Next to good weather, good tools are a gardener`s best friend. Whether you dream of hours spent nurturing your garden or despair of all that yard work awaiting you this spring, efficient tools can make the difference between drudgery and satisfying, if not pleasurable, labor.
As one might suspect, new technology is making inroads in lawn and garden equipment: The micro chip is taking the guesswork out of watering your lawn. Also, some new tools make it easier to be ecologically concerned about your garden, while others make gardening jobs easier on your back, hands and knees. For calculating gardeners who want to know precisely how much water they`re soaking into their lawns, there`s a new line of oscillating sprinklers with the Aqua-Gauge from Melnor Industries Inc., Moonachie, N.J. 07074.
(Phone: 201-641-5000.) The built-in Aqua-Gauge measures the amount of water in inches that is being sprinkled. The sprinklers come in four sizes to cover different areas of square footage. Suggested retail price: $10-$25.
If you`re more concerned about when your lawn gets watered, there`s the Aqua-Miser from Aqua-Trol, 11 Ralph Ave., Copiaque, N.Y. 11726. (Phone:
516-842-8833.) This water computer attaches to the hose or sprinkler and allows programming as frequently as you want within 24 hours. It may be programmed by the hour, day or week. It has a separate on-off switch that allows for manual watering or cycle interruption during rain without interfering with the programming. Options (sold separately) for the Aqua-Miser include a connector for underground sprinkler systems and a moisture sensor that shuts off the unit during rain or when the soil is overwatered. Suggested retail price: $40.
For those more concerned about where sprinkling takes place, it`s now possible to program your sprinkler to water the shape of your lawn with the Pattern Master from Gilmour Manufacturing Co., Somerset, Penn. 15501-0838.
(Phone: 800-458-0107.) This sprinkler can be programmed to water the shape of your lawn, with a range of 16 to 43 feet. The programming ring can be adjusted to hit the lawn and miss the driveway, sidewalk or any area you don`t want to water. The unit can be reprogrammed for another area, such as the back yard lawn, or attached to another ring (sold separately) that can be programmed for that area. Suggested retail price: $25.
For specific irrigation projects, there`s Slo-Flo from True Temper Corp., P.O. Box 3500, Shiremanstown, Pa. 17011. (Phone: 717-737-1500.) These do-it-yourself landscape, vegetable garden and patio irrigation kits save up to 50 percent of water usually wasted because slow water flow reduces runoff and evaporation, according to the manufacturer. Suggested retail price: $25-$40.
To wrap up all that hose that usually snakes around the yard, there`s the new Homeowner`s Hose Wagon from Ames Lawn and Garden Tools, P.O. Box 1764, Parkersburg, W.Va. 26101. (Phone: 304-424-3000.) This wagon, designed for homeowners rather than the commercial trade, has a 250-foot hose capacity. Suggested retail price: $60.
Tools that make one job out of two are always popular, such as Clip & Clean, a new power cutter that collects clippings as it works from Clip & Clean, P.O. Box 6, Clayton, Ohio 45315. (Phone: 800-554-0034.) Clip & Clean is electrically powered and has two blades that run at 4,000 rpm. As you trim, the machine sucks up the clippings, mulches them and stores them in a 1 1/2-gallon-capacity compartment. The machine can be run for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the material cut, before it needs to be emptied through a rear door. Suggested retail price: $90.
To turn those grass clippings into natural fertilizer the easy way, there`s the Grass Eater from Barclay Horticulture Manufacturing Ltd., P.O. Box 1099, Buffalo, N.Y. 14210. (Phone: (Toronto) 416-636-7902.) The barrel-shaped Grass Eater is made of polyethelene and has an 8-cubic-foot capacity, expandable with additional stacking units sold separately. It comes with an instruction booklet and a supply of enzyme activator that converts clippings into organic mulch within eight weeks. Suggested retail price: $40.
For those hard-to-reach tree branches that need trimming, there`s a new telescoping Pole Pruner (model No. 9626) from Fiskars Manufacturing Corp., Lawn/Garden Division, 7811 W. Stewart Ave., Wausau, Wis. 54401. (Phone:
715-842-2091.) The pole allows gardeners to eliminate a ladder for many trimming jobs with either a 13-inch saw blade for large-diameter branches or a stainless steel pruning blade for smaller branches. Suggested retail price:
$30.
To make bulb-planting easier on your back, there`s a new bulb planter with a long handle and stirrup from Snow & Nealley, Box 876, Bangor, Me. 04401. (Phone: 207-947-8301.) This tool has a 7 1/2-inch-long planting cylinder with a 2-inch entrance circumference. The gardener puts one foot into the stirrup and pushes down to create a precise hole for bulbs. Suggested retail price: $22.
The world`s most avid gardeners are introducing another new tool to this side of the Atlantic with the British-inspired Swoe Jr., also from True Temper Corp. (see address above). Swoe Jr. is a short-handled version of the Swoe, introduced a few years ago by True Temper. Both are designed to dig furrows, weed and aerate garden beds. Swoe Jr.`s shorter handle makes it easier to get at those hard-to-reach areas. Suggested retail price: Less than $10.
Also from Europe are new lightweight, ”repair-free” wheelbarrows with
”puncture-proof” tires made by the Dutch firm Metaalwarenfabriek Het Fort and distributed by Candu Trading Ltd., 1051 Clinton St., Buffalo, N.Y. 14206. (Phone: 800-265-2744.) The Fort TK-100 wheelbarrow has a 5-cubic-foot capacity and is designed to withstand up to 400 pounds of stress. The Fort FK- 90 wheelbarrow is slightly smaller for home and garden use. Both have five-year guarantees. Suggested retail price: TK-100, $70; FK-90, $30.
When it comes to cleaning up, there`s a new water broom particularly designed and priced for homeowners. L`il Squirt is the newest, smallest sibling in a line of water brooms from American Water Broom, 3565 McCall Pl., Atlanta, Ga. 30340. (Phone: 800-241-6565). L`il Squirt connects to any garden hose and converts normal tap water to a high-pressure blast 2 feet wide. The manufacturer says the broom uses one-fifth the water and cleans in half the time of a normal hose. The plastic broom moves on swivel casters and can be used to rid concrete or asphalt surfaces of dirt, clippings or even salt. Suggested retail price: $20.
To eliminate sore knees, try the Nicholas Craftseat from McGuire-Nicholas Manufacturing Co., 2331 Tubeway Ave., Commerce, Calif. 90040. (Phone:
213-722-6961.) This is an orthopedically designed kneeling pad (which can also be used as a workseat) made of aluminum with two polyurethane foam cushions. The unit includes two elastic straps. Suggested retail price: $40.
If it`s pests you`re after, you may want to consider a Scat Cat or a Hoot Owl in your garden from Stone City Products Inc., P.O. Box 369, 1206 Seventh St., Bedford, Ind. 47241. (Phone: 812-275-3373.) Garden ornaments can be mounted on a Spring-A-Ling garden stake so that they bob in the breeze or can be hung with a nylon string from trees. Marble eyes reflect light and are designed to scare away garden pests, such as birds, rabbits and woodchucks. Suggested retail price: $2.
