About this time of year I ask myself some timely gardening questions. Are my pruners sharp? Can I find them? What about the shovel? Is it clean? Where is it? The same goes for all my tools. I had great intentions last fall, but oh well.

Make sure your tetanus shot is up-to-date

There is one important question I ask. Is my tetanus shot up to date? My doctor, who recently retired after 40 years in practice, once told me that he had seen only two cases of tetanus, both in gardeners.

Let this be a word to the wise: be sure your tetanus shot is up to date. Tetanus can enter the body through puncture wounds. Guess what rose thorns do! Enough said.

Start some stretching exercises

While we’re talking about staying healthy, we should start doing some stretching exercises to help our muscles break out of their dormancy. Too much sitting by the fire reading catalogs is not so good for muscles when they are asked to jump right into action on the first warm Saturday of the year. Actually, I’ve been pretty good this winter. I’ve used the treadmill quite a bit and not just for hanging clothes to dry. So I’m really looking forward to that first spring day.

Sharpen and clean your pruners and other tools

I have found my pruners and most of my tools. I’m still missing the rake. That may still be out by the compost bin. Or maybe it’s at the bottom of the pile in the garage where I just threw everything that was still left outside when the first snow was coming. I can’t worry about it now. I’ll start the sharpening now since sharp pruners make the pruning job so much easier.

Sharpening is fairly straight forward. I disassemble the pruners and then clean all the parts. Steel wool works really well to get bits of dirt, sap and rust off so the metal looks like new again. Once the pieces are clean, I sharpen the blade. I think there are two basic ways to do this. Many gardeners use a sharpening stone and hold the blade against the stone at the same angle as the bevel while making circular motions on the stone. When the beveled side is sharp, rub the back side of the blade flat against the stone to take off any burrs created while sharpening the bevel.

I use a hand held sharpener. It is a piece of metal that is coated with industrial diamonds attached to a plastic handle. I clamp the blade in the vise and follow the same procedure as above. Both methods work equally well. What I like about my sharpener is that it folds up so I take it out to the garden and when the pruners get a little dull, a few swipes and they are sharp again.

Sharpening is very important so if youre a little unsure seek out some help. A good source is your local garden center or hardware store. Usually the owners of these places have a wide range of knowledge so it is good to cultivate them. You will reap the rewards time and again.