Dig Plant Water Repeat

I just discovered a YouTube web site that you might enjoy. It’s called Dig Plant Water Repeat. It just so happens that the wife of my wife’s current physical therapist makes videos about plants. She is also a PT and loves making videos. People who do videos get paid when you watch the short ads in the programs. She makes 5 new videos each week, so there are hundreds of programs from which to choose. Here are a few of the topics that she has covered: house plants, weed control, propagation, pollinator friendly gardens, drip irrigation, gardening on a budget, cut flower gardens, and garden tools. She lives nearby in Davis, so her planting is appropriate for the Sacramento Valley. Why don’t you give her well designed programs a try? It’s a good way to spend your time when it’s 100 degrees outside. Stan, The Blog Man P.S. I’m considering starting up my own video series called “Work in the Garden  Rest  Repeat” What do you think?
Fun For 3 Dollars

Fun For 3 Dollars

This is the second article about removing rust from garden tools. As you can see be the photo below, I have placed a little shovel (garage sale) and 5 shears (close gardening friend) in a bucket. All of these tools were severely rusted. The liquid is a 50-50 solution of vinegar and water. When I removed the tools after a couple of days, they were covered by a thin black coat of another form of iron oxide. My power washer easily removed that coat, but you may wish to leave it be. You can get an idea of the severity of the rust problem in the second photo where the acid did not cover the entire shovel blade. I am currently soaking that shovel in a plastic tub to get rid of the rest of the rust. The 5 shears came out great and I coated them with WD-40 and let them dry so oxygen couldn’t get to the expose iron. The shovel will get a spray paint application.

Now, I have sharpened hundreds of tools, and most of them have some degree of rust on them. For the most part a little rust doesn’t affect the function of a tool. What is more detrimental is the accumulation of dried plant juices and an application of oven cleaner and a brush makes quick work of that. So, you may not give a hoot about rust on your tools. But if you happen to leave a tool outside for while where moisture can get to it, why not turn it into a fun chemistry experiment. For 3 dollars you can buy a gallon of vinegar at Target, and you are ready to go. If you want to try other experiments, google “removing rust from tools” and you will find various other techniques.

Stan, The Experimenting Man

Rusty garden tools soaking in 50-50 vinegar-water solution

Rusty garden tools soaking in 50-50 vinegar-water solution

Rust removed from shovel except where not immersed in vinegar solution.

Rust removed from shovel except where not immersed in vinegar solution.

 

 

 

The Screaming Machine

The Screaming Machine

DeWalt Cordless Leaf Blower

DeWalt Cordless Leaf Blower

I put off buying a cordless leaf blower for years. Then one day, feeling self-deserving, I took the plunge and ordered the DeWalt leaf blower you see below. It really sounded good. It was Amazon’s choice. It had a “high efficiency brushless motor”. It was lightweight. It had a variable speed trigger. Finally, it had “low noise during operation (66 decibels)—ideal for noise sensitive regions and properties”. Now, I found everything above to be true . . except for the last claim. I think I just bought a lemon. I read through the reviews for this machine, and not one of them mentioned severe noise levels. LaVille looked up decibel levels and found that 60 decibels is the noise level for normal conversation between two people 1 meter apart. 85 decibels is the road noise you experience inside a car.

So, what do I do? I wear the hearing protection you see perched on the blower. LaVille will not remain outdoors when the blower is running, so I wait until she is inside the house. I try not to use the machine on the weekends and instead blow in the middle of the day during the week.

 Yet, I still would recommend this blower for you—my machine must simply be a lemon. It is so easy to grab this blower and immediately clean up a small area. At lease once a week I will touch up the front yard to keep it looking respectable. The machine is light and the speed trigger works really well. You will want a second battery and the DeWalt is rather expensive. Being cheap, I ordered 2 off brand batteries at ½ the price of the DeWalt, and I got what I paid for—not nearly the quality of the original DeWalt battery.

So, if you have a corded leaf blower, you will really be happy with a battery powered blower. No more dragging that cord around doing all kinds of damage. No cord that wheels just love to trap. No twisted cord to wind up and put away. You can go anywhere! Take it with you on vacation. Give the inside of your car a quick detailing by opening the doors and blowing all the trash out. I wouldn’t suggest you try the same with your house though.

If you do order this DeWalt blower, immediately send it back if you find it is a screamer—I wish I had.

Stan, The Blower Man

 

Got Gloves?

Got Gloves?

