ALDI Gardenline Foldable Saw – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

ALDI Gardenline Foldable Saw
Length approx. 18cm
Carbon steel saw blade with 3-sides ground teeth, ABS handle with TPR grips
Thickness: 1.2mm (Blade)
Price (when available) £ 4.99

I purchased this saw, more or less, to try it out as to how it would perform and not, like often, given this as a review sample. Having used it on both old and green wood, including rather hard cherry, I must say that it performed if not as well then at least almost as well as some rather expensive makes of saws of this kind, at a fraction of the cost.

I would certainly say that this saw is ideal for gardening, pruning, camping, clearing trails, hiking, tree trimming and light coppice work.

Blade safety lock with a safety locking mechanism that double locks, so to speak, as it also locks the blade once on the way down, thus making the closing of the blade safer reducing the risk of closing it on the hand.

Unfortunately, as with all ALDI special buys offers, these saws are always only available now and then and then only as long as stocks last which, at times, may last for a couple of days or a couple of weeks depending on demand.

Obviously, the question is now as to how this saw holds up in sharpness and other things in comparison to other, more expensive ones of brands that I am not going to mention here.

© 2018

Pruning your trees

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Once the leaves have fallen in late autumn/early winter, take the opportunity to get in there to remove any congested growth. For some fruit trees, however, the time to do any real pruning and cutting back is not that time of year but much earlier or somewhat later.

Trees of the prunus species, cherries, plums, damsons, and related, should be pruned – pardon the almost pun – while the sap is rising, after they have flowered. While that may reduce any fruit production for that year it is r4eckoned to reduce the risk of any infection entering the tree.

Apple trees have a very narrow window, so to speak, in which pruning should take place and that is about from mid to late January to the end of February (in Europe at least). Others can be pruned more or less immediately after the leaves have all fallen off and this also goes for the majority of ornamental shrubs and trees.

© 2017

6 Dos and Don'ts Of Pruning

It could cause more harm than good to your bushes and trees.

There's something about this time of the year that makes people crave pruning more than vampires yearn for blood. With fall garden cleanup in full swing, maybe it's all the raking and mulching that has people going bananas. But before you start hacking at your trees and bushes, take a tip from a seasoned gardening expert. "The rules of fall pruning are simple: Prune nothing in the fall! That’s N-O-T-H-I-N-G! Nada! Bupkiss! Zilch! Zero! Ladies—hide the pruners from 'helpful husbands!'" pleads emphatic gardening expert Mike McGrath, author of Mike McGrath's Book of Compost, and radio host of WYYY FM Philadelphia's You Bet Your Garden radio show. That goes for shrubs and plants as well as trees, McGrath insists. "Hang little signs on your roses that say, 'Leave me alone until midwinter; or even better, spring.' There are no exceptions! Do not prune anything now. Got it?"

Do you feel like you just got scolded by a third-grade teacher? Let it serve as a reminder that fall is not the right time to trim trees and shrubs, even though the fallen leaves have exposed all their imperfections. That's right, put your pruning shears back in the shed for at least a month or so. Here are some pruning basics, to be used when it's a safer time to trim back trees and shrubs:

Read more here.

Fine pruning with ARS and Sorbus International

Somerset based Sorbus International Ltd. are the appointed exclusive UK distributors of the Japanese ARS range of high quality pruning equipment. Established in 1876, ARS produce high quality saws, secateurs, telescopic pruners, shears and loppers with the emphasis on the highest standard of steel production.

“In the many years we have been supplying arboriculture and grounds maintenance equipment,” says Phil Wade, Sorbus’ Managing Director, “this is the first complete range of pruning tools we have come across that offers such high quality, coupled with ergonomic design and superb cutting ability. Yet it’s economic and durable and one we are proud to distribute in the UK.”

The secret lies in a combination of impulse hardening techniques that create a remarkable hardness for the cutting blades, and hard chrome plating for rust proofing and durability. The smooth surface is designed to prevent resin from sticking and accumulating on the blades. There are also products for fruit harvesting, flower arranging and handycraft uses. Sorbus International is a leading supplier of specialist and hi-tech equipment to the arboricultural, forestry, landscaping, utility, ground maintenance and environmental care sectors in the UK and worldwide. The company began with hi-tech decay detection products for trees and timber structures and has developed to encompass a wide range of products for landscaping, tree care, climbing, bracing, lowering equipment, as well as safety, hi-viz, corporate and wet weather clothing.

Sorbus have recently expanded and welcome dealer and distributor enquiries for the ARS range and the opportunity to supply equipment on a contract basis.

www.sorbus-intl.co.uk

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.

This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.

English Woodlands Advise Customers on Pruning Winter-Flowering Shrubs

English Woodlands, an East-Sussex based supplier of trees, plants and planting accessories, announced their advice for customers beginning pruning of winter-flowering shrubs.

East-Sussex (PRWEB UK) : Pruning is part of plant maintenance for some species, and doing so at the right time can encourage growth, enhance flowering and improve the shape of shrubs.

As a rule, flowering shrubs should be pruned after they bloom, with particular advantages to doing so in late winter or the early spring. The specimen is dormant and capable of handling the stress, while a lack of foliage transforms structural maintenance into an easy task.

