Tools and Equipment

Early this past spring, Troy-Bilt sent me a Troy-Bilt 20-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Electric String Trimmer (model TB57) to review. You should know that in the past, two of my grown sons have been employed maintaining the grounds of the local mental health facility. As a result of this employment, they have used a lot of [...]

I used to think garden gloves were for other people, not me. Oh, sure, I'd put a pair on to deal with brambles, nettles, and wild parsnip, but, on the whole, gloves kept me from feeling the moist earth and from grasping small weeds near precious seedlings. Most gloves didn't fit me well enough to [...]

Carol's done it. Mary Ann, the Idaho Gardener's done it. So has Mr. McGregor's Daughter and Cindy from My Corner of Katy and M Sinclair Stevens from Zanthan Gardens. They've all used a reciprocating saw to prune woody plants. Not only have they pruned with a recip saw, they raved about how easy it made [...]

What's your favorite shovel? One broken, one threatening to. Digging shovel, not spade, recommendations wanted.

We grew vegetables for years without a tiller I am not the vegetable gardener in this family. My husband, on the other hand, has been growing vegetables since he was a teen. When we finally moved here, a decade into our marriage, he brought along the front tine rototiller he had purchased as a single [...]

Recently someone asked me to recommend a watering can. We have been using this Rubbermaid watering can for over a decade. What I like about it: Holds 2 gallons (7.5 liters). Less trips to the rain barrel but not so heavy when full as to be unmanageable It's easy to fill, not just from a [...]

Mother's Day is fast approaching, and many retailers who normally don't feature gardening products have potted flowering plants and other quasi-gardening gifts prominently displayed. I thought I'd take the opposite tack and share with you my favorite non-gardening garden "thingies." Most of them don't qualify as tools. Some of them, quite frankly, would look like [...]

"We considered dressing up for the hoedown, but we're pretty casual folks, and felt more comfortable in our regular duds. The rock rake is a little unusual, but the rest of us are pretty average. Well, Ms. Ho-Mi is not your average hoe, I suppose. We've all been here at Purdyville long enough that we're [...]

I like to try out new gardening gadgets and techniques as soon as they come out, but despite my best efforts I’m frequently blindsided by something new that I haven’t researched. Such is the case with your intrepid blogger, Kathy, who caught me without a quick answer to her question about Enki, that electric watering-can [...]