There's no secret to the fact that mechanisation is good for efficiency in the garden! More and more Belgian homeowners are adopting these state-of-the-art tools, which are making life much easier for gardeners in 2024.
So much so that every year, the major Belgian DIY chains, such as Mr. Bricolage and Mr. Brickyard, come out in force. DIY, Gamma, Hubo or in another register Lidlare seeing their stocks raided on the same references.
Le The first garden tool you need before autumn: the leaf blower
Of course, autumn means leaves on the lawn, which means raking for hours on end. But that's without counting on the engineers at Makita, Stihl, Ryobi and Dewalt.
Thanks to leaf blowers, which are sometimes also leaf vacuums, gathering leaves in one place is 10 times more effective than in your grandfather's time, or your great-grandfather's for the younger ones.
These machines make it easy to pile up leaves and then vacuum them up. But in reality, it's better to take all the leaves to your flower beds, because they enrich the soil and even protect against frost.
While leaf blowers have long been powered by highly polluting two-stroke engines, their four-stroke cousins are less noisy and less polluting, but these days it's the electric variants that Walloons and Flemings are falling for!
You can find leaf blowers from around €59 for the entry-level model in DIY superstores, and up to €200 for the most reputable/efficient. BUT why invest in a tool that's only used 2 or 3 times a year, and collects dust the rest of the year? Hire from Qijco, it's a win-win situation, whether you rent or own the vehicle!
The second must-have garden tool this autumn: the shredder
Although we haven't mentioned that some leaf blowers can also shred leaves, we won't leave shredding out of the equation, because it's an unavoidable activity from the end of September and throughout October!
In the early 1990s, the first plant shredders and chippers appeared for private gardens with large trees or plants.
Their role is to reduce garden waste to shavings in preparation for composting.
Branches, twigs, cedar residue, anything goes! But beware, these are rather dangerous machines that must be handled with care and never without protection. The blade could do irreversible damage.
Bosch, Stihl, Ryobi or Dewalt... these big names in gardening all offer their own unique models, at prices ranging from around a hundred euros for the simplest models for shredding branches of 3 to 4 cm, to several thousand euros for models capable of swallowing sections of 12 cm in diameter, for example.
At €25 or €30 a day for private hire, is buying a shredder really worth it for your particular situation?
The third tool to consider before autumn so you're not caught out: the leaf collector
No more chores to collect? That's what Gardena promises when it shows off its leaf collector in its presentation video.
If respect for the environment is more important to you than efficient leaf collection in autumn, you'll prefer the leaf collector to the leaf blower discussed above.
The leaf collector has no motor, so it doesn't pollute (OK, in its defence, it's made largely of plastic and isn't all that neutral). But what's even better is that it doesn't make any noise, apart from the sound of the brushes whirling over the mattress of dead leaves to propel them into the recycling bin.
With this well thought-out tool, reduce the backache caused by traditional, often inefficient, collection methodsUnless you have 35 years' experience.
Gardena, for example, sells it for €179.9, but we saw an advert for €75 on Qijco !
The pruning machine, a very powerful mechanised tool, much in demand when autumn arrives
Autumn is traditionally the season for pruning trees such as conifers and fruit trees. In general, this operation is carried out when they are not exposed to extreme temperatures, i.e. neither in summer nor in winter.
The aim of maintenance pruning is to encourage the tree to grow properly and retain its natural shape.. It also allows you to control growth so that anarchy doesn't take hold, and to protect your home against any breakages that could damage the roof.
Today's pruners and chainsaws come in both petrol and electric versions, and are sold from a few hundred euros up to over 1,000 euros for the most powerful models from Echo or Makita, for example.
But on the classified ads site Qijco, you can find one for as little as €40 a day. So, unless you're a professional gardener and use your pruner or chainsaw intensively every day, we'd advise you to hire one to save your budget.
Electric hedge trimmers: the last tool to be sold out this autumn and throughout September
Generally hedges are pruned 2 or 3 times a year At the end of winter, before spring and in September/October.
Back-to-school season is therefore a good time to make sure you have a hedge trimmer to hand, especially if maintaining your hedges is important to you.
In 2024, it's clearly the electric models that are the rage. Most of the time, these machines cost between €100 and €200, sometimes a little more.
Often equipped with an 18V lithium-ion battery, most have a power output of around 500W and a range of around 1h30 to 2h00. That's more than enough power for you to make the perfect cut in your well-stocked hedges.
There's no shortage of hedge trimmers on Qijco, from €10 / daySo there's plenty of food for thought in the gardening aisle at Mr. Bricolage!
Conclusion:
While the development of these gardening tools is to be welcomed for the good health of the DIY market in Belgium, and for the back of the gardener, it must be admitted that they are pure products of our consumer society and that they do not all contribute to reducing our carbon footprint, quite the contrary. That's why it's so important to work towards a circular economy: that's what Qijco is all about.
If you own such a machine, reduce your carbon footprint and allow others to enjoy its comforts, while earning rental income. And if you don't own one, and your rake or pruning shears aren't doing your skeleton any favours, become a tenant for a few dozen euros.
English 
French 
Dutch 
German 
