Hand Tools and Techniques for Home Landscaping

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Medieval herbalists needed to collect the mandrake plant whole, as its root contains a natural anesthetic that was the most powerful sedative and pain-killer known before ether was discovered in the 19th century. It often had a root that was bifurcated in the shape of human legs and was reputed to holler fatal recriminations upon being dug up. So the alchemists used goats or dogs to do the pulling. If you find your manzanita or junipers muttering to you as they come out, you can try harnessing the household milch goat or the hounds to the Root Jack.

If your homestead beasts are as spoiled rotten as mine, it would be more effective, I'd bet, to attach a come-along. You will surely want to use a come-along when the job is too much for a Root-Jack. They can extract roots of large trees, put a strain on leaning tree trunks so you can fell them in the direction you want, move rocks if properly harnessed, and pull out your Jeep when it gets stuck in the mud.

Come-alongs come (along) in two versions. One is a conventional block and tackle, a strong line wrapped several times around a pair of compound pulleys with several reels in each. Each pulley has an eye on it. Tie one eye to a stake and the other to the top of the Root Jack or anything else needing a strong hand laid on. Pull the free end of the line and the multiple wraps will multiply your effort several times. Out comes the root. Some of these are very lightweight and are made to be portable in a hunter's pocket for hoisting deer on a tree limb for dressing, or for getting camp food high enough off the ground that bears can't get it. Others are large enough to hoist an automobile.

The other type comes equipped with a steel cable and a ratchet mechanism and handle. It is a small winch, really. The ratchet multiplies the power of your effort, moving the cable an inch or more for each yard you crank the handle. They come in half ton, one ton, and larger hand crank models. There's also a version powered by a small gas engine.

Come-alongs have an advantage over fixed hand or electric winches that attach to Jeeps or 4WD trucks. Both ends are loose, so they can be used to pull anything to which you can attach the come-from end. And you can pull anywhere you want, so long as there's an anchor for the come-to end.

Carriers

There are always tons of grubbed-out soil and rocks, scruffed-out logs, and shrubbery to be hauled. A truck is nice if you can get it in. And get it out, loaded. Those famous metal-trimmed stained plywood garden carts with spoke wheels are fine for light loads. Don't try filling one with rocks as I did once, and take it bumping down a step. I collapsed a wheel.

A contractor's wheelbarrow is good for short hauls. Its main advantage is ease of dumping; it was designed to haul concrete, sand, or other material that will pour out when it is stopped suddenly and just let tip. A two-wheeled barrow is easier to balance than a one-wheeler. They're available for $150 or so from the tool suppliers.

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