As you get ready for the upcoming garden season, take a look at your tools. 
Well-made pruners, loppers, clippers, spades, rakes, trowels and other metal
tools will last a life time if you take the time through out the season to
clean them after each use.  Save a little of the used motor oil from your
mower or car, and soak an old towel or piece of burlap in the oil.  Remove
the dirt and wipe down the metal portions with the used oil, and the tools
will stay new for your use every season.

A soft brush will clean the dirt away and the oil will lightly coat the
metal protecting from oxidation and therefore rust.  I sometimes use a
tiller in my vegetable gardens, and after washing down the tines, I wipe
down the blades warding off the effects of rust.  Buy the best tool your
garden budget allows and keep them new for many years.  Even if the cost of
a premier toll such as a Felco pruner is a little steep, any pruner will
benefit from this simple quick treatment.

John Peter Thompson
Behnke Nurseries, Chairman of the Board