Next Tuesday you’re having plastic surgery on your nose. Who are you going to get to do the operation — a butcher with a meat cleaver, or a surgeon with a scalpel? Sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Then why is it that you’re planning to plant a garden without the better garden tools? It obviously takes the right tools to do the best job.
You Won’t Use it if it isn’t Comfortable!
There are a lot of garden tools on the market that will help you achieve the same result, but not every tool is going to fit your hand. If you have some arthritis in your hands or tend to cramp from the repetitive movements, such as when trimming a hedge, you need to choose a better pair of pruning shears that won’t put so much stress on your hands.
To alleviate hand pain, consider grips made of gel or rubber which absorb the stress better. There are better garden tools on the market that have been designed employing ergonomics so that the tool doesn’t put pressure or stress on the wrong places. To alleviate back pain, try tools with longer handles that eliminate stooping and bending.
The Quality of the Materials
Buying tools made of cheap materials is never the answer. You will find they rust, bend, stick, and dull quickly, and you’ll undoubtedly be replacing them with better garden tools rather quickly. Take, for example, hand clippers which have a cheap spring mechanism that doesn’t operate smoothly. You can wear big blisters on your hands in short order with clippers like these. Buy a pair with a smooth-operating, heavy-duty mechanism, and you’ll make the job, and your life, much easier.
Gardening gloves are another thing that comes in a lot of different grades. To economize, only buy as much glove as you need. If you’re clipping dainty flowers, don’t try it in heavy rubber gloves that don’t allow you enough flexibility in your fingers. If you’re working with plants with thorns, you’ll want heavier gloves. If you get blisters even while wearing gloves, you know you’ll need to wear even heavier gloves next time. Use common sense, and fit the gloves to the job.
Most of us have heard of tool brands that are known for their high quality. To buy better garden tools, you can try sticking to these brands. There are also many gardening shows on TV these days which you can watch to see what brand of tools workers are using. There equipment is always top-of-the-line, because they want to impress the public with the things they do. If possible, only buy tools that come with a money-back guarantee. That way, if they don’t have the level of quality you expected, you can take them back to the store.