Spring is back. Before you start gardening more intensively, make an inventory of your gardening tools stored during the winter. Our advice for the big cleaning.
Make an inventory of all your tools
Your tools, but also wooden or earthen accessories, can harbor diseases and parasites, which will be transmitted from one subject to another, from one year to the next, if you do not disinfect a bit.
Think of wooden or bamboo stakes and other stakes, which you can reuse all year round. Diseases and parasite eggs are happily housed there. Unused pots and planters will benefit from being washed before spring use. Hand tools can also spread parasites. So don't forget to clean them.
How to proceed?
For blade tools, wipe over a cotton pad soaked in 90° alcohol. This will eliminate viruses and bacteria that could have settled by pruning a diseased plant.
For pots and planters, start with a vigorous brushing to remove any remaining soil. Then wipe a large sponge soaked in bleach. Rinse thoroughly. This disinfection is beneficial: it will prevent your buckets or seedlings from quickly becoming sick.
Wooden posts are quickly damaged if they lack maintenance. Remove most of the soil by scraping with a knife, then immerse them in a container filled with a mixture of water and bleach. After drying, a good spread of the Bordeaux mixture will complete the operation. Don't neglect your polystyrene seedboxes or the wheelbarrow either.
The final touch
After cleaning, a minimum of maintenance is required for the tools. For cutting tools, remember to sharpen the blades, grease the springs. Replace damaged handles. Note that each tool has its particular shape. You can find the desired model in DIY stores. Plastic or wood, it's now a matter of taste. Finally, lightly oil the handles of the other tools. And grease the metal parts as you go. This extends their life span.
Tips and tricks
Tools with wooden handles can be regularly waxed to avoid splinter problems.
Most of the time, the anti-rust is essential. It is recommended to apply a rust inhibitor at least once on the various tools before the first use.