This is a commissioned post in collaboration with Gardena
Well, the terrible weather has certainly been a challenge when it comes to the gardening this month, but I’ve finally managed to get out there and tackle some jobs on the list!
If you’ve been reading the blog lately, you’ll know that I’m working with leading garden watering and tool brand Gardena this year, using their products to help take care of the garden and make the most of our outdoor space. I’ve already created a lovely new herb garden using their NatureUp! vertical gardening system, and this month I’ve been trying out the combisystem range of tools.
The Gardena combisystem gardening tools range
Gardena’s combisystem is a clever interchangeable tool system that really cuts down on the amount of storage space you need for your garden tools. The principle behind it is a universal handle, to which you attach the relevant tool head.
The telescopic feature on the combisystem handle allows you to work at height, or from a distance at ground level. There are two lengths of handle available, I used the smaller one which has a range of 160 – 290cm. For really high jobs, the larger handle covers 210-390cm.
To vary the handle length, you just press the button and slide the end out. It’s a lovely smooth mechanism, and there are notches at 26cm intervals along the shaft which snap closed to lock your desired length into place.
The handle is made of aluminium, so it’s nice and light, which is important when you’re holding it up for periods of time. It’s still really sturdy though. I like the fact that it’s oval-shaped rather than round, it feels really comfortable to hold.
It only takes a few seconds to attach a tool, you just pop it into the end of the handle and tighten the dial for a really secure fit. There’s a wide range of tool attachments available, so you can pretty much cover all of your gardening jobs with combisystem.
We’re still working on our garden re-design, so there’s plenty of work for combisystem to tackle! Let’s take a closer look at a few of the attachments in action.
Using the combisystem gardening tools range
The first job on my list was to prepare the soil in one of our new beds, ready for planting. We had all the beds rotavated when the lawn was re-laid, but the recent heavy rain had really flattened the soil, so I loosened it up with the Grubber attachment.
The three sturdy prongs are made from coated steel, so they won’t rust and are really hard-wearing. It’s a very compact tool head, which means you can work in small areas without damaging your plants. The telescopic handle allows you to reach right to the back of a bed without having to stand on the soil.
Once the soil was nicely broken up, I needed to level it off before putting any plants in. The Rake attachment is a great option for getting this job done really quickly.
Again, the tool attachment is made from strong coated steel, so as well as dealing with soil, it will cope with heavy work like raking stones and large amounts of leaves or grass.
Next it was time to change over to the hoe attachment and tackle some weeds.
There are a few different hoe attachments in the combisystem, each designed for a specific job such as weeding paths or dealing with challenging weeds. I used the compact Hoe, which at 14cm wide is ideal for getting into small spaces.
The small size means it’s possible to work really close to the base of plants without damaging them. This attachment would also be brilliant for weeding between closely-planted rows of vegetables. It made tackling the weeds a quick and easy job.
Onto the lawn next. At the moment, our new lawn runs up to the borders without any edging, and we’re going to change that soon by laying bricks all the way around. This will make it easier to mow, and help to stop the grass creeping into the borders. To do it, we need the lawn edge to be nice and straight, so I used the Lawn Edge Trimmer attachment to get a really clean finish.
This attachment works like a spade, cutting through the grass and soil at a 90 degree angle. It’s got a sharp, hardened steel edge which made light work of the cutting, and the flattened bit across the top is sturdy enough to cope with a heavy boot. The lawn edge trimmer created a lovely clean edge, with minimal effort from me.
Later on this summer I’ll be looking specifically at lawn care with more Gardena products, so keep an eye out for that in a couple of months’ time.
As I was on a bit of a roll (and the rain hadn’t returned!), I decided to really put the combisystem’s telescopic handle to the test.
Working at height with the Gardena combisystem
Last job on the list was one of my least favourites – gutter cleaning. I really don’t like doing this job; I have to teeter on a stepladder, and I can never quite reach to get the gutters fully cleared. If ever there was a job for the combisystem’s telescopic handle, it was this one!
At one end, the Gutter Cleaner attachment has a tough plastic scraper for clearing stuck-on dirt, and at the other end there are sturdy bristles for sweeping the gutter clean. You can also attach a hosepipe to add water into the mix. This combination of features allows you to do the whole job from the ground.
This clever little attachment totally transformed an otherwise tricky outdoor job. It was SO much easier than balancing on a ladder, and did a really thorough job in just a few minutes. Being able to attach a hose too made it much easier to shift stubborn debris. What a great tool!
The Gardena combisystem gardening tools range – my verdict
I’ve never used an interchangeable tool system before, so it’s been really interesting to explore the Gardena combisystem.
I think the design is very well thought-through, and the products are lovely quality, practical, and comfortable to use. Before using combisystem, my only hesitation about an interchangeable system was that the attachments might wobble around and not fit securely enough in the handle, but I needn’t have worried. The whole system is very solid and I didn’t experience even a hint of a wobble!
I’m loving the fact that the combisystem takes up so little space too. We’re really tight on storage in our shed, so having to find room for just one handle is brilliant. You can even get a wall rack to keep everything neat and off the floor.
I also really like the fact that the range includes tools for all outdoor jobs, and not just gardening. I may even tackle the gutters on a regular basis now 😉
If you’ve got limited storage space, and are looking for high quality gardening tools that will do the job and stand the test of time, I think Gardena’s combisystem is a great option.
Gardena products are available online and at your local garden centre. I’ve used a small fraction of the attachments from the combisystem range, you can check out the full range here.
How would you use the Gardena combisystem in your garden?
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I was supplied with a combisystem handle and a selection of attachments for this post. All comments and opinions are honest and genuine.
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