The Best Ten Dollars You'll Ever Spend

I am a vigorous proponent of asking for the advice of experts. I admire people that are master craftsmen/women in their chosen fields. I also just love tools. I mean really love tools. I still chuckle when I think of Tim "tool man" Taylor on the sitcom Home Improvement and how he would drift off into his hearty grunts of glee when discussing tools...hughh, hughh, hughh!

 I also realize that tools are often very expensive, and regardless of expense, are often over-rated. Many is the time I have purchased a tool or gadget only to be disappointed by its quality or effectiveness. High quality tools are worth every penny. I have had the same Felco #2 secateurs for almost thirty-five years. I have replaced blades and springs, the red vinyl is gone from one of the handles, but they still operate as well as when they were new. They are about double the price of comparable pruners, but they are still a value at twice the price. When I see another gardener with Felco's, I instinctively think "there is a real gardener."

 I once did a garden club lecture on the ten tools every gardener should own, and how to use and care for them. My number one tool was a high quality pair of secateurs; of course I love my #2's. My second choice might surprise you, and you will perhaps likewise be surprised by its simplicity and its economy. If I could have only one hand tool other than my pruners, this would be it. I had a commercial landscape company for quite a while, and tools are often broken, left at job sites, or otherwise abused. The nice thing about this tool is its versatility and its very low price.

 The tool goes by a few different names depending on the seller. It is known variously as a Japanese sod cutter, Japanese rice tool, Japanese scythe, Japanese bonsai tool, and Japanese root knife. A chef friend of mine said he uses these tools for ice carving; they are great for carving curves. How versatile is that?

I first found out about these wonderful tools at an amazing sculpture garden and nursery in Ramona called Sho En. I learned how to do bonsai there, and how to trim and shape frightfully expensive (multi-thousand dollars) trees, predominantly Pinus thunbergiana. If you pay a fortune for a tree, you don't let just anyone trim it. These tools were used to trim roots when working on bonsai. As I used this tool, I thought, if it will cut pine roots, it could be used to cut sod (previously, we used linoleum knives).

It made a perfect sod knife. I have used dozens of types of tools through the years, every kind of weeder, asparagus knife, cape cod weeder, hula hoe, garden weasel, German weeders, Dutch weeders, circle hoes....I could go on. Most aren't very good, and most are expensive. As I used this tool for sod, it dawned on me, "I'll bet this would be a decent weeder, especially for bermuda grass removal from fescue lawns" At that time there were no selective chemicals that killed bermuda, and left other turf grasses unharmed. It worked like a dream. It is razor sharp, and can easily plunge deep down to the runners of the bermuda. It has very tiny teeth that grab the stolons of the bermuda, and pulls them up and out. Just watch your fingers, this thing is sharp.

I soon realized it also worked great for removing all sorts of weeds, but especially things with runners, deep tubers, and extensive roots. It soon became the favorite tool of all my workers. We found it was also great for quickly detailing and thinning ground covers, cutting away the entire tops off of ornamental grasses in late winter before spring growth, and generally slicing through any types of thick vegetation.

Still, my favorite application is using it for bermuda removal. My second favorite use? For removing those nasty, deep underground capsules of asparagus meyerii, and a. asparagoides. I hate those darn plants; they are so invasive, and hard to remove. This tool makes their removal much easier than with any other tool I have used. I also use these tools for planting annuals from color paks and four inch liners.

These tools can also be used for what I call speed thinning. When we do garden clean ups, where things are really overgrown, this tool makes removing vast amounts of vegetation quick and easy. Grab a handful of plant and slice away. I also use it for trimming roots when re-potting potted plants. There has never been a better tool for dividing perennials, and dividing orchids-especially cymbidiums.

These tools are available at some nurseries; Mission Hills Nursery carries them. They are also available at Grangetto's, Hydro-Scape, other landscape supply stores, and lawnmower shops. There are two sizes available. They run between $7-$10. I have found a local source that has a really nice version with a stainless steel blade, and a plastic composite handle. They run about two dollars more, but are MUCH beefier than the wood handled models. They are lasting substantially longer than the cheaper wood handled cutters. I always keep a sharpener handy to put on a fresh edge. I also sharpen the point, and the top of the blade. It makes going through the soil like a hot knife going through butter. If you want to know about my secret source send me a message, I don't want them to have a run, and sell them all out. I may need some more.

I actually find weeding to be a most relaxing activity, a very zen exercise. I find it second only to fly fishing on my relaxation activity scale. Pour yourself a nice glass of wine or iced tea, grab your new tool, and weed away. Ah.........and it will look so nice when you are finished.