If your kids like to spend time with you in the garden, the best gift you can give them are gardening tools. This ensures that they enjoy their gardening duties. However, your job doesn’t stop after buying kids gardening tools. You have to help your children look after their tools. Proper care and maintenance are necessary if you want the tools to serve better and longer. Additionally, accidents can be prevented if the tools are kept in good condition. Here are the basics of doing it:
Make After-Use Cleaning an Obligation
Immediately after leaving the garden, your kids should learn to clean their tools. This not only makes it easy for them to use the tools the next time they go to the garden but it’s also a good maintenance practice. It helps to put the tools in the right physical condition.
Emphasize on Adequate Disinfection
Plants are very sensitive to infections. If the tools are not disinfected, they can aid in passing diseases from plant to plant. For this reason, you should ask them to disinfect the tools whenever plants show signs of disinfection. They can use bleach to do it.
Insist on Proper Storage
Gardening tools need to be kept in a dry place to avoid moisture, which could encourage rusting. After cleaning them, the tools need to be dried first before storage. This should be a routine practice. You can ask them to store the tools in your garage or store.
Help them Avoid Rust
Rust is a threat to the life of gardening tools. It eats away metal surfaces, thus shortening the lifespan of the tool. To avoid it, you should help your kids submerge metallic tools in the sand each time they are not in use.
Encourage Occasional Oiling
Lastly, oiling is another solution against rusting. You can apply linseed oil or car wax to metallic parts to offer a seal against air and moisture. You can also apply them to moving parts to prevent friction and wear.
Conclusion
Generally, teaching your kids to take care of their gardening tools is a smart strategy for making them more responsible and active. It also helps them appreciate home gardening more. Different kids gardening tools require different care and maintenance and it’s your responsibility to guide them. Hopefully, the above tips will help you guide your kids on how to take care of their gardening tools.
