1. Check Your Tools

We have all been there, we go to start digging and the handle to your shovel is cracked. Now you have to make a trip to the hardware store for either a new handle or a new shovel completely. Not only does this eat up valuable gardening time, it takes away any momentum you had built up.

You also should check the sharpness of any of your cutting tools. Pruners, loppers, saw blades, lawn mower blades, or anything else that you might need to cut with. Not only are sharp, well maintained tools better for the actual cut on the plant, it is safer for you. There have been numerous stories of a dull axe blade, bouncing off of the log and hitting a person, or the handle comes off because it was worn. You should also put a good edge to any of your shovels; it will make the digging much easier.

Lubricate and clean any moving parts. Those pruners that have been sitting around since last fall have probably gotten a little rusty and stiff, unless you are a very conscientious gardener that cleaned them before you put them away. I will also give you a handy tip here to use next fall: you will want to put a light layer of some kind of oil on your tools, i.e. shovels, pruners, etc. Fill a five-gallon pickle bucket with sand, about ½ to 2/3 of the way up. Then you can get some old used motor oil and pour a couple of ounces in the sand. Mix it up real well.

When you have that done, stick the shovel or any other tools in and out of the bucket a couple of times. The sand will help clean any rust or dirt off and the oil will apply a thin protective coating to it. You can also get some Linseed oil for the wooden handles, to help protect them. I don’t recommend using that oil on plastic handles; it will only make them slick.

2. Check Your Irrigation and Water Hoses

Rain, from Mother Nature, of course is the best type of water to use, but let’s be realistic-she does not always deliver when we need her to. So irrigate we must! If you have an irrigation system in place, check all of your heads for clogs, breaks, or places that there might be leaks. Soil and debris can accumulate over the heads, not allowing them to pop up. PVC pipes can crack over time or if they were not drained properly before freezing weather hit; run the irrigation to see if there is any seepage. This is also a good time to check your timer and make sure it is operating properly.

Okay, so lets say you are not one of those that are lucky enough to have an in place irrigation system and you water by hand, like me. This is the time to be checking your garden hoses for leaks and cracks. Rubber hoses dry rot over time and will start to leak or create weak spots that will eventually bust. If you have a hose that is over 4 or 5 years old, you might want to consider replacing it anyway. Check any of your nozzles that you use, they will also tend to get worn over time. Something that many people forget to check are the washers that fit in the hose end of a nozzle, they too can dry rot and crack.