Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Caring for Your Tools
Care for your tools by cleaning the blades after every use. Once a year give them a thorough treat-
ment with a stiff wire brush, and sharpen the edges at this time. Check any bolts, pins, braces, or
joints to make sure they are tight, not rusting, and clean from debris. When they are clean, spray
with WD40 to prevent rust during the winter.
Treat hardwood handles once a year as part of your regular winterizing checklist by sanding them
lightly, and then oiling the handles with linseed oil. Store your hand tools blade-down in a bucket
of sand with enough motor oil added in to make the sand slightly wet. The linseed oil keeps the
handles water resistant, and the sand/motor oil treatment keeps the blades rust resistant. Now your
entire set of tools will last much longer and work better whenever you're ready to head to the garden.
Over the Garden Fence
The motor oil in the sand bucket doesn't need to be new oil. Most people I know who use this trick will
save their used motor oil from an oil change on their cars. Country repurposing at its finest!
Basic Building Skills
I've tried to cover some of the how-to-use information when I was discussing the various tools
for the backyard farm. And of course, more information about specific uses will be found in the
chapter discussions where that information is most needed. But this section briefly touches on some
of the basic building skills that are needed for keeping a backyard farm profitable. You can't afford
to hire out simple things like making a compost bin or brood box (see Appendix A for a simple
plan to make your own brood box).
The best way to learn basic building skills is to work alongside someone who is more experienced
than you are. I learned to use power tools in my theatre classes at the university where all students
were expected to help build set pieces. I made it a point to learn each tool and find out the prin-
ciples of building the various types of set pieces, and I'm grateful for that knowledge now. There's
not much difference between cutting a 2×4 to build a square set wall piece and building a compost
bin, except where you place the lumber.
Cutting Lumber
A basic circular saw, mentioned earlier in the chapter as a must-have tool, can be used for a lot
of the lumber-cutting needs on a backyard farm. Combined with a pair of sawhorses to elevate
the lumber, you can cut lumber, posts, and plywood as needed to assemble any number of sheds,
outbuildings, cold frames, or other structures.
