Topic: Buy new tools or use my trusty old ones

[vicki.m]

Hi all,

This is probably going to sound really silly but, I'm waiting for an allotment and am hopefull I will get one before winter this year, the waiting list I am on is very short.

Now my question is, If I turn up to my new allotment with my border fork and spade which are not really big enough to the job but very well broken in from years of work at home am I going to be taken more seriously by the other allotmenteers than if I arrive with bigger brand new tools.

I am worried that, as I am 27 with 2 young children one only 8 months old, I will look like one of these people who have seen a television programme and think it'seasy and they know it all.

or will my hard work and experience as a gardener shine through and override first impressions.

don't I sound silly, I just worry because I never fit in anywhere because I am a bit old fashioned for my age.

Vicki

[Bugloss2009]

I'm a beefy bloke and I much prefer to use a small fork, and I never use a spade at all if I can help it
old tools are good - there's less chance they'll get pinched

[hippydave]

i wouldnt judge you by the size of your tools its the time and effort that makes the difference. I have seen people come on plots with shiny new tools and then give up after a few months. its not the tools its the time and effort that make the most difference in my mind. I think that you should use the tools that you are used to handling, they may take a wee bit longer but you will have the time by the sounds of it. If you go out a buy a bigger set they will also be heavier to use so there may be no advantage but they will be stronger and made for the task at hand ;)

[vicki.m]

Yes I think you are both right, I also prefer my fork but this is one of those times when digging is necessary. It may take longer with smaller tools but like you said I will have time and I know it will be worth the effort.

[Trevor_D]

Agree - old tools are best. (My spade was a present from my father. I'm not sure when, but he's been dead more than 30 years. You could carve the Sunday roast with it.)

Get in there, Vicki, and get digging! Autumn/early winter is a good time to start on a new plot. Get as much dug as you can ready for spring.

[Borlotti]

I've got a ladies spade and a small watering can, and a lightweight plastic wheelbarrow. I have to do more trips, but I don't want to get a frozen shoulder again.  Start off with the tools you have, and then if you wish buy more.  Allotment people are different from normal people, much nicer, not materialistic and you will make many friends and have a lovely time.  Also you can wear old clothes and get dirty hands, but who cares. Don't worry about fitting in, just get gardening and you can spend hours talking to people (if you wish) about vegs and soil and the things that other people's eyes glaze over when one goes on and on.

[vicki.m]

Thats so nice - I'm already always covered in dirt of some description usually soil from the garden but if not then definately baby sick. I'm on of these people who save old clothes in the garage just for doing the garden - maybe I will fit in then.

[Flighty]

Other allotmenteers will probably take you much more seriously if you show up in old clothes with old tools and get stuck in!
Don't worry about first impressions or being old fashioned as I reckon neither of these count for much on allotments.
Just be yourself, say hello and I'm sure that you'll soon feel at home and among friends!

[betula]

There is a certain romance about old tools but when I did a gardening round I bought the best new tools I could afford and I am so glad I did,the new tools suited my height and made the job so much easier than to what I was used to.

I used to have this tiny little fork that my ma in law gave me ,years and years old,because of this I insisted on using it and boy had I made life hard for myself   ;D

[lincsyokel2]

Agree - old tools are best. (My spade was a present from my father. I'm not sure when, but he's been dead more than 30 years. You could carve the Sunday roast with it.)

Get in there, Vicki, and get digging! Autumn/early winter is a good time to start on a new plot. Get as much dug as you can ready for spring.

Old tools tend to be better because there usualy made of better quality steel than the rubbish they make tools from these days.

I do a lot of woodwork as another hobby, basically i make bits of furniture, such as Welsh Dresser, usually one a year. I have new tools and old tools. My favorite wood chisels i use are my dads, and they are stamped "WD 1945"  (War Department). You grind and hone an edge on them, and you can feel they are hard as glass. They then keep that edge, razor sharp, for months. The new chisels (Drapers) lose there edge after  a coupel of hours use. Same with my hand  planes, some of them are WW1, and the steel the blades are made of is the finest carbon steel you have ever used.

A  lot of tools made in the 50's and 60's were made from recovered armour plate from tanks and warships. Its epic stuff. Today, most tool steel is cast and rolled in China, and they are rubbish at it, and its not fit to make dustbins out of.

