A Garden Sickle for Effective Wilderness Control

The humble garden sickle is an effective aid against nettles and docks and other encroaching weeds from the wild! In my view, it's one of the very best garden tools.

This tool has been around for millennia; flint sickles have been found in Palestine and Jordan, dating from more than 10,000 years ago. The development of the sickle played a key role in the agricultural revolution of neolithic times when grasses such as wheat and barley became staple foods for the people of the "fertile crescent".

Sickles are still highly useful tools and they are a worth while addition to the garden tool shed.

Most gardeners who try to cultivate more than just a few square metres of land find that the task multiplies overnight almost. In springtime all the hedges and garden borders quickly become over-run with various weeds and grasses. They appear as if from nowhere - and if you live in the countryside, near to real wild spaces, the problem can be severe. Some kind of wilderness control becomes essential, therefore.

The favoured solution for many people is to break out the noisy strimmer and whiz the garden back into shape. This may be OK and when it works, the results can be impressive.

But many people find that snagged lines and constant breakages make the task less than straightforward. There's also a danger of running through a favourite plant hidden in the long grass. Strimmers can do quite a bit of damage to young trees and shrubs.

Most grass trimmers and strimmers are noisy and quite hard work to operate if the garden is already rather out of control. Brambles and other large plants can snag the line, wrapping themselves around the strimmer's stem, even pulling the garden worker off balance.

If the garden is already pretty tame, then a trimmer can complete the job to a high standard. But if wilderness control is needed, then one solution is to buy a large strimmer or even a brush cutter.

Many people will probably not want to buy and use a full blown brush cutter. These machines are like big strimmers, and often have blades instead of plastic line. They need the user to wear protective gear in order to be safe - gloves, stout trousers and boots and eye protectors. (Even for small garden strimmers you are normally advised to use safety goggles and wear stout boots.)

Some large strimmers also need a special belt to be worn so that the machine can be balanced properly by being attached to it.

And of course, all these modern machines consume energy in the form of gas or electricity. If you are interested in green living, a garden sickle makes a lot of sense as an alternative to modern powered tools.

A simple garden sickle is an under-rated tool for controlling the invading wilderness.

Most herbage can be effectively chopped down in seconds with a few deft strokes of the blade. You can work around precious items such as apple trees and even small plants with reasonable precision. The work is quite good exercise and you can use your hands alternately to spread the fatigue. As you practise, you become more adept at targeting the weeds and leaving the good stuff.

Long-handled sickles are also available - I've not tried one of these yet. When I was very young we sometimes used to try out using the scythe - under supervision. This can be a good option if you have a lot of grass to cut and don't want to use a mower.

The blade should be kept as sharp as possible and you need to sharpen it up regularly as you work. A carborundum stone is easy to use to sharpen the blade. A circular motion is probably the easiest way - on both sides of the blade. People quickly develop their own individual styles when it comes to sharpening tools.

Chopping can be done with either hand, and in either direction in an arcing movement - always well away from the body.

For long, bendy grasses and the like, hold the tops with one hand while chopping low down the stems with the other.

Always remember to keep the blade well away from arms and legs as you work. Practise your skills so that you are not a danger to yourself or others. Keep your garden sickle out of reach of children when it is not in use. Some come with safety guards for storage.

Using a sickle can be very safe once you get the hang of it. You need to develop an acute sense of where all your limbs are in relation to it! You also need to develop your ability to cut accurately and finely, so that you chop exactly what you want - and not what you don't want.

When carrying the garden sickle between parts of the garden, keep the blade down and pointed backwards, away from your body.

Older children sometimes actually enjoy using a sickle! They feature in some computer games, so this may be part of the reason for their allure. It's great exercise, too, so probably should be encouraged in kids that are sufficiently mature. They can make fast work of clearing an area - and learn some skills, too.

Make sure they get adequate supervision and instruction and understand to keep well away from people and pets when using the tool.

Store sharp garden tools such as sickles and scythes in a secure place, preferably with safety guards on the blades. Never leave such tools lying on the ground where they could be tripped over. A well-sharpened blade is as dangerous as a knife.

The garden sickle can be sharpened again and again with a few strokes with a grindstone, so that a fast and accurate cut is achieved. A quality sickle will slice through grasses, nettles, cow parsley, docks and even brambles. It's good to have a lopper or pair of secateurs handy for cutting through larger branches and young trees.

A machete makes a useful tool for similar work. Because the handles and blades of machetes are relatively short, a garden sickle is often the better option, depending upon the nature of the task.

Once the bulk of the work is done, you can always tidy further with a strimmer or a lawn mower, if that suits you.

Personally, I prefer the peace and serenity of working with a sickle compared to the noise and hassle of using a strimmer.

Where to buy a garden sickle

You can find sickles in most decent hardware or gardening stores. Car boot sales are good for used garden sickles and older designs. Amazon has sickles and garden whips available in a variety of styles. Garden whips have longer handles and are more suited to dealing with grasses.

Most sickle blades are angled to get a closer cut to the ground. If you are strongly left-handed it may be worth seeking out a left-handed blade.