Prior to getting out and working the soil, be sure all of your tools are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized. While most people are likely to give their tools a cursory cleaning before storing them through the winter months, any remaining plant sap or dirt and debris can hold bacteria or fungal spores.
So before you break out the to trim branches, take time to fully disinfect your tools. You probably got most of the dirt off before putting them away, but a soak in a solution of 10% bleach to 90% water for about a half hour will kill off any soil pathogens that might still be present.
Other things that work well to sterilize tools include Pine-Sol (again, give your tools a nice soak in a diluted solution) and liquid Lysol cleaner. All three will kill off bacterial infections and will remove any remaining fungal spores, but I tend to use bleach just because it’s inexpensive and readily available everywhere.
Once you’ve disinfected your tools, be sure to use clean water to rinse off any remaining bleach. You can then use that same solution to dip your tools between cuts so you’re not spreading disease around. Be sure to clean and rinse off your tools at the end of the day, as residual bleach can be slowly corrosive to your tools.
