Garden tools are indispensable helpers for every owner of a personal site. This equipment greatly simplifies the difficult work, including lawn and garden cleaning. For many decades, a landscape rake has been the most popular device to use. The yard rake is a reliable assistant for the cultivation of the land and the collection of grass and berries, as well as for the care about the lawn and decorative flower strips.
- Spreading and leveling ground coverings
- Lawn and garden cleaning
- Cultivation of the land
- Collection of grass and berries
- Spreading and mixing compost
- Spreading gravel and stones
- Leveling or grading soil
When talking about a garden rake, most people usually imagine a tool with a long handle, equipped with a metal bar and tines on it. By the way, this bar has a special name – the ridge. But only a simple garden rake looks like this. As there are various types of this household equipment, they are all different in design and purpose.
Guide on Most Used Landscape Rakes
A rake is a simple and versatile tool that helps to collect berries, clean lawns, and gardens from leaves and dead grass. The design of the classical instrument is very simplistic and has remained unchanged for many years. The rake consists of two elements:
- Lever;
- Ridge with tines.
Depending on the purpose, there are many types of rakes that vary in length, number of tines, thickness, and material used for their production.
Manufacturers also use various materials to produce the ridge, and this element acts as a decisive thing in price in the majority of cases.
This type of rake ridge always has a low price, but the product is more likely to quick deformation and heavyweight.
? Hardened steel
Advantages – a long period of serving. Disadvantages – large mass, high price range.
? Hardened aluminum
These products are lightweight and have an acceptable price.
These items are bad for performing hard routines. For example, a rake with this type of ridge will be suitable for collecting berries or cleaning the lawn grass from small garbage.
Choosing Best Rake for Your Purposes
For each type of work, experienced gardeners recommend using different types of rakes. The classic rake is used to clean garbage and fallen leaves, loosen and cultivate the soil, breaking up the soil’s clods after digging, removing roots and weeds from the soil. There are many types of best landscape rakes for every purpose. Let me give you a short guide on landscaping rake you might need.
? Simple garden (landscape) rake
They are used by gardeners and ordinary homeowners to break large clumps of land that remain after digging a site and removing rocks from yard. They loosen and level the soil before planting in the spring and after harvesting when you prepare the site for winter. In fact, a simple standart rake can replace several tools at once. It acts like lawn leveling rake and landscaping rake for rocks removing.
Usually, a garden rake has 9-15 tines, but there are special types intended only for lawn care. In such tools, the amount of tines is larger, it often goes up to 32-39 pieces, and the ridge width reaches 770mm. They are used to clean the grass gently and remove even the smallest debris.
? Aerator rakes
Gardeners and lawn owners know how important it is for the land to remain fertile. One of the first means of caring for the soil and maintaining its good condition is the aeration process. Aeration provides the saturation of the soil with oxygen. And to do this, you might need aerator rakes. These tools make small holes in the soil, so it can ventilate and get the essential oxygen that is important for fertilizing.
? Hay rake
Hay rakes usually have long ridge with short, widely spaced tines (7-9 pieces). They are used to collect mowed grass and to harvest hay manually. It is very convenient to collect dry grass due to the shape of the ridge and the distance between the landscape rake tines.
? Fan rake
They differ greatly in form from the ordinary landscaping rakes. Their long thin tines begin to diverge from the base in a semicircle and look like a fan. The ridge of such a rake is shifted to the middle of the tines; it no longer serves as a base but gives rigidity and reliability to the structure.
The fan rakes are used for cleaning lawns and gardens, for example, from fallen leaves. The metal fan rake is perfect for working with turf. Because the item has good rigidity, it can also thin out the lawn or remove mowed grass if necessary. Plastic and nylon fan rakes are more suitable for garbage collection and lawn cleaning.
? Garden hand rake
This is a small garden rake, usually 10-15 cm long. They can be straight with 4-7 tines and fan with 7-9 teeth. Such a tool is used for processing small areas, for example, for loosening or leveling flower stripes. One of the most used varieties of hand rake is a cultivator and a landing fork. They have three pieces of tines. They are especially popular among landscape designers and garden keepers.
? Pond rake
The type of rakes has a much wider working section, which allows you to quickly process the water zone. Such a rake weighs about 1 kg and helps to clean the pond or reservoir from seaweed and moss.
FAQs About How To Use a Landscape Rake
Here you can find the answers to the most popular questions about the landscape rakes.
What Is a Landscape Rake?
A simple garden rake is the most universal tool for the yard and lawn care. It can be used for loosening, crushing clods of earth, cleaning leaves and garbage, revive the lawn, and doing many other things. But there are many types of rakes for every task.
What Is a Landscape Rake Used For?
As I have already mentioned, landscape rakes can be different. For beds, a lawn, harvesting leaves, or collecting hay – it all depends on your needs and goals. From single tools to special rock rake for tractor – you can find the best rake deals.
How to Use a Landscape Rake to Remove Rocks?
Removing rocks from yard can be a rather tough process if you don’t have the special tool. To handle this, you’re gonna need the simple landscaping rake. Just process your garden with the rakes like you always do it, and move the rocks to the asphalt or special scoop.
How to Use a Handheld Landscape Rake?
Before using a landscaping rake, it is better to check whether the rake will be convenient for you. Try pulling the products towards yourself, and also check how thick the metal is. After you’re done, use the rake for the needed purpose.
How to Сhoose a Landscape Rake: The Bottom Line
When choosing a rake, it is worth paying attention not only to the type but also the quality of the raw materials from which they were made. The most durable are galvanized iron and steel.
Before you make a purchase, you should decide on what purpose the tool will be used. Whether it’s gravel rake, sand rake, or a simple garden rake, do not forget that it should be comfy for you. Wooden and plastic rakes are designed primarily for harvesting dried grass, leaves, and small twigs. When choosing, pay attention to the length of the lever. If its too short, or vice versa, then it will be uncomfortable to work with. Put the lever next to you and see if it reaches the armpits – this is the perfect length for you.
Dear readers, I need your feedback. Do you know how to level ground by hand rakes? Which leveling rake can also be used for this purpose? Please, let me know in the comment section below.
Thanks so much for this! Some parts of this are still a mystery to me, and it’s good to have useful guide to go back to.