Giveaway: Fiskars pruners and loppers

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Winter is the time to prune your roses, and we’ve got just the thing for it: Fiskars PowerGear™ Hand Pruners and Fiskars PowerGear™ Loppers. We LOVE these tools. The hand pruners have a rotating handle which means no stress whatsoever on your wrist and fingers. The patented PowerGear™ mechanism makes cutting three times easier. Like the hand pruners, the loppers feature the patented PowerGear™ mechanism too, plus the latest FibreComp™ material and high quality Scandinavian carbon steel to make the cleanest cuts and to stay sharp longer.

Both the pruners and loppers have the Ease of Use accreditation from the Arthritis Foundation, plus a 25-year warranty. They’re available from all hardware stores and garden centres.

See the Fiskars PowerGear™ Hand Pruner in action here.
See the Fiskars PowerGear™ Loppers in action here.

We have 5 pairs of Fiskars PowerGear™ Hand Pruners (RRP $49.98) and 5 pairs of Fiskars PowerGear™ Loppers (RRP $99.98) to give away.

To ENTER THE DRAW TO WIN EITHER A HAND PRUNER OR THE LOPPERS, simply post a comment below. Anything will do. You can just say hello, if you like. But we would love to hear about your best recycling tip for the garden. For example, maybe you like to string up old CDs in your patch to scare away the birds. Or perhaps use old pantyhose as garden ties, old saucepans as plant pots or old clothesline wire to string up your beans. Let us know.

COMPETITION CLOSES ON 15 JULY, 2012. Open to New Zealand residents only.


 

 

The Fiskars Story
In 1649 Peter Thorwoste was granted permission to manufacture cast iron and forged products in a small Finnish village called Fiskars. His company soon became famous for high quality steel and steel products. Today one of the Western world’s oldest companies, Fiskars has grown into a multinational corporation, present in more than 40 countries on four continents. The company roots and soul can still be found in the Fiskars village where, some 10km away, garden tools are manufactured according to its strict historic quality standards.

 

Comments

  1. Robyn Udy says

    I like to get new tools each year before tackling my roses and other pruning.

    • How many words can you make from FISKARS. cannot use the same letter twice.
      1. Far
      2. Risk
      3. Risk’s
      4. Sir
      5. Kiss
      6. Is
      7. Ski
      8.Ski’s

      If you manage to make a word other than the ones on my list you win the prise. Good Luck!!

    • richelle says

      Every gardener I know never puts pruning on their ‘favourites’ list but to be able to do it with high quality tools such as those made by Fiskars, can only make the job easier and more enjoyable – well I’m hoping that’s the case. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to find out by winning a pair of these great tools from your promotion 🙂

    • Richelle says

      Of all the gardeners I know, none of them rate pruning as a favourite task!! So to have a set of high quality tools such as Fiskars to do the job can only make it more pleasurable, lets hope I get to find out!!!!lol
      By the way, my favourite recycling garden tip for this time of year is to save any fat from cooking reheat it and mix it with a bit of honey and some birdseed and pour over/into a pinecone (that you’ve already added a staple to the top of). Once the fat has cooled and dried off, secure a piece of wire through the staple and hang it in a tree near your house so you can see all the little birds enjoying a recycled treat!!

    • Rosie Paltridge says

      Would love a pair of those hand pruners or loppers, much gentler on the hands and arms. 🙂

  2. My best recycling tip for the garden is to tip left over beer in to saucers and buried flush with the soil in your vegetable garden. The slugs and snails love beer and die happily while drinking it up. They will choose the beer over your veggies everytime 🙂

  3. I like to use egg trays for growing my seedlings. Once they have started to grow just cut off each section and plant the whole thing. Tray acts as compost as well, nothing wasted.

  4. These look great! I use bird netting or old net curtains draped over my kale (or other brassica’s) to stop the white butterflies laying their eggs.

  5. Oh what a lovely giveaway.My hands get very painful pruning but these look to be so much easier to use for pruning.I always sharpen and clean my tools in winter to make them last longer but after awhile they are wearing out just like me.
    As a garden hint remember if it rots it wil be great for composting.We add tealeaves,coffee grounds,toilet roll inners,shredded paper ,the contents of the vacuum cleaner etc to ours as wellas all the vege waste too.When we clean the hairbrushes or brush the dog we carefully place the hair on a bush outside and watch the birds take it away for their nests.

  6. Sandy Hart says

    Hi, Love your magazine, gives me a great buzz to receiving it via e-mail. Would love to win the shears and loppers as I do suffer from arthritis and it would make life much easier in the garden. 🙂

  7. Jo Taylor says

    I cut toilet rolls into thirds, and plant seeds inside them in the garden. This way when I am weeding, I don’t accidently put out the seedlings, and the toilet roll breaks down over time too.

  8. Katie Middleton says

    Hi would love to win the hand pruners. I dread pruning time as we have quite a lot of roses, but always feel like I have accomplished something when I look around and see them all neatly pruned. The Fiskars tools would be a great help. Love your magazine too!

  9. I Look very much forward to do some “garden restyling” with those tools! Thank you.

  10. Oh how lovely it would be to win these – my current pair of pruners are well past their prime!! I’ve come up with a neat way to plant herbs in my garden – especially in the Winter when they need protection. I attach small plastic funnels to a long piece of string and hang it vertically on our deck. Once filled with soil each funnel acts as a herb planter – the soil drainage works a treat!

  11. I’ve borrowed friends’ fiskars tools before and really didn’t want to give them back they were so good. Here’s hoping for some of my own….

  12. I like to use the plastic containers you get from the supermarket deli to plant seedlings in – all you need to do is put a few holes in the bottom.

  13. I’ve always been of the “waste not, want not” mentality so I love to recycle in all sorts of ways. I’m especially into using containers creatively at the moment. Instead of throwing out tins and jars – use them as small pots – they are great for herbs on the windowsill. I’ve even turned an old bookshelf on its back and made it into a sectioned planter.

