For our October 2012 Washington Gardener Reader
Contest, we asked folks to tell us their “favorite gardening tool.” Here are
some of our favorite entries:
“I saw the contest in the current issue of
Washington Gardener Enews and felt
compelled to tell you about my scythe!” wrote Dean Mosher of Annandale, VA.
“The European scythe is, hands down, my favorite gardening tool. Not only are
they beautifully crafted hand tools, they’ve remained in use since about the
dawn of agriculture. In fact, the scythe is the tool that defined what we know
as the acre: the area a man can mow (using a scythe) in a single day. Mine was
made in Austria
by the
Schröckenfux company who have been in operation since 1540.
Unlike the modern gas powered push mower the scythe helps me create usable hay
from my half-acre lawn rather than pulverized grass pulp. Although they require
some skill and practice to use, to do so regularly keeps me in fighting shape.
‘If you keep the blade honed and peened, and know how to use one, the scythe is
perhaps the most efficient and effective tool for cutting grass ever developed,’
from
Why Every Permaculturist Should Own
a Scythe by Paul Kingsnorth (
www.permaculture.co.uk). It is quiet, simple, run on
breakfast, and promotes inner peace and serenity as I work. . . or, allows me
to cut the lawn while I meditate.”
“My favorite gardening tool is my cobra head weeder.
It makes weeding so much less miserable, “Madeline Caliendo, Washington, DC.”
Lucy Goszkowski of Annapolis, MD,
said. “My favorite gardening tool is my trowel with inch marks on the blade. Use
it all the time for planting depth and spacing transplants. “
“My favorite gardening tool is the sturdy,
wood-handled Craftsman shovel designed for kids,” wrote Ruth H. Axelrod, Frederick, MD.
“It is also perfect for women! Light and easy to use, it is the
perfect size for most transplanting and moving small loads of dirt
around. For really small jobs, I use a trowel, but this shovel allows me
to stand and put my weight on it to open a hole in the mot-always-soft ground.
I hate it when I have to switch to a regular, large and heavy men's shovel
for larger jobs like planting shrubs and digging up clusters
perennials to be divided; of course, sometimes, I can persuade my
husband to do that part of the chores ;-).”
Tom Pluecker of Annapolis, MD shared, “My favorite garden tool has always been the Corona by-pass clippers.
I keep them in a holster and use them all day for things that I am sure they
were not intended to be used for. Once when I broke them I sent them back
and received a new pair by return mail. Wonderful products and wonderful
customer service.”
“My favorite gardening tool by far is a Corona
"razor tooth" pruning saw,” said George Graine of Falls Church, VA. “The
teeth are designed for precise cutting of small and medium sized branches up
to 6" diameter. This ergonomically designed saw folds up so that
it is only 8 1/2" and easily fits into a pocket. This is a don't leave
home without it tool!”
Sarah Urdaneta of Berwyn
Heights, MD, said, “My
favorite gardening tool is a soil knife. I use it for everything, including
planting, weeding, dividing plants, making furrows to plant seeds and lots of
other garden tasks. It's tough and unbreakable with a comfortable handle that's
orange so it's easy to find in the weeds, which is a definite bonus!”
Katie Rapp of Gaithersburg,
MD, said, “Favorite garden tool
and why: Sharp clippers! I am a big believer in naturalistic pruning and there
is nothing more important than sharp clippers!”
Paul Lazar of Silver
Spring, MD, wrote, “I
use my pruner more than any other tool. I always keep it in my pocket while I
garden. I tried to use a holster but it wasn't as
convenient.”
“My favorite tool in the garden, if I must pick one, is my
long handled garden claw. It chops hard dirt, it cultivates and mixes the soil;
it makes small furrows and it weeds quite handily. My claw must be over 60
years old,” said John P. Haslinger of Silver
Spring, MD.
Sue Hauser of Kensington,
MD said, “My favorite gardening
tool is my short round-point shovel with a D handle. The proportions are
perfect for my aging body. It fits in the car
trunk. It digs a great hole.”
We selected two winners at random. They are: Dean Mosher of Annandale, VA and Sarah
Urdaneta of Berwyn Heights,
MD. Congratulations!
Each receives a red Coronoa Tools t-shirts (size XL) and
garden clippers from Corona Tools. An authentic American brand, Corona tools were born in the orange groves of California in the 1920s.
Since then, generations of agriculturists, gardeners, landscapers, arborists,
and construction professionals have turned to Corona to find high-quality tools that work
as hard as they do. They know that Corona’s
iconic red handles are an immediate symbol of quality and long-lasting
durability. Learn more about CoronaTools at
http://coronatoolsusa.com/.
The 7th Annual Washington Gardener Magazine Photo Contest kicks off now! Time to start sorting and picking out your best 2012 garden shots. The entry period is January 1-21, 2013.
