Everybody likes to take a busman’s holiday now and then. For me, that’s visiting the folks who sell garden tools. I recently took a day off just to do that and see what they would feature this fall.
As everyone knows, garden tools and supplies are made to help you garden more efficiently. So it’s natural, then, to walk into a store and see that the selection of tools closely coincides with the main jobs to be done in the fall.
I found this especially true this year in all the garden centers, seed stores, and other stores I visited with sizable garden departments.
Bulb Planting
The most important fall job, I suppose, is bulb planting. One of the favorite tools in past years, and by all probability this year, too, is the bulb planter. If you have ever used one, you’ll agree it speeds up the job.
I saw several that I thought looked good. One is the HOLE-IN-ONE, a hand model that retails in the neighborhood of $1. Then there are the long-handle jobs, such as DON’s DANDY MCGILL, which has a depth gauge on the side which sells for several dollars more.
One I noticed in Vaughan’s Seed Store even had a plunger mechanism that ejected the soil core into the hole after the bulb was placed.
Some gardeners, I know, still prefer a trowel for bulb planting. I saw a good number in various sizes and shapes.
These were the products of such concerns as:
- AMES
- UNION FORK AND HOE
- GARDEX
- TRUE TEMPER
Lawn Making
Lawn-making is another fall project, and I saw several tools on display to speed up this job. For scattering seed on a small area, the salesman at Vaughan’s recommended the KRASCO SEEDER-FEEDER-WEEDER. This holds about a pound of seed and spreads it in a semi-circular area by turning a crank.
Use Spreader
Of course, you might want to use a spreader. SCOTT’S, I noticed, have several different models, as does the BUCH concern.
A new spreader, LAWN BEAUTY, was highly recommended by one garden center owner. Although I didn’t use it, it looked as if it were well made.
Something that caught my eye, though, was a tool that has never been offered before, at least to my knowledge. This is the JACKSON 2-1 SPREADER CART.
At first glance, I thought it was a garden cart, but after close observation, I saw a spreader mechanism underneath. Inside, on the bottom, a heavy steel plate flips over the spreader holes when you want to use it as a garden cart.
I pushed it around the store and checked the various openings for the spreader. I had difficulty changing the plate from the spreader to the cart position until the salesman showed me the secret—all you have to do is tilt the entire cart forward. It retails under $20 and looks to me like a buy.
I saw several other carts which should be useful for fall clean-up. Among them is the Mixon, which has corrugated sides for extra strength. I’ve had one for several years and wouldn’t be without it.
If you like the regular wheelbarrow, I saw one in a Sears Roebuck retail store that’s made of metal with a semi-pneumatic tire and tubular steel handles. It is in the under $20 bracket.
Also of standard wheelbarrow type is the GARDEN CADDY which I saw in a garden center. This has a single tubular handle and retails for under $10. I think, though, that two handles would make it easier to steer and push.
Using Chemicals
If you make a lawn this fall, you should also be interested in chemicals. Last month Dr. Pirone discussed GARDEN CYANAMID, which is used for weed eradication, in his Modern Gardener. I saw this in several stores.
You might also add chlordane to your list for grub-proofing. We haven’t heard much about soil conditioners this year, but they still have their place when you’re building a new lawn on heavy clay. The favorite with me and most gardeners I’ve talked with is still KRILIUM.
I couldn’t help noticing the displays of pottery and other containers just waiting for those houseplants you put outside for the summer and will be bringing in soon. Some are self-watering and very nice-looking, too.
There are also wooden tubs for lifting those favorites with a big soil ball. In several places, I noticed a pottery piece in the form of a fireplug painted red. This, I was told, is for the country pooch who doesn’t have all the advantages of his city cousins. Oh, brother!
From the Mail Bag
If you never give garden tractors a second thought because you feel they’re either “too big for my place” or “cost too much,” here’s a new one you might give a second glance.
When I say new, I mean new! The Roto-HOE HUMMIN’ BIRD isn’t by any means a redesign of an older type of machine; it’s all new.
The different feature of this machine is the cultivating mechanism. The cultivator cutters are mounted at right angles to conventional rotary-type cultivators; on the Humminbird, they are mounted on a horizontal plane so they will dig and chop weeds simultaneously.
The total cultivating width is 9″ inches, and the machine weighs only 45 pounds, which makes it easy to maneuver among shrubs, even in flower borders. The entire unit retails in the neighborhood of $100, and as optional equipment, it will have a rotary mower.
44659 by William L. Meachem