Hoes, Spades, Shovels, Forks, Rakes, and Edgers

Keep a bucket of oily sand nearby for keeping tools clean and rust-free. Two things this type of tool deserves are a place to call home and a bucket of oily sand. Mix a bottle of vegetable oil in with clean construetion sand. After each use, hose off dirt and plunge the tool into the bucket with the sand and oil. The sand scours the metal, and the oil coats it preventing rust. Then hang up the tool in its proper spot. If the handles are wood, coat them with varnish, or rub with linseed or tung oil to preserve.

Hoes, spades, shovels, and edgers perform better if the edge is sharp. File tools to a sharp edge at least once a year.

The first rule is never misuse these cutting tools. They are meant to cut stems not wire. One wrong cut can ruin a good blade. Use soap and water to wash away sap or pitch; you may need a bit of turpentine or hand-cleaner for spots that are hard to remove. Scrub tool with steel wool to remove rust. Keep the moving parts lubricated with WD-40 or sewing machine oil. Check nuts and bolts periodically to make sure they are tight. Sharpen if cutting becomes difficult.

Understanding Planting Aids

From starting seeds to maintaining full-grown plants, there is equipment for every step of the way. Almost anything you can buy for those jobs has a free or cheap substitute.

Seed-starting pots are available in plastic or peat. There is no reason to pay for either. Save pots and flats whenever you purchase plants and reuse them. If you purchase less plastic, then you will not have to pay to throw it away.

Soil thermometers can help you decide when to seed temperature-sensitive plants. However, with practice, and perhaps a little trial and error, you'll soon develop a ''feel" for soil temperature that's just as dependable. Just touching the soil will tell you if it's warm enough to plant.

Dibbles make holes in soil for placing seeds. A stick, pencil, or finger performs the same.

Labels are useful for remembering what you planted. Make your own by cutting waxed milk cartons into strips and writing on the plain side with a permanent market. Or push a stick through the seed packet and into the soil.

Plant ties and supports hold plants in place as they grow. Instead of using ties from the garden center, substitute cloth strips, plastic garbage bag ties, twine, or twist-ties, and your plants will never know the difference. Wire tomato cages are too small to support most mature tomato plants. They are great, though, as supports for many types of flowering plants. Use a pair of wire cutters to snip the cage just above the first horizontal wire for two small flower supports. For tomatoes and other vining crops, welded wire fencing, hopefully salvaged, makes a good support. Twine is great for many garden jobs, and it is often free from anyone who feeds baled hay to livestock. Metal fence posts are available in various lengths, are reasonably priced, will last forever, and will support the weight of any crop.

Plant protectors from waxed paper hot caps to entire greenhouses, can really extend the life of plants.

Comforts and Conveniences in gardening

Some items just make gardening easier, and for that reason they may be worth the cost, but there are cheap substitutes you can use for quite a few of them.

Garden gloves protect your hands. Heavier material provides more protection. Cheap cloth gloves keep your hands clean. Heavy-duty leather gloves protect against thorns during pruning or brush-cutting, and guard against blisters after hours of hoeing or spading.

Knee pads or kneelers are valuable for anyone whose knees or back aches after weeding or performing other ground-work. Knee pads allow more free movement than a kneeler that must be picked up and moved every few minutes as you move.

Handle grips are rubber tubes that fit over tool handles, such as hoes, rakes, and spades. They reduce wear on both handles and hands. For a cheap substitute wrap handles with foam pipe insulation, and attach the foam neatly with electrical tape.

Wheelbarrows haul soil, garden waste, and other loads from one place to another. The bed, constructed of metal, plastic, or wood, attaches to one or two wheels, depending on the design. For large or heavy loads, the two-wheeled version is the easiest to use. Metal won't crack like plastic, but it will rust.