  14. I’d love to win this set – i’ve been a longtime fan of Fiskars products as they are built to last.

  15. My best gardening tip is ‘Get the kids involved’ The kids love to help and then see at the end what they have grown and it also encourages them to eat fruit and vegetables as it tastes so much better when you have grown it yourself!

  16. This Summer I used long lengths of net curtain bought in the Op shop for next to nothing, to cover my Strawberry rows. Worked a treat to keep the birds off and the strawberries liked the little bit of shade they provided.

  17. Christine Osmers says

    I live in a Retirement Village so have limited space but I have invested in a Worm Composter. It is the best thing I have ever had (for gardening) I add Tea bags, hair from my brush and the contents of the Vaccuum Cleaner as well as vegetable peelings. The worms do such a wonderful job at composting and the liquid is just awesome. I have a lovely flower garden around my house with some beautiful Roses and flowers that my Mother, Father and Sister used to enjoy when they were alive. I would so much enjoy using the give away in my memorial garden.

  18. Don’t forget our feathered friends this Winter by buying Wild Bird Seed or throwing out bread an left over veges on a tray for them. There is plenty of free entertainment to behold over those dreary days as the birds antics amuse the gardener while you do a few garden chores or huddle in doors peering out at the scene set before you.

  19. Maree McWha says

    I’d love to win – I’d pass it on to my mother who is a keen gardener..

  20. No matter how old or crippled you are there is always a way to garden. From raised garden beds to pots on an outside table, when the weather is fine out you go and do something. I have a 92 year old mother who can still potter on her verandah

  21. Fiskars tools are great quality. My favourite recycling activity is composting. I love the act of turning rubbish into a quality product which you would otherwise pay money for! I have three compost bins so there’s always something on the go. The best tip I have for composting is to make sure you put everything in the bin in layers, which makes it break down quicker.

  22. Tina Wright says

    For weeding and planting of annuals and vege cells I generally use one tool and that is a paint scraper. About a 100mm wide is best. For weeding purposes you can use this in one hand like a small hoe and use the other for grasping and pulling the offending weeds. It is amazing how quick this method can be.

  23. Nardia Cooper says

    Oh my goodness, I love Fiskars!! I already have the PowerGear Hand Pruners and would love to pair them up with the Power gear loppers now we have fruit trees that need some serious pruning!
    I would also recommend the Fiskars Rake to anyone who has leaf fall issues it is extremely light and sturdy, I actually have to fight my daughter for it on gardening day!

  24. Bryan Godwin says

    Just took 9 30 gal. barrow’s that were made of plastic and reciled them. I used 6 of the for a above ground garden bed, 2 of the for collecting water from the rain gutters and 1 I put below ground filled it with water and a pump for a water fountan for the birds

  25. Pruedence Simpson says

    I have reused the old recycling bins from a few years ago as my garden bins and painted one black and used it as a pot plant holder. I also reuse old frying pans and saucers. I am also in the process of using old terracotta drainage to be a border in my new garden. They are all dug up out of the ground now and just need to finalise the layout of them for the new graden. They are going to make a great border. I also reuse yogurt pottles and small plastic jars for beer in the garden to stop slugs getting the veges. We have also reused old wooden, metal, clothes and bucket to make a interesting looking scarecrow.

  26. Thank you for the opportunity to be in your draw for the Fiskars tools! My recyling idea is to make a recycled bean frame – prune the spent flax flower fronds from your flax plants, and make a tee-pee! Push the flax fronds into the ground a few inches and form a circle, and tie the tops together with a length of flax, making a tee-pee shape. Plant your runner beans at the bottom of each stake, and they will happily tie themselves as they climb your tee-pee frame. And all compostable at the end of the bean season.

  27. I spray my tools with CRC . My current fiskars are now blunt, so would absolutely love a new pair of pruners please.

  28. blueberry says

    Pruning time again, all small and skinny branches are saved and cut into short 35cm lengths and packed into sacks, potting mix bags and any other lg bags we come across over the year, come winter we have lots of very dry kindling

  29. Chris Goyen says

    One of my best tips for garden is a worm farm – diluted worm wee is a superior fertiliser – cheap too.

  30. When i realised i had a crack in my large ceramic mixing bowl i had to reuse it! It still held water…..So I got no more nails glue stuff and glued it onto a fence post which is reasonably low. Painted the post white to match the bowl and….now its a BIRD BATH! I love watching the birds splashing around xo

  31. I would love to win this amazing set if fiskars. My tip banana skins under your roses they just love them!!

  32. I love this magazine I came across it once while googling. What great pruning gear. Best recycling tip. Well we have only been gardening such a short time but our gardens seem to be growing at the same rate our our 2 boy’s (3 and 1 years) especially the vege patch. Our best investment was our worm farm, the kids love it. We also recycle old fizzy drink bottles cut in half with the tops off, this was a tip from my mum they make great little greenhouses for our seedlings in winter and all of our seedling containers have been given to us by family. Our best recycling project this year was our clubhouse it has been built from old pallets, the deck from scrap from a friends new deck, the windows from left over perpex from a business. It is nearly finished we just need latches and flashing for the roof. Our plumber neighbour had a great idea about using copper from the inside of an old hot water cylinder for the flashings we are still tying to find one going cheap. Also a carpet layer friend of ours come across some old vinyl for the floor. But the best recycling tip is to simply talk and listen. This has really helped out garden grow.

  33. Shelley Newbery says

    I use old Milo and Coffee tins to keep my seeds and knick nacks etc. I have one I call magic seeds and the kids love it. They are always facinated to know what it its. I have just thrown a mixture of different seeds in there. I wish I could see into their brains and see what they are imagining will grow from the magic seeds.

  34. Jackie Welham says

    Being given all the coffee grinds from my friends work and putting it into the compost bin

  35. Kris Kennett says

    When we replaced our carpet, we cut up pieces to put around the young trees and on the top of the compost bins. It keeps the weeds down around the trees, and keeps the compost moist and warm helping to facilitate decomposition.

  36. Deborah Brown says

    Just what I need for my winter garden clean up.