I have three forks for the lotty. Two modern ones, and one that is worn  smooth on the edges, and ive turned a special long ash handle for it to get leverage (44" long ). I tried it  with a new head at first, you could get so much leverage you  could bend the tines. I had to find a good pre WW2 fork that could take it in the end. Again, old steel is far better.

[manicscousers]

As I have arthritis all over, I can only use small tools and mine were second hand when I got them, plus, I look rather like a bag lady when on the plot  ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

I like old tools, but the best of all is a fork I picked up in the market for a fiver. It's solid steel, quite heavy, and doubles up as a crowbar.

[Jeannine]

I would use whatever you are comfortable with and to heck with anyone else, I cannot imagine anyone worthwhile judging you by your tools, You wll find allsorts on  a lottie, you will figure out pretty quick who to listen to and who to humour. I found some really odd old fellas on ours that had not changed in decades but they turned out to be pretty decent old fellas, and yes I found a couple who screwed op their face at a woman.. but they came round.

Just you go and be yourself, enjoy your lottie with you kids.

Oh and if I saw old tools I would feel kind  good about that person,, there I am judging!!

XX Jeannine

[Deb P]

Wouldn't worry about what tools you use, you'll be more judged far more on your plot and what you achieve there. I kind of expect old fashioned looks as I don't  exactly blend in to the background in any setting (bright red hair!), plus I really don't care what I wear or how grubby I get. Can't resist a nice useful  tool though, have quite a few old favourites that are well used and grubby, but like my shiny new stainless steel spade and fork as well. My azada raised a few eyebrows when I first used it, but no-one bats an eyelid now...they must have got used to me! ;D

[Le-y]

Hi all,

This is probably going to sound really silly but, I'm waiting for an allotment and am hopefull I will get one before winter this year, the waiting list I am on is very short.

Now my question is, If I turn up to my new allotment with my border fork and spade which are not really big enough to the job but very well broken in from years of work at home am I going to be taken more seriously by the other allotmenteers than if I arrive with bigger brand new tools.

I am worried that, as I am 27 with 2 young children one only 8 months old, I will look like one of these people who have seen a television programme and think it'seasy and they know it all.

or will my hard work and experience as a gardener shine through and override first impressions.

don't I sound silly, I just worry because I never fit in anywhere because I am a bit old fashioned for my age.

Vicki

When i got my allotment a year ago i was 24 with a newborn and an 16 month old, wearing scraggly old trousers and horrible top's (all of which are now my "allotment clothes" and have holes everywhere!!) and yes i got some funny looks (all new tools as i didnt even have a garden before hand) and i'm sure i still do (with kids toys spread across the plot) BUT the point is i dont really care, i've already completed my first year and am still there working and harvesting and keeping chickens  :)

dont worry what people think about you the way to change the perspective is to love and work your plot :)

[Unwashed]

Welcome to A4A vicki.

I don't think you should worry about what anyone else thinks of you.  You've as much right as anyone to an allotment.  Do your own thing and enjoy it, and likely as not you'll find the people on your site friendly and welcoming.

[vicki.m]

Wow, what a lot of replies.

Thank you all, I think I'll soon be taken seriously if all your opinions are anything to go by.

I really can't wait, I've wanted an allotment for years, my great gran used to grow all our veg when I was a little girl and I was always asking her how to do this and that. I can't grow a huge range of veg at home as I only have small garden with one bed so I have to grow different things each year plus what I grow in the greenhouse. It will be great to have a bit of everything at the same time.  I can't believe how soon it's come about I was expecting a much longer wait.

[lincsyokel2]

Wanting an allotment is the easy part.............. ;D

[Borlotti]

Hope you get your allotment soon, and don't forget to tell us how you are getting on.  Allotments, and seeds can become addictive, so beware, you will want to spend every free hour up there and looking at seed packets or chatting on here.  ;D ;D  Shall I hoover or go and water the allotment, something may have grown in the night, I think I know the answer.

[vicki.m]

lucky for me the allotments are just a little futher on from my sons school, so I plan on having mornings up there as often as I need, everyday while i'm clearing it i imagine, then housework after lunch.

my hubby is worried about what will happen to our beautifully tended garden though. He's not the green fingured sort.