Weeding the Web

A question of Crop protection by Enviromesh

As garden activity hots up, a lot of delving goes on in sheds. Finally, after much scraping, shifting and unrepeatable muttering, I remembered I’d crammed the Enviromesh somewhere completely different.

I throw vast swathes of this crop protection over my seedlings, not as stalwart defence against carrot fly and cabbage fly, but in my eternal battle against local pigeons. I’ve had my variously sized pieces, cut to length by me from a long roll, for at least five years now, and they show no sign of breaking down. So, Agralan’s promise that the UV-stabilised polyethylene mesh should last seven to ten years seems to be holding water. (Unlike the mesh, of course, which would strain it like a sieve…)

Is your lawnmower up to the job?

With Spring definitely on the way, the air will soon be reverberating to the whiz and rumble of lawnmowers.

Is yours suitable for the job?

If you have a large area to mow, or you have to cope with a slope, making the right choice of machinery can mean that mowing the lawn is an enjoyable task, rather than a laborious chore.

Find experienced advice on the right equipment for your type of lawn at Landscape Juice, where Phil Voice gives the lowdown.

You might also enjoy this Garden Giggle about lawncare.

Sharpen your lawnmower blades for Spring

Lawns in recent warm winters haven’t taken much time off. At least this year’s icy interlude stopped the grass growing.

While it’s resting, how about taking the opportunity to sharpen the lawnmower blades? This calm and sensible ten-minute video shows how to dismantle the blade, sharpen it with either a file, drill attachment or a bench-grinder, and finally balance it before re-attaching.

An easy way to clean your garden tools with recycled oil

“Lazy man always works hardest.” My father’s voice rings in my ears every time I guiltily slide my mud-smeared spade back into the shed.

But here's an idea for keeping tools clean, rust-free and well oiled. In the video below, American gardening expert Joe Lamp’l shows you how to clean your shovel by ramming it repeatedly into a bucket of oil-soaked sand. Keep the bucket just inside the shed door and you can clean it after every use. The abrasiveness of the sand should help keep your tools sharp, too.