Useful Hand Tools

There are tools and supplies that dedicated gardeners must have to maintain good growth in their plants. Today, I'll share three of the tools that assist me in growing beautiful, healthy plants and shrubs.

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Many beginning gardeners have lost plants that they knew they had planted, watered and fertilized according to label directions. This is discouraging and has caused many potentially good gardeners to give up because they think 'I don't have a green thumb' or 'plants just won't grow for me'!

But it's quite possible that the reason for the demise was that it was that beautiful plant was placed in a soil with the wrong pH (potential Hydrogen ions)for that plant!

All plants require a specific range of soil pH to perform optimally. The correct soil pH for a particular plant is of the utmost importance. The tag on the plant will tell you if it needs an acid, neutral, or alkaline soil. If you've lost your tag, there's always Google.

Forunate for us, most plants grow in a 'neutral' pH soil. But there are exceptions to every rule!

The range of soil pH runs from 0 through 14 with:  

• 0 through 6 being considered acid
• 6.5 through 7 being considered neutral (where most plants thrive)
• 7.5 through 14 being considered alkaline

 Lime is used to increase the pH and aluminum sulfate is used to decrease the pH. Should your soil require 'adjusting' follow the manufacturers' recommendations for applying either lime or aluminum sulfate. This application (if required) should be accomplished in the fall to allow it to work over the winter and be available for the next planting season. There's tons of information on the web to tell you how to change the pH of your soil and there are different techniques for checking the pH levels; therefore, I'm only going to discuss the technique I use to check my pH levels.

This digital tool (above), from Rapidtest is the easiest and most reliable technique I've found to check pH. It's battery operated and all you do is select the type of plant you want to grow (it has a built in list of plants and you just scroll to it until you find the one you're considering); stick the probe in some soil from the area where you want to grow it . .a digital readout reflects the pH levels of the soil. From this reading you'll know if you need to change the pH or leave it alone. I know this sounds complicated, but it's really quite simple. Best of all, it's reliable!

The second tool I use for ultimate gardening results is a fertilizer testing kit that can be purchased at most garden centers and all big box stores. It analyzes the soil for nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus content.

This kit allows you to check the fertilizer content of any soil. It's easy to use: Following the unstructions on the package, collect soil from the area you want to test. Place it in the appropriate vial. Add water and the contents of the appropirate capsule. Each vial and capsule are color coded so there's no danger of putting the wrong capsule in the wrong vial. After waitng the required time, compare the color of the water to the color scale. This will tell you exactly what fertilizer (if any) your soil needs.

There is also a digital probe that will check the nutrient content of the soil. I've tried this, but reverted to the kit. For me, the digital fertilizer content probe was more trouble than it's worth.

The third hand tool I use as needed is a plain, kitchen basting tube.

We've all had weeds and vines to germinate in our flower beds and shrubs. Usually in areas where we can't or don't want to dig; not to mention that when vines like poison ivy, sumac or smilax get into our shrubs, digging them out is virtually impossible.

When I see this happening, I put a little Roundup in the tube, get a paper towel and small piece of cardboard and hit these invaders  independently. I use the cardboard to protect the desired plant or shrub from possible over 'squirts' and the paper towel to clean the end of the tube prior to pulling it away (to prevent Roundup from possibly dripping onto the desirables).

You usually need three hands to accomplish this task and that's one of the places hubbies come in handy. With only two hands, it's difficult to handle the cardboard (possibly with Roundup on it) - and clean the tube simultanously. If you should have an accident and get Roundup on your desirable, just pull off the leaf or stem and stick it in your pocket or something. Don't let the plant absorb the Roundup and don't toss it on the ground.

I've always wished the Good Lord had given us a third hand. This hand should fit on or around our breastbone and extend when we need it - retract when we don't. . .(smiley face). But since He knows so much better than me as to what I need, I'm happy with His original design. There are many folks that would be estatic with two hands . .and some that would be grateful for only one . ..