What Kit? - Landscape, turf care, grounds maintenance and arboriculture equipment, tests and buying advice from Horticulture Week

Find Kit

Q.: We need to improve access in our country park for people who are less able, particularly at weekends, on bank holidays and during the school holidays. Ideally, we want some form of transport to run a circular route around the main attractions with appropriate stopping places, and to link this to the car parks at three points on the perimeter. The terrain is fairly hilly in places, although the gradients could not be described as steep. Do you have any suggestions for vehicles to carry people around such sites?

Q.: Have you tried the battery-powered hedgetrimmer from Echo? What's your impression?

Q.: I am looking to replace two small rotary ride-on mowers currently used in mowing garden contracts. I would like to be able to offer our clients other services, perhaps lawn scarification or leaf clearing, in the future. Are there mowers that will do jobs other than just mowing?

Q.: A number of neighbouring properties have suffered from machinery thefts. What can we do to help protect the equipment we use for estate maintenance? We have compact tractors, a utility vehicle, several ride-on mowers and lots of powered equipment such as brushcutters.

Q.: When I was an apprentice gardener 20 years ago my boss had a chainsaw that quickly converted into a hedgecutter. Are any such products still available?

Q.: I want to buy a Makita HTR4900 hedgetrimmer and have been quoted a price of nearly £400 including VAT by my local dealer. If I buy it through the internet I could get it for less than £250 including VAT. Why is there such a huge difference in price?

Get news about the latest releases, tests and offers sent straight to your inbox. Sign up here.

Tested Icon Look for this icon in your browse results to see if the product has been tested.