Continuing with the theme of last months “tool tips” where I highlighted the virtues of the multi-purpose Hori Hori garden knife; this month I’d like to introduce another useful but unusual garden tool for my faithful readers to consider adding to their already cluttered storage sheds. Unlike last months multi-purpose Hori Hori garden knife, this tool has one singular purpose. This singular purpose is however, well worth it’s limited functionality.

I’m talking about the Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer. The Garden Weasel brand has been around since 1975. They have many garden tools designed mostly for homeowner use in cultivating, weeding and soil aeration. I have the Original Garden Weasel Cultivator for loosening soil and weeds. It is actually my 2nd Garden Weasel. My first one came to NH with me 20 years ago and finally broke last season. I ran right out and replaced it, I love it in the Spring especially.

The Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer comes in 3 sizes depending upon the size of the objects you want to pick up. It is easy to use, and consists of a flexible wire cage on the end of a metal pole. Simply push the rolling cage over the acorns, or nuts you want to collect. The nuts are forced between the flexible wires and trapped inside the wire cage and stay there until you dump out the debris by pulling the wires apart.

I have the “Medium” size gatherer which is perfect for large acorns, walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts and pine cones. No bending saves a lot of time and is as easy as pushing a small carpet sweeper. In addition the manufacturer states that it will also pick up crab apples, small children toys spent shot gun shells, paint balls and other objects. The “Medium” size nut gatherer seems to me to be the most practical size for what most of us will need. It will NOT pick up small acorns less than ¾” in diameter. There is a “Small” size Nut Gatherer available, but at the retail prices of between $34.99 and $44.00 for each, it would probably be better to select which size suits your tasks best and get just one. So far in one weekend I’ve collected 4, five gallon buckets of acorns. That’s 20 gallons of acorns! And I still have millions more.

My neighbors are now borrowing the Weasel, or as it has come to be known, “the nut picker-upper thing” to clean their own yards of those pesky little seed pods. Together we are on a quest. But, hark…a resource has emerged. We now have an interested farmer who wants our acorns to feed his pigs. Who knew! Pigs apparently like acorns! Better yet, the farmer is willing to exchange acorns for pork. What a deal! I highly recommend the Garden Weasel Nut Gatherer for anyone with overactive oak trees. It is a real unique tool and brings home the bacon too!

Happy Gathering! Deb
November2019