Well, of course you have gloves. No gardener has no gloves! So, I am a little reluctant to suggest that you buy more gloves. You have probably gone through a lot of gloves in your gardening experience and have settled on a pair that seems perfect for you. But. . . if you need new gloves, I have a suggestion for you. This is the working glove made by MaxiFlex. I came across this glove at a garage sale years ago. This guy was giving them away, so how could I resist? The gloves I picked up sat in a box along with a variety of others for years until I finally, for some reason, tried them out. Their ugly appearance had put me off, but likely it was the fact that I couldn’t find my favorite gloves that caused me to make the plunge. In any case, these are now my go-to gloves.

So, why would I suggest these gloves for you? They appear to be waterproof. They’re not. They look like they would protect your hands from thorns. They do not. But if you slip one on, you will find that they fit . . . like a glove. They are really flexible (duh). The insides are lined with some kind of soft fabric. There are little dots of nitril covering the palm side that give you good grip. They are quite durable. You can jam your hand down through the soil to grab the root of a weed and not have to worry about creating a hole in the glove fingers. They absorb skin moisture so you don’t end up with a serious case of slimy hand.

If you are in need of a new pair of gloves, they are available on Amazon. By chance, the particular kind I have is FlexiGlove Endurance. It appears you are unable to buy just one pair of gloves, but a set of 3, for instance, would probably last a lifetime—however long that may be. You will see that they are rather inexpensive. Note that you can purchase your choice of color, as long as that choice is black. So your gloves may not color coordinate with the rest of your gardening garb, but I think you will find the sacrifice is worth it. So, I think you should give these gloves a try. If you don’t like them, you could always give them to LaVille—she of much smaller hands than I.

Stan, The Ugly Glove Man

Maxi FlexiGlove

Maxi FlexiGlove

 

Pruner Helper

Pruner Helper

Do you have a pruner that no longer has the part that locks it closed? Well, I have a solution for you. I was sharpening tools at the Shepard this last weekend, when two pruners came in that were kept closed with a rubber band—not just an ordinary band—but the wide kind you occasionally find bundling fresh produce. Although I hardly ever throw anything away, my supply of veggie bands was limited to two. Neither were strong enough to close the pruner blades, but perhaps you will have a stash with the proper sized band. Perhaps you noticed in the photo that the pruner lock was still there. I simply didn’t have a pruner with a missing lock. How ‘bout the spot of rust on the blade? Shameful huh? I removed it immediately. Did you notice the dirty hand? Hey—I’m working with tools and getting ready for the next sharpening event at the Gardener’s Market. What, you may wonder, would I do with a rubber band when it’s not in use on the pruner? Just wrap it around 2 fingers.

Please let me know if you have some small sized bands that you don’t need that I could use for pruners that arrive for sharpening without locks. How about a section of bike inner tube—mine was too small. Anyway, I think it would be a pleasant surprise improvement for my tool sharpening clients.

Stan, The Tool Man

Rubber band keeps pruners closed

Rubber band keeps pruners closed

It’s Not Pretty, But…

It’s Not Pretty, But…

I was reminded by the sight of my muddy tennis shoes that I really need to tell you again of the value of having a power washer. I am fortunate to have the perfect set up with a power source and water source right together. Perhaps you are as lucky. So that I can reach every area of the back yard, I have added two 30 foot extensions to the spray wand. Rather than coiling this hose, note that I have looped it from side to side over the hose bib. This allows me to easily pull off the number of loops to reach the needed area. Coiling hoses is one of my least favorite chores. Note also the “patio cleaning attachment” that stands next to the machine. This an invaluable tool for cleaning slab, pavers, and sidewalk areas. Now, I am the first to admit that this permanent display at the back of the house is not pretty, but man is it always convenient.

So, how would you use a power washer? Well, other than cleaning muddy shoes and pavement areas, how ‘bout bird baths, flowerpots, plant trays, your car (be careful here), decks, rain barrels, shovels, totes for propagation, garden ceramics and statuary, pavers, and house windows? I use this power washer every week because the only thing we don’t have from this list is a deck. If you like to clean stuff, I really think you should have a power washer, and Sun Joe has a tremendous variety of products from which to choose. I think you would be very pleased with the SPX 3000 model.

Stan, The Cleaning Man
P.S. If you would like to try out a power washer before purchase, you are welcome to come over and play with mine–there is always something around here that needs cleaning.

Muddy shoes

Muddy shoes

Power Washer

Power Washer