Maintaining Lawn Care Tools Before Spring

Why Winter Is the Best Time to Service Your Lawn Tools

There is a particular satisfaction in a cold, quiet afternoon spent in the shed while the garden sleeps. The mower has sat untouched since October, the edging shears are somewhere under a bag of compost, and frost has been creeping into every corner. Servicing everything now, while nothing is growing, means the first cut of the year is a pleasure rather than a scramble.

Grass in most parts of the UK begins stirring into growth in early March, though a mild spell in late February can nudge it along. You do not want to be hunting for a file or a spark plug on that first bright Saturday. A couple of hours of preparation now also saves your back later, because a blunt, clogged machine turns a simple job into a wrestle.

Servicing the Mower: Fuel, Plug and Blade

Start with the fuel system. Petrol left standing for months goes stale and gums up the carburettor, so either run the tank dry in autumn or top it up with a fuel stabiliser and run the engine for a few minutes to circulate it. Never drain fuel onto the lawn or into a drain — decant it into a sealed container and take it to your local household waste site.

Next, work through the basics:

• Spark plug: remove it with the correct socket, brush off any soot, check the gap is roughly 0.6–0.7mm and replace it if the electrode looks pitted or oily.
• Air filter: a sponge filter can be washed in warm soapy water, dried thoroughly and given a few drops of clean engine oil worked through it.
• Oil: on a four-stroke, tip the machine towards the exhaust side (never the air filter side, or oil floods the cylinder head), drain the old oil and refill to the dipstick mark with the grade in your handbook.
• Underside: scrape off dried grass and soil with a wooden spatula or plastic scraper, then wipe with an oily rag. A clean deck throws clippings properly and resists rust.
• Blade: sharpen the bevel with a flat file at the original angle — usually about 30 degrees — keeping the blade balanced. A blade that is out of balance will vibrate and can damage the crankshaft. If in doubt, replace it; a new blade costs far less than a repair.

Battery mowers and strimmers deserve the same attention. Bring lithium-ion batteries indoors before the hardest frosts and store them at around half charge in a dry, frost-free place. Cold storage shortens their working life considerably.

Edging Shears, Secateurs and Hand Tools

Hand tools respond beautifully to a little care. Wipe metal parts with wire wool dipped in light oil to lift surface rust, then sharpen the cutting bevel only — never the flat side, which must stay dead flat to cut cleanly. A diamond file or a small whetstone will do the job in a few minutes. On shears, check the pivot nut: it should be snug enough that the blades pass without gapping, but loose enough to open with one hand.

Wooden handles benefit from a rub with fine sandpaper followed by a coat of linseed oil; it restores the grain and stops the wood drying out and splitting. Secateurs with a curved blade and a replaceable spring are worth keeping for years, so a drop of oil on the spring and pivot now will pay for itself in rose pruning next winter.

Storing Equipment So It Survives the Frost

Damp is the real enemy of garden tools, more so than cold itself. Hang long-handled tools on a wall rail rather than standing them on a concrete floor, where moisture wicks up the shaft. Mowers are best kept under a breathable cover, off the ground, with the handles folded to save space and stop anyone tripping.

A simple routine works well:

• Clean every tool before it goes away — soil holds moisture against metal.
• Wipe blades and tines with an oily rag at the end of each session.
• Store fuel and oil in labelled, sealed containers away from the house.
• Keep a small tin of files, spanners and spare nuts and bolts in the shed. Future you will be grateful.

Leave Room for the Wildlife Before You Mow

As you tidy the shed, resist the urge to tidy the garden too thoroughly. Hedgehogs may still be hibernating in a leaf pile or beneath a hedge until late March or even April, and frogs will be heading for ponds to spawn in February. Bumblebee queens emerge on the first mild days and rely on early nectar from hellebores, snowdrops, winter aconite and crocus, all of which shrug off hard frost.

If you have a patch of longer grass, mow a narrow path and leave the rest standing until late spring. Before you start any strimmer or mower for the first time, walk the ground and check for sleeping wildlife, and always cut in daylight so anything disturbed has a chance to move on.

The First Cut: Timing and Technique

Wait until the grass is actively growing and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged — usually mid to late March in the south, a fortnight later in the north. Set the blades high, around 4–5cm, and never remove more than a third of the leaf in one pass. Sharp, well-set blades slice cleanly; blunt ones tear and leave yellow tips that invite disease.

Sharpen the blade again after every eight to ten hours of mowing, or twice a season for most domestic gardens. Do the maintenance now, while the borders are quiet, and the first cut will feel like the true start of spring.