excellence.

For more product information and for user reviews of this tool, click here.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Interesting Weed Tool


The Weed Hound is a more-than-interesting item that caught my interest more than once. The reason I speak of it now is that I have a rave review from a long-time maintenance friend who mows grass for a living and who has cast about for less-polluting means of dealing with such things as Dandelions. Yes, the Dandelion War is always-alive, even for the pro's. Well, he is delighted with this tool. That tells me what I need to know in terms of whether it passes the field test. I just about never recommend anything I have not used personally. However, I am siding with just about any item which lessens the usage of pesticides and herbicides in our world any more. This bad boy here removes the offending broad leaf at the source - the root - and it also contains that one super superior trait of allowing one to stand while working. I am recommending this item to any and all who might like the notion of taking drastic and final measures regarding Dandelions and broad leaf weeds in their lawn and garden. Besides, it's relatively cheap and it is much more durable than it might look - this I asked about.

For more product information and for user reviews, click here.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Southern Living Big Big Book

A Very Big Book!

Like it's equally-informative twin the Western Living Garden Book, this great asset to any gardening library is rife with wonderful and detailed pictures and information about plants, landscaping, gardening - even irrigation - and exists as what is a virtual encyclopedia, appreciated by professionals and interested gardeners alike. Among its many features, it includes the newest American Horticultural Society Heat Zone Map and even plant ratings. It has 2,000 new plant entries, with more than 1,200 all-new, full-color plant illustrations. !,300 photographs of plants covers a massive area - pretty much everything - in the plant and tree world and it also includes nearly 70 pages of tips and techniques fit for real good gardening. This is somewhat of a must-have for anyone curious or even at the further stages of gardening and landscaping. It's a truly great resource, in short. If I can add, it is most definitely oriented towards the South but please don't let that deter you from purchasing it. Its relevance is world-wide, I assure you. The Western Living Book I commented on at the beginning is equally valuable and I use it still, while working in the South.

For more information about this great book and for rave user reviews, click here.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

A Small Shovel


This small shovel is not just so that your son can imitate Dad or Mom and dig on his own, although that is a super fine option and is always to be encouraged. It has a bundle of very practical uses, most of which revolve around either a shortage of space or a project that requires some digging while on one's knees. In fact, I scoffed at the idea of even what they called a "fireman's shovel" at one point until it became a foreman's very favorite shovel and one where he handled the workload every bit as well as the guys with the big headed shovels did. I have long since reconciled myself to the fact that many people listen to their own digging muse. But for stiffer soils requiring small holes, for example, this digs with far more "oomph" than a hand trowel or any other hand held instrument and it can still move a bunch of dirt. It also carries an interesting 3 year warranty, something unique among shovels and probably well worth investigating. I have used these for multiple purposes and I also love them. Oh - and, yeah, your child can operate with the big people and feel just as much the contributor with this guy.

For a bit of product information and for a user review, click here.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Gardening Tool Set


This Gardening Tool Set is actually something I would own as a landscaper. Ironically, some of the more attractive features to me - aside from the obvious pruners, weeders and durable tools - are the hose attachments and the spray nozzle. Fact is, even the knee pad is a pretty doggone handy item, especially for those of us over 20 years old. In the end, the variety is interesting and most of the tools are must-haves, especially for gardeners, much less for landscapers. With a reasonable price and a good solid choice of necessary tools and repair gadgetry, this little set rocks. I have purchased more than one of these in my day and always felt like hugging myself when I opened them up. I know - I'm easy.

For more product information and for some user reviews, click here.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Tool Rack For Storage


A very underestimated consideration in the long term care of tools is what to do with the suckers when one is finished. In landscaping, many times we just throw them in a pile somewhere and pick them back up off the ground in the morning. Or carry them around in the back of some truck in the elements, exposed and collecting water and ice. But we also plan on going through them - breaking them,losing or misplacing them at a rate which would drive a homeowner nuts but which is honestly often considered just a business expense for guys who use them daily. And having said all that, the truth is most landscapers have many 4-5 year old tools in spite of the abuse.

But a homeowner will find themselves with different concerns entirely. Since they don't use them on a daily basis, most homeowners could easily lose them for good, leaving them outside. The virtues of a sturdy tool rack, well placed in some garage or shed are many - they obviously protect the tools from the elements, foremost. Plus, they are easy to locate, simple to choose among and as secure as any locked building can make them. This item is a pretty good set-up for this sort of tool security and longevity. I recommend this - or something similar - for anyone who has more than 2 tools.

