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Spring fever - Gardening with OXO.

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SPRING - whoever conferred multiple meanings to this word certainly was wise. Almost every one of these imply a positive connotation - Springtime, a spring in your step, 'spring' into action, spring spring spring.. heck, just like the repetitive version of the sound as is!

OXO, my favorite kitchen gadget company just announced their range of  gardening tools and it was the perfect motivation to get working on my kitchen garden patch (which was more of a weed patch by last fall.). I love every product that OXO brings to market, and I'm unabashed about it. It was love at first 'slice'  in August 1996 with my first set of knives and peeler that my dad bought for me when I moved to New York City for my Neuroscience graduate program at NYU. (I still have the knives).

The company sent me a set of outdoor gardening tools at the end of last month and it got me 'springing' into action on the veggie patch. A true realization that gardening is all the more fun when you have the proper tools for each task.


I was supposed to pick 3 of the gadgets  and explain how I used them but, each and everyone of the tools were so handy that I find it hard to pick and choose. The first to be used was of course the watering can, a large 2 gallon capacity container that my kids immediately latched on to. The iconic OXO non slip grip on the handle ensures that it does not slip from your fingers even when kids use it.



Clearing the vegetable beds:

The vegetable beds that were filled up with dried leaves from last year were raked up by a hand rake. This is one cool gizmo that snaps out into a large 12 inch rake with a simple twist. (reminded me of how a peacock shows off its plumage). I did make a mistake of pushing the rake away from me once causing a tine to bend, but it was easily tweaked back into place.


Weeding:

 This is going to be an ongoing task for the entire growing season, and the cultivator should come in handy in scratching the weed saplings off the dirt as soon as they pop out. But in addition,  its indispensable to aerate and turn over the soil prior to planting.



The plow and the trowel were most definitely the most used in this set of tools, truly workhorses in the garden. Constructed of solid stainless steel, they have a mean serrated edge that can easily rip through the plastic bags and containers that seedlings are sold in (and yes, if you're not careful, a deep gash through your skin as well!). If I had to pick and choose, these would definitely be the first OXO gardening tools I would invest in.

Trowel for planting seedlings and digging holes in the soil

The plow is perfect for digging deep furrows to plant seeds.
 These are high quality gardening tools and a great investment, so they need to be taken care of well.



Make sure to thoroughly rise them of all dirt and mud after each use and allow them to dry in the sun before storing them.



Looking forward to many more post with all the produce I grow with the help of these superb gardening tools. Thank you once again OXO for the opportunity to use them.
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