Trimetals: Winter Garden Storage Tips
While gardening is a year-round endeavour, the onset of winter usually limits opportunities to get outside and crack on with garden maintenance tasks. Of course, there are few things better than wrapping up warm on a crisp winter’s day and carrying out all the necessary seasonal tasks, but days like this can be few and far between.
With tools and equipment used less frequently, garden storage becomes an important consideration over the winter. In the drier summer months, you can usually get away with simply downing tools at the end of the day and returning to them the next morning to carry on gardening. However, the risk of rain increases considerably from October onwards and if tools are not properly stored, they can easily become rusty and rotten.
By establishing good storage habits, you can add years to the life of your tools and ensure that they are in perfect working order when spring finally comes around. The temptation can be to simply chuck all of your equipment into a shed at the end of the summer, caked in dirt, and simply forget about it all until a few months later. The danger is that these tools may not be usable when you eventually need them, and you may end up having to shell out a lot of money to buy replacements.
A good tip is to scrub off any grime and dirt from your garden tools before you put them into storage, using hot soapy water and a wire brush to remove particularly stubborn mud. Make sure everything is completely dry before placing the tools in your chosen storage location, as damp metal parts could end up rusting and those with wooden elements are liable to rot. Take care to secure sharp or heavy items such as rakes and shovels, as these can cause material damage and injury if they topple over.