Sharpening our Pruning Tools with Jill Andrew

From left to right: MPP Jill Andrew, Lynn, Annie, Giselle and Zeny sharpening hand pruners, loppers and garden shears in Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard. Photo credit: OrchardPeople.com.

Tools are important for the volunteers of the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard. We use hand pruners and loppers to prune our fruit trees annually. Correct annual fruit tree pruning improves tree health and the quality of our harvest.

We also use our tools for trimming shrubs and deadheading the plants in our pollinator garden. So our tools need to be sharp, clean and in excellent condition. That’s why each year we gather for our tool sharpening day. And this year we had a special guest: Our local MPP Jill Andrew came to help us!

One lopper and a number of cleaned and sharpened hand pruners laid out on a large rock.
After sharpening, hand pruners or loppers should be able to cut cleanly through a branch. This collection of tools includes many belonging to friends and neighbours who wanted some help getting their tools in tip top shape. Photo credit: OrchardPeople.com.

We worked on tools from our orchard shed. We also sharpened tools that belonged to our friends and neighbours! This is how we got the job done:

  • We had three types of sharpening stones, a Corona Carbide Sharpening Tool, A Felco sharpening tool and a Black Arkansas sharpening stone.
  • We also brought along mineral oil to lubricate the tools opening and closing mechanisms. You can also use WD40.
  • We had rags to wipe the tools clean after sharpening the blades.
  • With instruction from Susan, the team got to work and by the end of the morning, even the oldest tools were sparkling clean and sharp.
Woman waters small pawpaw tree with a small white bucket. In the background is an orchard shed with a mural of children and fruit trees on it.
Jill Andrew waters a young pawpaw tree in Ben Nobleman Park. Pawpaws are a native tree in North America with a fruit that tastes like a mix of banana, mango and custard!

It’s also been quite dry for a few weeks, so the team spent some time watering the pollinator garden and Jill Andrew helped Susan water our newly planted, native North American pawpaw trees. These trees will eventually produce a delicious fruit that tastes like a mix of mango, banana and custard! But it may take up to 7 years until we can enjoy the harvest.

It was a wonderful day and thanks to Jill and the terrific volunteers who participated!

Susan Poizner is one of the volunteers for The Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. She is the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com.  Susan is the author of four fruit tree care books including Grow Fruit Trees Fast: A Beginner’s Guide to a Healthy Harvest in Record Time. She is also the host of the Orchard People podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.