Another year is coming to a close close on your gardening efforts, and it’s time to put your tools away for the winter months until you need them to cultivate and nurture next year’s garden. There are many preparations that you can employ to safe guard your gardening implements so that they will give you years of uninterrupted use. Before you lay your tools to rest, you may want to follow some helpful storage tips.

Getting Your Shed Ready
The first thing you want to do is get your outdoor storage sheds organized and ready to accept all of your gardening tools and summer toys and furniture. If your shed is nice and clean it will be easy to put things away as you follow the steps below. I like to take everything out and give the inside a good cleaning. Then as you put things back you decide if there are things you should throw out or find a better way to store them. You will find at the end you will have a very clean garden shed and you will have more room to store things.

Addressing Your Cleaning Needs
Using such things as steel wool and scrubbing pads that are meant for barbecue grills, you can take off the grime and caked on detritus that have made their way onto your trowels and spades. First you need to give your tools a bath in soap and water to loosen the material, and then you can scrub them clean. Remember that before you set them into place in your shed, you need to let them fully dry to prevent any rust that may form during the winter months.

Protecting Your Tools
You should also sharpen any blades, such as you gardening shears and your lawn mower blades. For a clean, sharp edge, use a whetstone. Once you’ve sharpened your blades, it is a good idea to coat them with a protective medium. Many gardeners have found that linseed oil is perfect rust preventive. After all, you don’t have to deal with rust when you pull out your tools next spring.

Gathering, Labeling, and Storing
You should also collect any garden hoses that you may have lying around, drain them of their water and allow them to dry completely. It would be a good time to check for any leaks and repair them using a vulcanized rubber repair kit. Also you should clear and clean any fertilizer and pesticide applicators. Allow these to dry completely before storing them in your shed. You should also collect any unused and partially used containers of such things as herbicides and pesticides. Be sure these are sealed correctly and labeled clearly to avoid spillage and any confusion that might result in misuse in the coming year. You should also be extra sure that these dangerous products are stored in proper temperatures and either in a locked cabinet or high on a shelf that is out of reach of pets and children, no matter how good their climbing skills.

Fueled machinery such as the tiller and mower should be run dry or drained of their fuel for safety reasons and to ensure that you don’t have to contend with soured gas when you bring them out for use next spring.

By following these preventive steps you will be able to keep you equipment in working order for years to come.