We all love to keep our garden shed stocked full of tools for the garden from hedge trimmers to lawn mowers but do you have the right tools? Keeping the right tools in your backyard shed can mean the difference between a lawn that needs some TLC and a lawn that’s lush and thriving! Your tools are the key to keeping your lawn neat and tidy. If you’re struggling to maintain your garden and lawn, you may have the wrong tools! We’re here to tell you exactly what tools you need to keep your backyard looking great!
Lawnmower
This may be a no brainer for our garden shed, everyone knows what a lawn mower is but the simplest solutions are always the most essential when it comes to maintaining your backyard. The trusty lawn mower has been around for years and been great for maintaining turf.
With the wide selection of lawn mowers, the real decision to be made is; walk or ride? Push mowers are more ideal for flat and smaller lawns; they have a cutting deck range of 40-50 centimetres which is perfect for a ¾ of an acre sized yard. But again you have to push and pull these mowers to cut the grass. You can also get a cylindrical mower that operates by rotating the blades vertically and is good for cutting tall grass. What type you get depends on what type of grass you have. With this said it can cut roughly with a range of 35mm-2mm.
If a driving lawn mower is what you want you have the choice of a front-wheel drive which is best for a yard with a lot of obstacles. A rear-wheel drive mower is best for uphill and side hill mowing. This is good when you handle cutting up a hill the tires won’t lose traction. There’s even an all-wheel drive that does it all and really makes cutting your lawn feel like a Sunday drive.
Whippersnipper
Now that you’ve cut your lawn, you may still need to get to those problem areas that your lawn mower couldn’t reach! That’s when the whipper snipper comes in handy, when wanting to prune the edge and cutting back overgrown brush and long grass. Like the lawn mower, the whipper snipper has different types to choose from, three main types to be exact.
Petrol whipper snippers are best-suited for a garden lover who wants a tool used by the professionals. This type of tool is usually used for landscaping work, it’s perfect for larger gardens, making them easy to use on large properties and they’re cheap to re-fuel! The only downside is that you’ll need to mix the fuel yourself.
If mixing fuel doesn’t seem like something you’d like to do we’d suggest a battery powered model. These models are suitable for standard sized yards and only last a couple of hours before needing a recharge. If recharging your whipper snipper seems like a hassle, invest in a corded version.
Edging shears
Every green thumb should own a pair of edging shears in their garden shed! The type of edging shear perfect for your garden depends on three factors: handle length, blade quality and weight. Firstly, the handle length is a personal choice so while you’re at your nearest hardware store try out the different sizes of handles. Blades can be maintained with regular sharpening but you can also invest in shears with self-sharpening blades! Lastly, the weight of your shears is important for portability, remember you’ll have to hold these up when in use! We’d suggest buying a tool that you can hold for an extended amount of time.
Aerating tools
Aerating tools are essential for giving your turf water, air and nutrition. There are two choices for aerating tools, a spike aerator which is a pitch fork that requires you to poke holes into the soil. The only downside to spike aerators is they can sometimes cause soil compaction as they don’t remove soil from the ground. You can also purchase a plug aerator, this removes a core sample of the soil while they poke the soil. Both tools are great options and simple to use!
If you think your lawn needs more than updated tools to bring it back to life. We’d suggest replacing your turf! Here at Turfman we offer a wide range of different lawn types to suit your needs. Visit our website and let us help find the perfect turf for you!