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Sharpen your gardening tools for clean cuts and healthier plants
Sharpening tools is an important gardening task that can be completed indoors. If your tools are sharp, your plants will benefit, said Julie Janoski, Plant Clinic manager at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. “A sharp blade will slice cleanly through the stem or root without crushing it,” she said. That clean cut will seal up faster and is less likely to admit disease compared to a messy cut from a dull tool. Sharpening also makes tools easier to use. Pruners with sharp blades will glide more easily through a branch, requiring less force. The same is true of a sharp shovel cutting through soil and roots. Many people don’t realize that shovels ought to be sharp. “They are sold dull for safety’s sake,” Janoski said. “You’re expected to sharpen a new shovel when you get it home.” To sharpen a digging tool such as a shovel or spade, use a medium-toothed file such as a bastard-cut mill file. Clamp the tool in a vise. Locate the bevel — the angle at which the...