It can be easy to neglect essential garden tool care when there's so much to get done in the garden itself. However, blunt, rusted tools are only going to fall apart quicker and damage your plants in the long run. That's why, picking up a few garden tool sharpening kit essentials can be a good idea – especially as we head towards winter and you prepare to put your tools way for the season.

When it comes to sharpening pruning shears (and other tools), there's a plethora of things you can use. The majority of gardeners reach for a diamond sharpening stone (like this Felco one from The Home Depot) or a whetstone (like this from Amazon). Gently stroking blades against these tools in the direction of their angle will help sharpen them up, but take care not to swipe the blade back and forth (which may cause more damage).

You can also have a portable sharpening file (like this from Amazon) to hand to sharpen tools as you work in the yard. Wearing a tool belt (I like this leather one from Amazon) makes it more convenient to carry around with you. Likewise, don't forget to store both your tools and sharpening tools safely, like in this sage green garden tool caddy from Amazon.

No matter if you have pruners, spades, or a hori hori knife to sharpen up, the below tools can help get the job done. Take care to wear protective gardening gloves (these ones from Walmart have leather palms) when working with the sharpeners, and apply some oil to the tools afterwards to protect them (this tool oil kit from Amazon has everything you need for this).

As well as sharpening your gardening tools, it's important to clean garden tools. Not only will this keep them in pristine condition, it will help reduce the spread of pests and diseases in your garden.

Once cleaned and sharpened, you can store garden tools over winter to prevent them becoming damaged. They should be kept somewhere dry and secure, so they are safe from the elements. This wooden tool shed from Amazon is one of the most stylish storage solutions I've seen.

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