Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Fall & winter pruning the easy way


Some things never change.
Most things get better with time.
Garden plants will always grow, beckoning your care.
Powered by the loving force that guides, strengthens and inspires, we work with our hands, nurturing life to bring forth the bounty that it was intended to bring.
As we pass from summer to autumn, with the planting of fall crops comes fall & winter pruning.
What a joy it is to work with nature and enjoy the progress and betterment of all things.
Then, amongst the trees and shrubs you come across branches that you would ordinarily cut with your regular pruners (or secateurs – depending on your gardening dialect) but no matter how much strength you add to the task, it is to no avail.
What is needed here is some technological assistance, provided by the wisdom that fills the universe... in the form of a Ratcheting Pruner.

Most things do get better with time; Including the B-575 ratchet pruner from Barnel International. More than a few of our garden tool customers were upset to hear that we no longer carried the B-575 ratcheting pruner that helped them power through otherwise impossible cuts with ease.
That is until we responded with the news that the B-575 had been replaced with a new pruner with better capabilities and an even sturdier design.
The new B-585 ratchet pruner now has a wonderful handle design that many gardeners prefer over the older B-575 design. Included in the newly designed pruner is a flower knife tucked neatly into the anvil blade and a sharpener / oiler kept in a handy spot inside the body of the pruners.  
With the new B-585 ratchet pruner you can do all the same pruning work you are used to doing in your garden, orchard or vineyard. The difference between using a regular pruner (or secateurs) and a ratchet pruner is that the ratchet pruner will behave much in the same way as your old non ratcheting ones until you come to the branch that you used to have trouble cutting. Then the built in gear drive in the pruners will enable you to push the blade through the branch in smaller less stressful increments. Ratchet pruners break an otherwise impossible cut down into about 3 or 4 easy handle squeezes making those otherwise impossible cuts seem a lot less like work.
WOW! Is the typical response we hear from gardeners who try our ratcheting pruners for the first time.

Well as if the more comfortable handle and ease of use is not enough – You can now use your ratchet pruners in flower arranging, using the ratchet action to cut through small bunches of flower stems and the flower knife to angle cut the stems to keep them fresher longer. You can also use the built in knife to cut twine and other garden tasks. Add to that the handy oiler / sharpener – dab some oil onto the cutting edge of the blade and with a few quick strokes of the sharpener you have a tremendous gardening ally that is always sharp and ready to serve. 
We always thought the B-575 ratchet pruner was the best ratchet pruner on the market with a stronger and more durable design than others.
The fact that plants grow and need care never changes.
Like the gardeners we know and the gardens they tend, the new B-585 ratchet pruner is a reminder of the fact that even the best things do get better with time.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Keeping gardening tools sharp

What comes to mind when you think of the difference between using a sharpened tool or a dull gardening tool?
Work!
Why work hard at pruning jobs?
If you had a sharp pruner or garden shear you could be enjoying the art of gardening and be inspired to do more.
Sharpening gardening tools does not have to be difficult especially if you have the right tool for the job.
We're glad we discovered the All In One Sharpener to help make garden tool blade sharpening faster and easier.
It is made in the U.S.A.  - Good for America
 The All in 1 tool sharpener is great for sharpening knives, pruners, loppers, shears, axes, mower blades or scissors.
Now there is one tool that takes the ambiguity out of getting the right blade pitch on each of your tools for consistent sharpening.
This sharpener has an ergonomic handle that is easy to grip with adjustable carbide inserts that you merely draw along the edge of your tool blade to sharpen.
It is designed to sharpen single or double edged blades
The portion of the sharpener that you can use on your bypass pruners (or other single edged tools like mower blades) is designed to reach all the way to the back of the blade so you can easily sharpen the entire blade edge of most bypass pruners.

The All in 1 tool sharpener actually makes sharpening gardening tools fun!
When we were first testing this product; after I had sharpened just about all the tools we have, I just needed to sharpen more tools!  We were invited to be a part of a permaculture workshop by the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network. It was a great opportunity to meet some of the best gardeners and farmers in our area and sharpen all of their tools. The event was hosted by Dave and Leora Vincenti at Montfair Resort Farm.

We had no idea that we would have such a response when we offered to sharpen tools while we were there.
It's was amazing to see the numbers and types of tools that had seen the "full potential" of their usefulness by the farmers and gardeners who brought them along for the workshop.

While the folks who attended the permaculture workshop were sharpening their skills and developing their potential to produce healthier food and protect their land for future generations; their tools were accomplishing similar goals.

The gardening tools we use are one of our best allies.
Keeping them sharp helps both the tool and the gardener, and in a way the people we serve and the planet we nurture.

It has been established: the All in 1 garden tool sharpener is truly a Way Cool Tool.