Nifty new garden tools

Flower & Garden Magazine, June-July, 1996 by Robin Pendergrast

EACH YEAR A NEW ARRAY OF accessories to adorn and maintain home gardens is offered for sale. This season is no exception. Featured here are a few of the more novel items offered in retail stores and garden catalogs.

Whether you're new to gardening or an old pro, keeping your tools organized is essential. The new Garden Resource Center, from Home Gardener Manufacturing Company, helps home gardeners organize everything from flower pots and gardening tools to potting soil in an efficient and convenient manner. Retailing at $249, this work station also features a potting sink, a soil bin and a work surface for repotting houseplants and starting seedlings.

A new ergonomically designed gardening tool from Germany aids gardeners in preparing and cultivating soil in garden beds. The Garden Troll, from Sandholzer International Frankfurt/Main), has an S-shaped handle to take pressure off hands and back and a vertical adjustment for varied heights. This tool makes cultivation -- even in heavy clay soil -- easier than ever. Instead of turning the soil, the Garden Troll loosens and mixes the top layer of soil Retail cost is around $70.

When you need to move soil around the garden, the Smart Cart from Home Gardener Manufacturing Company is a great way to transport in load. This product is different from other wheelbarrows in that it features two side wheels instead of a single wheel front. The snap-in, snap-out span also enables users to load or unload even when working in awkward or tight corners of the landscape. The pan, made of high-density, linear polyethylene, is leakproof and free of bolt holes that sometimes rupture. The carriage is made of tubular aluminum alloy, which is lightweight and extremely strong. This garden cart weighs less than 40 pounds and can carry anything from dirt and mulch to wood and bricks. Retail cost is under $280.

The StepnGrow from Technic Tool Corporation is an easy-to-use fertilizer delivery system that. puts the fertilizer directly at the plant's root system. Fill the tool's fertilizer tip with a measured amount of granular fertilizer, then insert it into the ground. With the aid of a foot pedal you've got plenty of leverage and pressure to penetrate nearly any type of soil. The Stepn Grow can be used for trees, shrubs and many other plants. The suggested retail price is about $30.

Fiskars offers a variety of efficient, ergonomically designed hand tools. Their Pro Anvil Pruner and By-Pass Pruner are professional-quality pruning shears priced less than $20. The Softouch Cultivator, Transplanter and Trowel, also from Fiskars, are specially designed for comfort, come with lifetime warranties and are priced around $10. Also in this price range is Fiskars' PowerGrip Utility Knife, an indispensable tool for dividing bulbs and perennials or making stem cuttings.

Editor's note: Manufacturers of the products mentioned in this article are listed on page 88.