  37. Add shredded office paper to your compost heap or wormery.

  38. Lee Tindle says

    would love to win a pair of these. Just getting into gardening and could do with some tools

  39. I would love to win these, my old shears are past it and makes pruning the hedges and shrubs hard work, but with these it would be so much easier.

  40. Ilse Botes says

    My best tip ever, born out of poverty, is to use the wooden frame from the inside of an old bed base as the frame for your vegetable patch. A slightly raised bed for no outlay. The added bonus is that the horsehair (or whatever it is) acts as a weed suppressor until it becomes composted, by which time the weeds have gone. I have only been able to look at these wonderful Fiskars pruners, now I have a chance of winning some – yay!!!.

  41. Mel Doogan says

    I make my own liquid fertiliser in a lidded plastic rubbish bin, with horse or cow manure (organic), seaweed collected from the beach and rinsed, and some blood and bone, Fill up with water and leave 2-3 months, then used diluted, the plants love it!!

  42. We protect our tomato seedlings (which are in a fairly windy spot) with chopped up plastic bottles- it works a charm.

  43. Oooh what a super giveaway! I am a new convert to your magazine and cant believe i havent come across it before! I can tell it will become a regular read in my house- thankyou! My garden recycling tip; Adding left over coffee grinds to our heavy clay based soil seems to be working pretty well – the plants seem to be flourishing!

  44. Tricia Sleeth says

    Hi. We live by the sea and are lucky enough to eat lots of fish so we bury all fish skeletons and guts after filleting deep in our veg garden wonderful fertilizer.

  45. Nikki Hofmann says

    I would love to win these so I can tackle all those winter pruning jobs. 🙂

  46. Stephanie Liebert says

    As an avid gardener and a pet lover, I am always looking for ways to protect plants and seedlings from exuberant cats and elderly dog!
    Old metal rabbit hutches are a great solution – I look out for them in kerbside recycling collections – they are usually quite light to carry home and it doesn’t matter if they are a bit battered. They are tall enough to allow the plants to grow, and offer easy protection.

  47. Thank you so much for such an excellent giveaway! You really don’t know how much I would love to win these – my hands and shoulders have become so weak in recent years.
    I like to recycle large plastic bottles by taking off the lids and cutting out the bottoms then using them for mini cloches when I plant out vege plants. Gets them off to a better start. As long as I remember to take the “cloche” off before the plants get too large and soft. Keeps the birds off the lettuces etc while they are establishing, too.

  48. What a fantastic opportunity. I put used coffee grinds at the base of my roses, this helps with keeping some of the bugs away. I also put crushed eggshells on top of my soil as well to help keep slugs and snails of my plants.

  49. These would be perfect for pruning my roses. Thanks.

  50. Fiskars tools are great – these would make a great addition to my collection

  51. Lois Hampstead says

    Love Fiskars and love your magazine. Microgreens are my tip – can grow summer and winter but especially good in winter on a sunny windowsill. I recycle ice cream & take away containers or old colanders – anything you can put a few holes in will do , add some seed raising mix and sow your seeds reasonably thick. I’ve got red cabbage , basil, mustard, lettuces.chia and radish all ready to be snipped and added to sandwiches or sprinkled over soups or baked potatoes etc .

  52. carolyn abraham says

    i would love to win this as i have just started to garden

  53. No filing system in my house! the lawnmower ‘ate’ my loppers and the blade is sick now too.
    Maybe I should be grateful somebody tried to help.

  54. Hi There,
    Tying anything up in the garden, I just use grasses. A number of fine leaves work well to tie up tall plants and just become part of the garden after their job is done. No plastic or string to get rid of.

  55. Kirstine says

    I would love to win these tools, I don’t really have any tips as I only just moved to a house with my own full size section after years of apartment/townhouse life! I need to build up a collection of tools to maintain everything. As a industrial design student we were shown the pruners by our ergonomics teacher over 15 years ago and we were so impressed by the rotating handle design – winning them would be great!

  56. These loppers look ideal for rose pruning, and great for my less than agile hands.My house is old and I am old(and feel it at times!) but my garden is brand new! They would be just what the doctor ordered! Annette

  57. Would love to win these great garden tools, thanks..

  58. Wow, what a lovely give-away. These would be great in my garden. Thanks.

  59. Jacqueline says

    I am always borrowing my friends Fiskas Loppers, they are fantastic and make trimming my hedge so much easier, in fact I can get quite carried away knowing I only have them on loan for a short time. I would just loooove to win these amazing tools. Your magazine is great, so many articles of interest.

  60. Fiona Wymark says

    I use old toilet roll inner and cut down paper tubes to get my peas off to an early start, especially good if winter was wet cold and early and you didn’t get them in in time in autumn!! Pack icecream containers with the tubes, fill with potting mix, sow 2 peas per tube, water and leave somewhere sheltered. Plant outside when seedlings are at first leaf stage.

  61. Love the magazine and thank you for the opportunity to win these fantastic tools:)

  62. broken airing racks can be dismantled and used for climbers in the garden. the loppers would be introduced to the noxious and invasive weeds hanging over the fence from my neighbours gardens

  63. When we are pruning our overgrown garden, mainly NZ natives, I throw the branches over the fence and our goat “recycles” them for us. It certainly saves on the amount of prunings we have to get rid of!! Would love a new pair of secateurs to assist with all the pruning I need to do.

  64. I got the holiday progamme kids using those plastic sandwich boxes as mini glass houses to raise their mustard and cress in.. it was so much fun. 🙂 we put plastic animals in there and made them into jungles

  65. I use broken spade handles and old garden forks etc as support for tomatoes and beans. Looks rustic. Love fiskars products and have various scrapbooking fiskar tools <3

  66. It would be perfect as I will move finally to a house with a garden

  67. Claire Mc Ternan says

    just moved my chooks into the Hotel Glass House, they do a splendid job through out the winter.

  68. OMG I want them soooooooo much. To keep iceberg lettuces fresh for weeks – remove conical shaped core from whole head, being careful not to not disturb the leaves, fill the hole with cold water. Turn head upright to tip water out and drain for a little bit – put into fine plastic bag (like the supermarket veggie ones) and put into your vegetable bin in the fridge. Do not close the bag. This was told to me by an old Greek man years ago and have never had to waste lettuce because it hasn’t been used for a week. Keeps crisp and fresh.