For product information and for user reviews, click here.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Perfect Garden Weeding & Planting Tool


This durable Weeding Tool also performs as any number of tools, all in one. Whereas gardeners use it for weeding out especially rigid and hard-to-remove weeds, landscapers often double up its use as a planting aid. Owing to its tough construction, it also performs as an excellent chipping hammer for removing cement from bricks, scoring rocks and shaping them when constructing walls and sidewalks of Natural Stone - in short, just about 101 uses. I always keep one of these close and the wide number of applications I have found for this really just doesn't stop. Once again, for weeding, this may be the ultimate tool, but for planting annuals and even bulbs - which occasionally requires loosening tough soils, this little guy is the answer there, too. This is another versatile item, far more useful than it might appear. I adore these tools.

For more product information for this universal tool, and for user reviews - if any - click here.

Monday, October 26, 2009

A Terrific Pruning DVD


This excellent Pruning DVD by the well-known Hugh Perry reveals pruning facts in simple, easy-to-follow steps backed by discussions on the reasons and benefits of pruning. Not only is this a perfectly entertaining video for garden and maintenance aficionado's, but it also explains things in most intimate detail. Shaping, pruning for eventual growth, pruning for fruit or more bountiful flowers - even pruning for aroma - are all a part of a good pruning specialist's lore. Not only are the techniques of good pruning discussed, but so are the actual resulting benefits, as described by specific and sometimes time-lapse visuals of plants and trees over time. This would be merely entertaining were it not so plainly educational. Everyone can gain from owning and watching this great DVD - and more than once. Packed with relevant information and just plain interesting facts, this one will educate as well as entertain. It's a splendid educational tool for any employer or employee.

For more product information on this splendid and demonstrative DVD, and for some user reviews, please click right here to see.

The Awesome Leatherman Gardening Multitool

Leatherman Gardening Multitool is a terrific addition to any landscaper or gardener's collection. The Leatherman line has become something of a 'must-have' for gardeners and landscapers worldwide owing to their incredible diversity of possible uses. The diversity of implements and tools required for the trades - including machinery as well as the tasks of pruning - require just this sort of tool to make a far more efficient body of work. Other Leatherman items, less geared for pruning, also form excellent companion tools for everyone. Fix a machine, saw a limb or merely carry on with the day's pruning and shaping requirements, secure in the knowledge that the right tool is always nearby. There are very few tools I would recommend higher than a Leatherman Multi Tool.



Please click here for more product information and for some user reviews.

The Best Garden Bucket Caddy


Fiskars 9424 Garden Bucket Caddy


This is one of those labor saving devices which was actually invented long before it was retailed generally. I recall using old bags and the same 5 gallon bucket for prunings, irrigation work, tree and plant planting, working with annuals and bulbs and about 50 other tasks. We would tie nail bags to the handle and have 3-5 of them dripping off the side, one for tools, the others for parts or whatever. Now it has become organized, durable as heck - even sized to match the various accouterments like cell phones, radios, CB's and the specific tools which tend towards the same size. Do not underestimate the value of something so compact - that is, in fact, the reason for its existence. Tote around an amazing diversity of small tools and put parts, garbage, plantings, nuts and bolts - whatever - into the nice and sizeable interior cavern. This is a true gardener and landscaper's friend right here.

For more specific product information and for user reviews of this product, click here.

A Superb Digging Fork

The Best Digging Fork Around is what landscapers and gardeners refer to as a "workhorse" type of tool. An unbreakable resin-encased steel shaft with its unique stainless steel blade design offers a tool of powerful durability. This tool is superb for loosening soils, handling compost and integrating it into soil, mixing and filtering items between the forks. With nearly four times the gripping surface of conventional tools, with room for both hands, it offers a sturdy front for the heavy work of manually integrating elements of soils. This is a really cool tool of professional quality with a lifetime guarantee. Dimensions: 7.5 by 4.0 by 42.9 inches (width by depth by height). This is a "keeper" and should simply last forever. I love this tool.

For product information and for user reviews of this strong little tool, click here.

BBC DVD Earth Collection

The BBC DVD Earth Collection is an unbelievably interesting set of 6 DVD's which depict the epic story of life on Earth. Typical of BBC quality, this gorgeous boxed set is inclusive and near-total, and is just fascinating learning material. The breath-taking shots of remote and fascinating views of the Earth as we know it couple with historical data and virtual renditions of the formation and maturity of The Blue Planet. Plentiful attention is paid to the development of plants and onwards into animal life to the Modern Age. The formation of minerals, crystal processes, volcanic origins and the role of water itself intermix throughout and provide stunning viewing. It would be difficult to find a better "History of Earth" anywhere.

For more information on this gorgeous and informative DVD set, click here.