Toolmonger has featured collapsible carts, dumping carts, and a stool with wheels; now here’s a battery-powered self-propelled cart.  At only $300, this Neuton cart costs a lot less than a riding mower and a trailer.

I sometimes get the feeling that with tools like this I’m trying to compensate for not having big tools.  Then I remind myself of something tool guys across the world should all know:  Whether the reason is money or space, not having a big tool is ok, even normal — there’s no need for big-tool envy.

Garden Cart [Neuton]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

Any arborist worth his or her salt will tell you that only trimming the branch tips on your shrub without thinning it out isn’t healthy, because light can’t reach the inside.  Even so, sometimes you might want to just even out the surface, to make it look nice and neat — but then you’re left with a big mess of clippings to pick up.  According to its makers, the Garden Groom collects its own clippings, so you don’t have to.

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With apologies to Huey Lewis:  I want a new rake, one that won’t tear my hands apart, one that won’t break on a single use, one that makes me feel like I just bought a great new tool.  I want a great new tool, babe.

I appreciate the beauty of a simple tool:  the lever, the inclined plane, the wheel, the shovel, the rake.  When I need one, there’s often no substitute — I can’t imagine getting along without them.  But do I need a fancy, expensive one?  Is a basic one enough?

The rake above, a snazzy one from Fiskars, sports a “longer” handle and an aluminum, teardrop-shaped handle.  It also runs up into the $35 range, if you’re not careful where you buy it.

Is a fancy rake worth the price, when you can get a basic one for $12?  Let us know in comments.

Garden Rake [Fiskars]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Few things can highlight a lack of basic tools like moving into a house from an apartment.  Now that you have a yard, your sweetheart wants to plant some bulbs under the big tree out front, which seems reasonable — until you remember that your only digging implements are a hatchet and a spoon.  You need a tool like this Seymour round-point shovel from Northern Tool and Equipment.

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What do you do if you want to wash the car, but you don’t have a hose bib?   Or if you need hot water outside and don’t want to run back and forth with a bucket?   Attach Claber’s Koala hose adapter to a kitchen or utility faucet and screw a hose to it, for instant water anywhere.

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If you’re paranoid about your neighbors stealing your water when you’re sleeping, you either need to see your doctor about some medication, or you need Nibco’s FaucetLock.  The FaucetLock screws over existing hose bibs without tools and prevents water theft or tampering.

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Fall’s here, and the leaves just keep dropping.  Too bad the trees don’t drop their leaves all at the same time — no, to keep your yard clean you’ll have to rake many times before fall’s over.  Plus, if you have trees like red oaks that hold onto their leaves over the winter, you’ll be out there raking in the spring several times, too.  All this raking takes away valuable shop time.  Would something like this $150 lawn sweeper from Agri-Fab make the work go faster?

This particular lawn sweeper cleans a 26″ swath and collects up to 7 cubic feet of dry leaves/debris in its replaceable vinyl hopper — unfortunately, it won’t work very well with soggy leaves.  With its zinc-plated steel frame and polypropylene housing, the 52-1/2″ x 31″ x 33″ sweeper weighs in at 25 pounds.

Is a lawn sweeper the answer for keeping your yard clean in the fall, or will it just sit in the garage gathering dust?  Let us know your experiences in comments.

Lawn Sweeper [Agri-Fab]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Get off your knees and chuck the Roto Planter into your cordless drill to dig holes for your bedding plants, bulbs, or seedlings.   The Roto Planter from Yard Butler can dig holes up to 22″ deep and 3″ wide.   And just because it’s called Roto Planter doesn’t mean it’s only useful for planting — open holes to deep water and fertilize your trees and shrubs, or dig holes for outside wiring or irrigation pipe.

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Is your snowblower missing something?  Perhaps you’re not satisfied with that 5 to 10 horses that your current unit puts out — it needs a bit more power, or maybe even a set of headers.  The guys at V8 Snowblowers can hook you up with a blower built around a 454 big block.

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You’ve grown up and replaced the sandbox with a backyard full of dirt and rocks and other heavy things to move around.  Your old yellow Tonka truck isn’t up for the task, and you really don’t have room for a full-blown dump truck — so Gorilla Ladder’s dump cart might just be the tool you need.

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Have you ever built a life-sized snowman that remained headless because you couldn’t figure out how to lift the head up onto the body?  With the PotLifter you can safely move those heavy and awkward objects — like boulders, tree root balls, pots, and even snowman heads — around the yard, up steps, and over most other terrain.

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Finding lawn care distasteful in almost all its forms, I spend most of my time plotting ways to get out of tasks like cleaning gutters — one such method would be the LeafGuard system.  This gutter cover lets water in but keeps most leaves and debris out.

The cover extends over the gutter but keeps a slot open for water to drain into.  It keeps crap out of the gutter and lets it blow harmlessly onto the ground, while keeping the rest of the system clear to do its job of funneling water away from the house.

We can see a few perks — like I don’t have to clean the gutters anymore — but we’re aware that this system might not work for everyone. Folks up north in particular might be at a disadvantage if ice built up on top of the cover.

What do you think?  Is this the answer to the weekend lawn-care blues, or an expensive way to cause you more hassle down the road?  Let us know in comments.

LeafGuard Gutter System [LeafGuard]

Digging with a post hole digger isn’t the most fun way to spend your weekend — that’s why they invented power augers!  But if you aren’t up for renting or buying a power auger, try out Seymour Manufacturing’s Iwan auger.  Twisting the handle of this post-hole-digger alternative bores a 6″ hole in a variety of soils.

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Yes, fall is coming, and soon we’ll start bringing out the leaf blowers and rakes to clean up Mother Nature’s leafy mess.  If your preferred method of cleanup is to rake leaves into a pile and scoop them into bags, forget the leaf scoops this year and give the Backsaver from Garden Brand Products a try.

The plastic and wood Backsaver rake operates just like any other rake, except it features a leaf-pick-up jaw built into the back.  Rake your leaves into a pile, flip the rake over, and pick up the leaves between the rake and pick-up jaw — no separate leaf scoop to lose.  You operate the jaw by sliding a grip up and down on the handle of the rake.  A locking pin prevents the pick-up jaw from moving while you’re raking.

Depending where you look you’ll see the Backsaver Pick-up Rake sell for $25 to $35.

Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Corded electric yard tools have one problem — the cord.  You have to uncoil and recoil the cord every time you use it, plus it can trip you or even get shredded in the equipment.  To solve this problem for their electric tiller/cultivator, Mantis sells a cord management kit.  But who says you can’t use it for your shop-vac when cleaning out the garage, or for your other outdoor electric tools like edgers, mowers, blowers, or weed whackers?

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Radius Garden designed their Natural Radius Grip (NRG) Pro line of tools with an ergonomic O-handle, to give you more power and strength for gardening.  The O-handle matches the curve of the palm of your hand and gives you four times the gripping surface of conventional tools — not to mention they’re easy to hang up when you’re through in the garden.

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If you’ve been nursing along that old beater of a mower, but you’re finally ready to junk it and buy a new one, your time might be drawing near. This time of year many retail outlets put their lawn-care gear on sale to make way for the coming holiday season — which could mean a bit of savings to you.

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