  69. Tip – always make sure you thoroughly clean and completely dry all gardening tools before putting them away – stops them rusting.

  70. Neil Burton says

    Tip – Our few roses are in pots and putting whole banana skins on surface to fertilize often results in bird activity tossing the whole skin out! So I now cut the skins up in many pieces with kitchen scissors and scatter them around the potted surface – much more successful and you can scratch them into the top surface of the soil for better effect. Great give-a-away! Thanks for the opportunity to enter.

  71. I use my sons empty formula cans to raise seedlings in before planting them into the garden.

  72. I have the fiskars hand pruners and find them so easy to use so would love the lopers which would be much easier for my old hands.

  73. I use old yogurt pots to plant my seeds in. It’s a great seed starting container.

  74. Hang supermarket bags in the fruit trees to scare away the birds. Looks messy but works.

  75. Margot Ferrick says

    The lopper or pruners could be the answer to my garden woes! I need the help.

  76. With the log fire now burning most winter days the garden is regularly ‘sprinkled’ with the ashes from the fire. It’s great for the garden and the plants seem to thrive as a result.

  77. We haven’t had any new gardening tools here for a while. I love Fiskars tools for my indoor crafts so would love to have a set for the garden too!

  78. Cool giveaway, needed some extra loppers last weekend as we did a Lions project and cleared someones driveway for them! Chooks are excellent for the garden, not too many eggs from them at the moment though! Mussel buoys make great planters, if there is a farm near you, they are always throwng out old ones with holes etc. Cut them in half, make some drainage holes and prop up using some wee bits of timber. The black plastic retains the heat well and you can also build your supports higher, no bending to garden! Even our community garden here uses them
    http://www.stewart-island-news.com/files/SIN_October_10.pdf

  79. This is the time of year to plant garlic. To give them a good start, soak the bulbs in water for a couple of weeks. This will accelerate sprouting. Plant the bulbs when they have started to sprout. I have used this method in previous years and it works well!

  80. My kids and I play badminton with the white butterflies.It gets rid of them!!! Everyone should try it!!

  81. A tip to keep birds from scratching dirt on to paths.
    Put little sticks about 25-30cms into the ground along the area where the birds are a problem. Then wind the tape from old recording tapes around the sticks, this tape glitters in the light and moves in the wind which the birds don’t like.

  82. Catherine Anne Gee says

    It would be lovely to win either of the Fiskars tools.!! My handy hint is to use old steel vacuum tubing , cut to different sizes, drill holes in the top and hang as wind chimes in the garden !!They make a lovely sound on those windy days !

  83. Catherine Anne Gee says

    It would be lovely to win either of the Fiskars tools.!! My handy hint is to use old steel vacuum tubing , cut to different sizes, drill holes in the top and hang as wind chimes in the garden !!They make a lovely sound on those windy days !!!

  84. My wifes old stockings are great for tying up plants to garden stakes. Especially good for tomatoes. Strong but stretchy.

  85. Patrick Henaghan says

    Fiskars have a great name for quality. I am sure the ratchet action would make my pruning easier. I buy trailer loads of aged calf shed manure, and find it wonderful. Saves a lot of weeding, and everything grows really well,

  86. H McConachie says

    Would love some new trools as have just had to take over doing all the gardening from my husband

  87. Miranda Onland says

    That video demonstration of the tools are awesome. Love to win them!!!

  88. Helen Page says

    Our many roses need alot of pruning and our blunt shears and loppers make the job very arduous. Add to this my arthritis in my hands which makes the job one I do not look forward to each year. I would so appreciate pruners that are designed with ease of use

  89. Craig Stockdale says

    Need these to help with our big rose prune each year

  90. Michelle Burrow says

    I would love to win the loppers, as we have owned the exact same pair for a few years now, but they were stolen a few nights ago, and its pruning season. HELP

  91. Pruning in narow spaces – use a clothes peg to grasp branch.

  92. glynis easton says

    I have heard how fantastic Fiskars pruners and loppers are and I am due to replace my old ones. I use old venetian blinds cut up for plant name markers in my garden and they last for years ( I could guarantee 25 years just like Fiskars!!)

  93. Joanne James says

    If I require a pot for a plant I always check out the second hand shops first. Besides being cheaper, you can always find something unique, even if its original use was not for plants. I think a pre-loved item brings more character to the garden.

  94. Lorna Rush says

    There are a lot of very good ideas. Some I hadn’t thought of but would work well.
    Many I can put into practice in the garden.
    Im new to computing so I sent my tip & hopfully it will be entered in the Friskar Giveaway
    Cheers

  95. Faye Taylor says

    I have recently lost my hand pruners and I would love a new pair!!
    My tip is to grow comfrey and to harvest the leaves and add to your liquid manure mixture. Your plants will love you for it.

  96. Veronica Donaldson says

    Hi, Some great tips here that I look forward to trying out. Thanks.

  97. D J Thompson says

    Pruners would come in handy as its time to get the roses under control! My tip grow from seed as not only cheaper but you get healthier plants plus cuttings are an easy way to propagate new plants

  98. Namaste, just starting the grow your own food obsession. The tips above are great reading and I will incorporate these into my gardening exploits. Thanks Julie

  99. Brian Payne says

    What a great prize to win!!
    I have cut the bottom off several large plastic paint buckets, then put the open buckets over the top of my new small tomato plants to help protect them from the wind etc.

  100. Wow! My wonderful partner has a painful muscle condition but he hates to let that stop him getting stuck into the garden! He grows SO much for our table. Always fresh, always tasty, and always free of chemicals. So good…I am the most lucky lady 🙂 He made a white butterfly-proof cloche out of old windows and frames. He is very resourceful as we can only be on one wage. He would find it much easier and safer to keep the trees pruned with FRISKARS loppers. Thank you for giving us a chance 🙂

  101. Max Tregonning says

    Having just attended a rose pruning demonstration run by the Manawatu Rose Society, when I opened my newspaper to find the gardening page was also dedicated to rose pruning the notice about this giveaway jumped out at me as if I was meant to win the pruning gear.