Winter-flowering shrubs require specific attention, however, and English Woodlands are releasing an advice series on their website, detailing correct treatment of these specimens in support of concerned customers.

The series introduction covers when and why to prune. Winter and early spring flowering shrubs do so on the previous year’s growth. When consumers need to prune, doing so after flowering will maximise the time for new growth to occur prior to new buds being formed.

On their website, the company outlines in details the guidelines for engaging in a pruning programme. Dead, diseased and crossing branches should be removed, and congested shrubs need some stems removed to ground level, creating an open shape. The new advice series will walk consumers through where and when to prune, depending on where the plant blossoms and fruits.

A customer service representative was able to comment on the release on behalf of the company. “We always attempt to keep customers informed and making the most of their purchases with us. English Woodlands often receive calls and queries regarding the best time to prune certain plants, and we’re always happy to help. It makes more sense to keep information centralised, however, so we’ve been increasingly creating online resources to aid customers throughout the buying and planting process. We don’t want to see any consumers missing out on potential growth through a lack of information, so keeping it available in the form of blogs and resources makes a lot of sense to us.”

They did go on to remind consumers to be aware of their goals before pruning. Plants usually produce fruit on the previous year’s growth, so a number of flowered stems should be left intact if the intention is to harvest fruit in the spring and summer.

English Woodlands are an East-Sussex based supplier of trees, plants, shrubs and planting accessories. By extending their expertise and knowledge to the public they hope to see consumers finding more value in their investments with the business.

Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.

This article is for your information only and the GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW does not (necessarily) approve, endorse or recommend the product, service or company mentioned.

Things to do in the garden as the weather gets warmer

Things to do in the garden now, at the end of February and the beginning of March

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

As the weather starts to get warmer – well a little bit anyway – the list of jobs in the garden starts to grow, and if you don't tackle the jobs when you can bad weather may prevent you from getting them done at all. However, so far every time it try to get into my garden I am looking for a way to do drainage; it is still like a swamp out there.

I have been trying to get the planters prepared for the new season and also start to set out the first potatoes into containers but bad weather has so far prevented me from doing so.

There is so much to do, in my garden and I am sure in yours too, however, with another wet weekend forecast it looks like it there isn't much going to happen there this weekend either.

The apple trees need pruning and so far that has not been possible either simply because of the weather but it must be done soon, before it is too late, and the espalier trees of mine are getting way too high. The branches, however, will, some of them at least, make nice walking sticks, I should think. As said, it has to happen soon and I may have to do it this weekend, regardless of what the weather is going to be like, as long as it is not raining too much. as the buds are swelling up already.

Winter pruning of apple trees

The first months of the year, theoretically, is the time to prune apple trees and the same also applied to pears.

So, when I start pruning the first thing I do is look at the tree and look at the shape and how the branches have grown. Keeping the general shape in mind whilst you are pruning helps you to not make any rash decisions and prune with a heavy hand.

The next thing to do is to remove any dead, diseased or damaged branches and any branches which cross or touch another, as branches that are getting close to each other or are even touching will rub and such rubbing will cause wounds and can allow – in fact, it will allow – pathogens and diseases to enter. And that is something you definitely do not want.

What that is done look to open up the centre of the tree so air can circulate around and reduce the possibility of any disease building in the still air. This, obviously, only applies to free-standing trees; espaliers are different.

Lastly you should be left with last years growth to prune and this should be trimmed to about half the length and to an outside facing bud.

If you follow all those steps you should now have a healthy tree which should produce a good crop of apples.

If you have your trees in an espalier style growing against a wall or fence you don't want it to get too long ion the tooth, so to speak. Thus you may, like what I will have to do, cut off some serious long growth, as I got delayed to do it last year and could not do it because it had gotten too late.

Any dead, decayed and diseased branched that remove from the trees burn and do not chip and use in composting or as mulch as you might transfer disease to other areas. Always consider any and all branches that are dead on a tree as having, probably, dies as a result of disease, to be on the safe side and, as said, burn any such wood.

Other tasks

You can now, as it is getting warmer, start the early potatoes from slips that have eyes on them and you do not, necessarily, have to have seed potatoes. On the contrary; if you have store bought potatoes developing eyes peel the potatoes thickly where the eyes are and those slips will grow into potato plants without any problems.

Other tasks are putting on well rotted manure and other soil improvers, such as compost made with bracken, and a very good one on that level is the “Lakeland Gold” compost. If you use such compost as soil improver, or, obviously, your own, home-grown one, apply about a two to three inch thick layer and fork over the beds and containers to give some goodness back to the soil. Don't use the likes of “Grow More” or such “fertilizers”, as they do nothing for the soil; they are but plant food.

Dandelion has started to grow now as well and you can either go and dig them out or allow them to grow, if not in the wrong place, and harvest the leaves – and other parts of the plant. Dandelion leaves are great in salads and on sandwiches too.

If you want or have to dig them out try to go for green ways of doing it and the investment in a Weed Puller, such as the Fiskars W52 or W82, or the Grandpa's Weeder, will soon pay for itself. Those tools make removal of such weeds extremely simple and easy.

© 2011