SMART GARDENING 101

5 Tools to Protect Your ‘Human Resources’

As a gardener for the last five decades, I have learned the hard and often expensive way that there are five tools most important for protecting your human resources. I’ve truly tried them all. Save time and money. Prevent skin cancer and Lyme disease. Spare your thumbs, knees and back by digging these five tools out of the shed or garage or buying them from gardeners.com (Vermont-based, employee-owned, B-corporation company that I highly recommend) before you start gardening for a safer and more enjoyable season.

1. Mesh Gaiters: I know you think tucking your pant cuffs into your socks is enough to protect you from tick bites. But the studies show that you’re wrong, and why take the chance when new products make protection so much more comfortable? Gaiters, like the ones we wear xx-skiing, are now made out of mosquito netting. They’re easy to slip over your sock and pant leg, incredibly light, and inexpensive. Not convinced of their protection? Buy a heavier version called Tick Gaiters, made of a Lymeez® 3d Mesh that still breathes but has a long, Velcro seal up the back.

2. A Wide-brimmed, Ventilated Hat: Don’t use the beach version; it may be irritatingly floppy. Don’t use the rain version because you need mesh so that your head can breathe in summer’s heat. Don’t use a baseball cap unless you like pain because your neck will become sunburned. The most effective gardening hats have mesh for breath-ability, a stiff-enough, wide brim, and now even come with a cinch-able mesh net for the black fly season. This mesh folds up into the hat when not needed like magic!

3. Deep Seat Garden Kneeler: I have bought and used an embarrassing number of different types of knee kneeling pads. But the most effective and longest-lasting favorite is a foldable seat with a cushioned, deep kneeling pad. The variable height is great for many different tasks. Its foldability makes it easy to store. The kneeler’s arms provide excellent leverage for getting back up off the ground ... whew! The benefits make it worth carrying wherever you’re tending the garden you love.

4. Felco Bypass Ergonomic Pruners: You bet many cheaper versions are on the market. Trust me when I say that buying and taking care of a single pair of Felco pruners provides the best bang for your buck and the cleanest cut for your small shrubs and perennials, which is the majority of our gardening tasks.

5. Digging Tools: This is a category that requires two recommendations. The first is for hand work. After many years of buying and experimenting with different styles, the sad truth is that the dollar store gardening trowels will always ruin your afternoon. I’m delighted that AM Leonard offers my perfect duo: their stainless steel soil knife and No Blister Trowel. No need to look further. These two tools are effective and will last the decades you intend to plant flowers and cut small stems. Done.

For shovels, I swear by the newer, bladed, and teeth-type super-shovels that use our back and thigh muscles most efficiently. I am happily settled on using only a spear-headed spade and fiberglass, D-grip, Structron shovel with teeth-like an oversized saw blade by Seymour.

This recommended complement of tools will protect and serve you, your skin, immune system, thumbs, wrists, and back effectively for many years to come.

I wish I could say that I learned these lessons easily. But lucky you, benefiting from my many decades of experience. You’re welcome and happy gardening!

Michele Chalice is the owner of Keene-based Healthy Home Habits.

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