    Apart from having used old panthose for tying up plants for many years, what I have found very useful is to cut panels of reinforcing mesh for trellising or climbing frames. They work equally well against a wall or freestanding with a steel standard at each end. Good for broad beans or similar, and when against a north facing wall for tomatoes or runner beans.

  102. Being a rose buff I like the right equipment for pruning e.g. lopers & pruners & Fiskars hand gear sounds ideal for my roses … 25 years sure proves their quality.

  103. My grandma’s pruning equipment is delapidated and worn. She’s in desperate need of new pruners and lopers for her treasured garden (her haven).

  104. Diane Cotter says

    Would love to win either of these as the ones I am using are getting rather old.

  105. Denis Dawson says

    We have four compost bins and a worm farm and nothing organic apart from difficult weeds leaves the section.

  106. I have had a pair of Fiskars loppers for years, they have been amazing, sadly they have seen better days and could do with replacing….if you live in the country like us and collect your own roof water I place a kneehi stocking over the end of the pipe feeding the tank I’m always amazed at what I collect….

  107. Rittie Kee says

    Hi Lopers look good.

  108. Carole Evans says

    I guess my garden resembles a tip with all the recycled bits and bobs but it works….sun umbrella skeletons make great climbers, I have some pool steps one end of the broad beans, I use all the papers as mulch, countless fridge shelves , an old shop glass display cabinet on its side as a type of cold frame/glasshouse, two old metal swings for beans, old farm fence posts and power poles, old baths and concrete tubs as containers, clear plastic on the weeds kills them quicker than black, in fact I have had to go and look at all this stuff because it simply loses its old identity, I never throw out before looking at another use for its life and I am so very glad that now this is no longer considered being a weirdo!

  109. Len Krippner says

    Our hand pruner has seen better days and we would love to win a new set . Thanks hoping we are lucky .

  110. I love great tools, especially garden tools, and would be delighted with these!
    My best recycling tip is to join the recycling networks that are popping up around the place. Do you know about Freecycle, and AskShareGive?
    On Freecycle you can join your local group and offer or request free goods. Asksharegive is a site where you can offer or request goods or free services.
    The gift economy idea is so heartwarming, and people are usually likeminded souls who treat you well.
    I’ve got some really useful stuff that other people didn’t have a use for any more, but would be hard to sell. And passed on my useful stuff, too!

  111. The Fiskar hand pruner is fantastic to use, so little effort needed for a really good clean cut. it really does pay to buy good quality tools.

  112. Do you know about the recycling websites that you can use to offer or request free goods and services? They work on the idea of a gift economy.

    Freecycle has local groups that you can join, and is for free goods only.
    AskShareGive is very new still, a few months old, and people all over NZ are only just hearing about it. Here you can offer or request free goods or free services. Some people ask for a swap of some kind. You have a profile (if you want) and are encouraged to leave feedback about the exchanges you have, so that people can get an idea of how genuine the receiver is.

    As well as re-using useful stuff, you also get to meet likeminded people who care about community and the planet. : ) .. and be reminded that the world is full of people like you, kind, open, trusting and goodhearted!

  113. Alison Le Comte says

    I would love some new pruners and then perhaps I could get my husband to help with the pruning.

  114. Would love a pair of these as I broke mine helping my daughter clean up her garden

  115. peter deverill says

    I have had a pair of fiskers loppers for years & they punch well above there weight

  116. Debbie Dalby says

    I keep all scraps and compost them. Its great on the garden and saves having to throw them away or buy compost from the store!

  117. Karen Taylor says

    When my washing machine died I took it apart and have cleaned up the bowl and it now has a 4 foot tomato plant growing in it. I used the outer casing of the machine as a mini glasshouse in which the tomato is growing, and I took the remaining motor and metal to the recycling centre. No waste there which is a nice feeling in our throwaway society:)

  118. I use old flax leaves to tie up plants in the garden

  119. These would be great for my wife to use!

  120. Linda Buchanan says

    Tie up roses using old stockings.

  121. Tim McGowan says

    To energise my compost bin I collect seaweed off the beach,dry it on the lawn then mow it up with my mower set on high,this tipped on to the compost increases the composting process
    adding great nutrient to the bin as well.I try to do this 3 or 4 times while filling each bin.

  122. Adrianne Beer says

    After I hab pruned my Hydrangers , as I have just done, I put the flower heads back into the plants so any late frost will not settle onto the new buds. I live in the Waikato and frosts are often in August and can be quite severe

  123. Sheryl Gleeson says

    Some new loppers to replace my very worn ones would be great! I use old carpet to line the bottom of pots before filling with soil and plants, a lot lighter than pebbles and still allows good drainage 🙂

  124. Paul Purves says

    All organic waste from the kitchen goes in a covered bucket in the kitchen and then into the compost bin once a week or so. Makes it easier to make sure the scraps end up there rather than in the rubbish bin to be carted off to the landfill.
    I think the bucket was originally a nappy bucket.

  125. The way my garden is looking, some new loppers would come in a treat!

  126. Julie Mitchell says

    What a whole lot of neat ideas. Thanks everyone. My chooks are great food scrap recyclers!

  127. Claire Lambert says

    Yes it would be nice to have some new pruning equipment. I have been using old mussel floats cut in half as planters.

  128. I would love to win the pruning equipment anything to help my hands as I have arthritis. Thank you for the opportunity for entering

  129. Leslie Hill says

    Having owned and co-managed a nursery for several years and now occupied gardening for other people in my spare time, I’ve found it hard to buy a really good pair of secateurs and loppers. I love tidying gardens and sorting the trash from the good stuff and rejuvenating shrubs and trees. I recycle most things even if it means storing it for a few years. We only put out one bag of rubbish every 3-4 weeks. My neighbours put out 1-2 bags every week. I throw out citrus peel but recycle all other food scraps, including coffee grounds.

  130. Judith Willis says

    To enable the many trees we’ve planted become established I soak surrounding ground thoroughly and cover an area of about one metre square around each trunk with old carpet to maintain moisture

  131. Donna Slater says

    My best recycling tip – having the kids use the leftover strawberry plants to plant their own garden for the following year, egg cartons used for planting out seeds and popped straight into the garden, and my fav – crushed garlic, onion, baking soda and mint steeped to give me a great rose spray – figure it works, dont get many aphids! Now just for the pruning… been using the kitchen scissors after my cheap secateurs snapped 🙁 not working so well on the harder wood.

  132. I would love to win a pair of Fiskars Powergear Hand Pruner my old pruners requires alot of my strenght to use them that I do’nt have as much now days due to me hurting my back. If you have poultry especially ducks plant fruit trees in the pen they help fertile you trees and give shade for your poultry and your trees do better too.

  133. I would love some pruners that are easy on the wrist!

  134. Tony Evans says

    I put condys crystals in my sprays to see where I’ve sprayed

  135. Alison Hutchins says

    I cut through old pantihose or kneehighs and use for tying up plants.

  136. Beverley says

    My loppers belonged to my grandfather. They have wooden handles and must be nearly 60 years old! I would really love a new pair.

  137. Shirley Jones says

    The Fiskars pruners are a great help to me as ageing inevitably means my hands lose strength. The loppers would help me keep on top of pruning my shrubs for a bit longer.

  138. Vera and Ian Davis says

    We use old cd for putting around the blacberries to keep the bids works well

  139. J Vicars says

    Wow, what a great prize to win! I am a huge recycler and recyle everything I can. Though summer I like to recycle my grey water from the washing machine outlet and use it to flood irrigate my vegie garden. Water is such a valuable resource and i hate to waste any. Mulching with quality mulch (recycled pruning and kitchen waste etc) also helps reduce the need to water.

  140. I would love to win the Fiskars Powergear Hand Pruners to replace my old pruners that have gone missing! If you ever need extra coffee grounds for your garden, just contact your local cafe. Big cafes go through so much coffee and they are happy to give the grounds away. Happy Gardening!

  141. Use old wool carpet on garden paths as a weed mat… and it’s biodegradable.

  142. Simon Eckersley says

    My recyling tip would be to recycle old nylon stockings to use as garden ties.

  143. I have recently developed trigger thumb so would love a new, kinder hand prunner. I have only had the one pair of pruners in our 33 years of marriage so as you can imagine they are a bit tired.

  144. WOW. Awesome comments, what wonderfully inventive ideas. I rip up old cartons and add them to the compost whenever I put in green matter. Loppers and pruners would come in handy as we have bought a property with lots of roses that need pruning.

  145. Christine says

    I just love my worm bin. nothing into a land fill anymore and the garden just loves the worm wees. should have done it years ago. Try a hungry bin they are fab

  146. I love our worm farm and they love our scraps… Especially our used coffee grinds

  147. Marianne says

    Would love to replace my old pruners– Rose pruning ready to commence!!

  148. Lynda Curin says

    Hi.. I have hens, andcrush-up the used egg shells,and put around my vege plants..great for keeping the snails and slugs at bay…
    Also have used my old fly screens to put over new vege plants,this also has kept the wind, and the hens away, and given them a better chance of growing…
    Another tip, I always rinse empty milk and cream bottles out, and pour onto the garden, the plants love it..
    Lastly… The garden is good medicine.. share your garden with family and friends, and teach your grandchildren all about having fun in the garden too..
    p.s. should I be lucky enough to win the loopers or pruners I will certainly put them to good use..

  149. As a stroke person I find it hard to use garden tools with no strength in my hands so these tools sound the ideal soluntion for me…….!!

  150. Judy Cowie says

    We use old broom handles, timber off cuts etc as stakes in the garden for beans, tomatoes, eggplants etc

  151. Terry Waters says

    When planting tomatoes also place a polythene hose (we use 10mm x 30mm) at an angle towards root which enables watering of roots only.

  152. Alison Junge says

    Would love to win Fisker pruners so my husband don’t have to share the best the ones we have now.

  153. I used old Rimu tongue n groove flooring to create a vertical garden. Using a large circular cutter to make holes and had beautiful hanging petunias growing out of it. Looked fab. Sometimes I used it for lettuce also great for limited space and really complemented my roses. Remember if you are making a timber vegie garden do not use tanilized wood as the chemicals leach into your plants!

  154. Freda Malcolm says

    Hello. You said I could just say Hello, so I say Hello. Hello to you. Hello to my fellow entrants, and hello to all would-be posters who are thinking of entering this wonderful offer by a kind and well respected company in the industry.

  155. Fiskars Garden tools are great, I have got my gloves ready.

  156. To get into that pruning

  157. Mike Coad says

    When finished using any garden tools wash clean & dry. With an old paint brush coat with a waste oil (from the motor mower oil change). Tools will always work better clean especially the fork & spade.

  158. With almost 100 roses to prune and a very bad back, it will take me more than a week to prune them all. I would dearly love some nice sharp tools to make it easier.
    Thanks for this opportunity.

  159. Recycle bamboo stakes fom your garden for peas to grow on as supports. Then using odds and ends of craft wool for tying your peas to the stakes.

  160. Hello, would be great to use some tools that last for more than a season or two!! Roses are waiting for a trim.

  161. My husband is always using my hand pruners so I urgently need a pair to call my own!

  162. Would love to win one of these very essential tools for gardening

  163. jackie mical says

    Hi there
    I try to collect yogurt containers, deli containers and different other suitable containers to start my seedlings or cuttings off each time. Its always nice to give seedlings or cuttings away to other people from your own garden. Thank you for the chance to enter the draw to win a pair of pruners or lopers as mine are years old and do dont give a clean cut every time.

  164. We have not long purchased 5acres which have 57 Fruit trees (apples, plums, peaches,nectarines, pears, quince and that is just what we have seen so far) in the orchard and the loppers would come in handy as the fruit trees are so overgrown. Not sure if they have ever been pruned. Thanks heaps.

  165. Alison Cresswell says

    Use trimmed lopped branches as stakes or use for bean teepees etc. Can still be used for kindling afterwards too

  166. Anne Clark says

    My pruners have done good service but getting past it. We recycle everything we can, all grass clippings go either for mulch or compost, we use cut down plastic bottles as young plant protectors, cut down old pallets for garden stakes. Cardboard used for edges to keep weed growth down. Honey jar lids for beer-raps for slugs and snails. Old curtain netting to keep white butterfly off our brassicas. Happy gardening everyone.

  167. Rolly Cooper says

    to prevent attack from a protuding barbary hedge I place newspaper along its length to protect our bending bodies from thorns. Over time the paper is composting down, Great eh ?
    We use old faulty video tapes, strung out over crops to deter bids, they make a noise in the wind as well as shining in the sun.
    I would lik a new pair of loppers.
    Thankyou

  168. I use Fiskars Hand Pruners at my work and just love them, would like some for myself. My recycle ideas are to reuse broken terrocate pots by digging them half way into garden and putting cacti plants in them

  169. Hi As it’s Rose Pruning time and in reading the easy action of Fiskars both the Pruners & Loppers would be very handy

    Cheers

    JHB

  170. Bryce Hopkins says

    My tip is to allow vegetables such as broccoli to seed to produce your new crop and use old pantyhose to tie up tomatoes.

  171. Jacqui W says

    Since buying my first home, I’ve realised how much I enjoy spending time in the garden! The sunshine in Hamilton today meant 4 hours passed fairly easily and as always, the job is never done. Thanks for all your advice; it really helps out the ‘new’ gardeners!

  172. Hi there
    I never knew about your website, but am glad to have found it! Have found your articles in Your Weekend absolutely fabulous with a wealth of information!

  173. I love your magazine and often feature it on my Interior Design/Lifestyle blog. Always look forward to the new issue.

    Lee ☺

  174. Margaret says

    We use empty plastic drink bottles and icecream containers to protect new seedlings in the vegetable garden, just cut out the bottom of the bottles and leave the cap off and make hole the size of a coffee mug in the bottom of the ice cream container and there you have it , protection from the elements.

  175. I have a long handle extension lopers, great for those high branches. Well priced if you shop around & longer extension pole than most others

  176. Empty cardboard centres of toilet rolls good for growing seeds in and the roots are not disturbed when they are planted out in the garden.

  177. I have used a pair of Fiskars pruners at my mothers and have found them very easy on my arthritic hands.
    In the off growing season I lay corogated cardboard in the garden to stop the weeds from growing then plant through the softened cardboard. Great mulch.

  178. David Hall says

    When planting in a pot, make a drainage/potting mix retention/insect barrier system. A piece of fine mesh covered by a layer of crushed metal or small stones achieves this.

    Use fly-screen mesh. Ask nicely at an aluminium joinery firm and someone might pull an old bit out of the rubbish pile and give it to you. There may be a hole or two and maybe ripped edges but there is likely to be plenty of intact weave. Cut it with secateurs to take a strip of 3:1 ratio, then fold both ends towards the centre, one over the other, to make a square patch, three layers in thickness. Flatten it down. The 1 x 1 square should be about three times the diameter of the drainage hole. For a small pot, the patch may need to be of smaller proportions to fit within the sides of the pot.

    Have clean stones ready, including some very small ones. Position the patch over the hole and weight it down with some larger stones at sufficient points around the edge. This is important if the bottom of the pot is not flat but sloping up slightly towards the hole. Put stones over the patch and right across to the sides of the pot – say, a layer or 2 – 3 cm or more. Taking care not to bump the pot, water the stones, using a soft-spray nozzle. The lubrication and the buoyancy provided by the water will cause the stones to settle into a very compact mass. The smaller stones tend to slide to the bottom. If a stone had got underneath the mesh, stones of a smaller size would wash out, indicating the need to start again.

    Finally, add the bottom layer of potting mix or soil, sprinkling it evenly and compacting gently, so as not to disturb the stones. Then, fill the pot in the usual way

    If you’re short of stones, broken crockery/pottery can substitute, but may need to be broken down fine. Place on several layers of newspaper over concrete and tap mildly with a hammer. Watch out for flying chips. The pieces may be sharp edged and need careful handling.

  179. It took me so long to scroll down (& read) allmthencommemts that I think I deserve two hints.
    We replace our old iron potbelly stove with a new one this
    year. The old one my husband browse down into three section and the make wonderful planters for my bromilieds.
    Also I buy the little plastic white labels for my veggie garden to label my vegetables and they certainly keep the white butterflies away. They are very territorial and stay away if they think another white butterfly is there – works everytime

  180. Davina Tini says

    Hi

  181. stew wait says

    i would love a new pair of lopers as my ones have done a lot of work and i would like to retire them

  182. Lieda Brooks says

    My husband changes the oil in the car and we use the waste oil on the fences. Keeps them from rotting. So easy to apply with an old broom and don’t need to clean the fence first, just slap it on. A warm day is best as it thins the oil and makes it easier to brush.

  183. R Roberts says

    Ice Cream containers are used for storing all sorts in including packets of seeds, putting drainage holes in and using as seedling starter pots and as water containers for any smaller pot plants.
    And the lids have been cut up for plant labels and in butterfly shapes to deter the white butterfly.

  184. David Wilton says

    hello, i make garden ties out of flax strips. (cool aye)

  185. Hi, great comp! We have just
    Moved from the city to 12 acre block and have inherited a huge rambling garden and roses everywhere. still trying to come to grips with this garden but have just finished building a chook house made with stuff recycled from an old sty, and have Just been rewarded with our first egg! Yay!

  186. After a weekend in the garden our old loppers are refusing to co-operate so winning some new gardening tools would be perfect! Loving the tips that are coming through…

  187. Hi there. If you have slug or snail problems just sprinkle a thin layer of sand around plants .This stops them crawling over the ground and you dont have to sprinkle poison bait around plants. Cheers.

  188. Katrina Andersen says

    Tea leaves make a great mulch for camellias. Not to forget that when you rinse your milk cartons out first fill with water, shake and use this as a mild liquid manure for your house plants.

  189. Wow I’ve read so many useful tips on this page I feel humbled to add my own. I tie off or tie back any overgrown bits with flax leaves.
    I use these leaves like string for tying off presents, in fine strips, and curl the edges with scissor blade.
    I have used them to make harakeke flowers to attach to a gift.
    I use my trimmings of kiwi fruit and potato vine to make a large cone ( about 1 to 1.5m) to let the sweet peas grow up. Then if I choose I can use the same cone, I have several, as my outside Christmas tree, suitably decorated, and then when it looks a bit tatty it’s tied to the fence, above predator level anyway, and we tie bird liked morsels to it.

  190. Got an old onion that has sprouted in the cubboard? Dont throw it out, bung it in the ground and it will flower and go to seed – Free seeds! Ive had beautiful crops of red and brown onions from these seeds of onions purchased from the supermarket but left a bit too long before they were used.

  191. christine says

    great tools. wish i had some

  192. Jason Lucas says

    Old tyres are excellent for planting watermelons and pumpkins in.

  193. Deborah Brown says

    would love this nice, clean, sharp and shinny new garden tool

  194. put my whole garden in silverbeet this winter as a chook feed. 6 chooks devoured it all to the point of no, or very minimal return. may try rotational feeding next time

  195. Anne Barbour says

    I plant mint in an old bucket to contain the roots and stop it spreading.
    The garden tools will be amazing to help keep the garden in shape.
    Love the magazine site.

  196. These would be so handy as we have just moved into a new house and the gardens etc haven’t been touched for a LONG time!

  197. Loving your magazine… my dad sent me the weblink, thinking my kids and i might enjoy it… definitly do! We have a worm farm, so most food scraps head that way… my kids love pouring the worm tea around the garden and are fascinated by how fast the worms eat the food. great for the garden and for getting the kids interested/involved in gardening too.
    We also cut white butterfly shapes out of plastic milk bottles and attach them around the vege garden some hanging some on sticks to keep the cabbage moths away.

  198. Would love to receive new tools. The loppers would be so appreciated as my old ones have totally given up, and the garden is paying for it!! Thanks 🙂

  199. What wonderful comments other people have made and I have got quite a few tips from them. I do like to put shredded paper from work into my compost bin to help breakdown the vege scraps and grass clippings etc. Would love the pruners with the roll handle as it would help my arthritic hands no end.

  200. Would be a great thank you present to the man of the yard

  201. Rachelle Alexander says

    I like to put layers of paper down before I mulch this helps retain moisture and keep weeds at bay, I also use old sheets ripped up and T-shirts cut up to tie up plants in the vege garden.

  202. FREDA GOUGH says

    Save all your eggshells for putting around the plants to protect them from the snails.

  203. Thanks for letting us enter the competition for the pruners

  204. Thankyou for the chance to win a set of Fiskars Pruners.l certainly am enjoying reading the many comments an ideas people have on here.

  205. Gail Taylor says

    I find that keeping your tools sharp – whether it be your pruning tools, or digging tools – makes the job a lot easier & cleaner. I keep mine sharp with a whet stone, rubbed over a few times at the end of each gardening session. I’d love the pruners, as I’ve got MASSES of roses to do!

  206. Stephen Tuck says

    I would love to win a pair of Fiskars PowerGear Loppers for my mother. She is a keen gardener and she suffers from arthritis in both of her hands, so I am sure they would be very useful.

  207. Keith Hobson says

    Use newspaper to fold into seed pots and fill with potting mix. Put in the seed and plant directly into the garden. Clean and spray all tools after every use.

  208. Maureen Lindsay says

    I would love to win the pruners or loppers to help me get my garden in order as my last pair broke a few months ago. Love reading about all the ideas other people have listed. Will be helpful in my gardening endeavours

  209. Jean Miller says

    My husband and I live at the seaside and we have this amazing grapefruit tree and since we will be moving on shortly I thought I would try planting some pips from the tree not really expecting any success but surprise I ended up with two plants so have potted them and keep them inside so I can watch their progress.

  210. I hope I win these as I get frustrated when can’t cut while pruning

  211. David Harrison says

    Problem CATS! Got rid of them by applying lots of sheep pellets around the garden seems to do the trick only problem now garden full of sheep s…t

  212. David Harrison says

    Ok then POO!

  213. Lucy Davis says

    After a long day in the garden soak your feet in warm tea to get rid of any unwanted odours!!

  214. Bill Williams says

    Hi ,

    Suffering from Arthritis myself it would be great to “update” with these……

    …..Heres hoping !!!

  215. Hi, awesome prize, thanks.

  216. Well pruning time again and I need a new pair of pruners. Composted leaves are making fantasic mulch for the garden

  217. Hine Tawhara says

    What to do with the pot ash from your fire? Spread it around the base of your citrus trees. Would love to win either of these great tools. Mine are getting a bitold and blunt like me.

  218. Helen Campbell says

    Good tips on this site – will have to wait for a rainy day when I can read them all. Hope I win – they look easy to use!

  219. Robyn Tuck says

    My arthritic hands would love to win a pair of those awesome Friskars PowerGear Loppers.

  220. Heather Templeton says

    I would love some new power tools for my country garden. They look easy to use and the colour easy to find.
    Banana skins for your roses would be my tip.

  221. Maree Lawlor says

    My neighbour has a large cabbage tree which sheds lots of nuisance ‘leaves’ I collect them, tie them up in bundles and use for firelighters.

  222. Joyce Hambling says

    My well worn secateurs have pruned thousands of roses with my help, and we are both wearing out! but Fiskars tools are my choice above any other,cant think of a better birtday gift to myself!
    Any spare space in my flower garden is filled with some form of brassica for interest and economy as well.

  223. Most plumbers have short lengths of plastic pipe free to kind homes. My favourite size is 150diameter and 200+ high Place over small plants so you dont lose them, they offer protection and water is directed down to the plant roots

  224. My hands could do wonders with those loppers, I’m trying to clear a small jungle by hand!
    put me in the drawer please
    Nat x

  225. Alison Cresswell says

    What a great prize . Thank You

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